Devils’ day keeps final hopes alive

IMPROVEMENTS are evident for Wangaratta City’s senior men’s team, with the weekend’s result concrete proof the team is heading in the right direction. After splitting the points earlier in the season, the Devils charged home over Melrose Fc with an emphatic win 4-2. With the match shaping up as a must-win in terms of Wangaratta featuring in the division one men’s finals series, tensions were high early, but the Devils settled into the match well. Justin Cirillo broke the deadlock in the 34th minute, sneaking one past Melrose goalie Mitchell Thomas, but when Dylan Bardy fired back just four minutes later, scores were level once again heading into half-time. With their finals hopes on the line, Wangaratta City lifted, with James Wells once again securing the lead in the 47th minute. The midfield was far better on defence and transitioned the ball well, allowing Wells to secure his brace in the 60th, before Lorenzo Cecchini made it four in the 76th. While they conceded a goal late in the game, the result was secured, and the flame burned brighter within the group. Senior coach Vitaly Leschen said it was validation of all the hard work the squad has done, and tangible proof of how far they’ve come. “It’s a good result, but what I’m happiest about is we drew 3-3 with Melrose at the start of the year and we’ve won 4-2 away from home, so it shows progression in the team, which is what we want to see,” he said. “Going into it, we couldn’t overstate how important it was for the team, they were very aware we needed the result, but they were very up for the match. “The first half was good – to Melrose’s credit they played some very good football and kept possession very well. “To our credit, we stayed in shape defensively and worked as a team a lot better than we have in previous games. “They were breaking through the middle a little bit too easy from dead ball situations, throw ins and corners - we were probably committing a few too many people forward, and that’s when they were getting momentum and getting up the pitch. “We managed to get that sorted in the second half. “The boys went out knowing how important it was in relationship to one another to get a result, and they just fought hard all game and made sure we walked off with the chocolates.” Despite whose name was put on the scoresheet, it was a full team effort, with every one of the 11 players on the park working hard to secure the result. “We had a 16-year-old goalkeeper in Levi Zachariou, he pulled off some pretty incredible saves for a 16-year-old in what was a very important senior game for us,” Leschen said. “James Wells hasn’t played for a while, I think he told me 10 years, and to be honest I probably stitched him up a bit putting him straight into the ones. “He’s shown within two weeks that’s where his quality is, and the more game time we give him, the better for us. “‘Juzzy’ [Cirillo] and Lorenzo, when we play our best football they’re involved and they’re playing good football.” The reserves squad continued their impressive season, banking the points 4-1, while the senior women went down 0-6.

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