Senior Devils knocked out of finals, reserve men still fighting

It’s the end of the line for Wangaratta City FC’s senior men and women. Both of the club’s top teams were handed losses at the hands of Albury Hotspurs in Sunday’s AWFA quarter finals. The division one men fought hard against the second-placed ‘Spurs, but came up short 0-2. After holding Hotspurs to a 1-1 draw last weekend, the Devils went into the encounter with confidence, looking to stifle chances on goal. The strategy worked for a time, but Hotspurs snuck a goal through in the 32nd minute. Time wore on but the Devils weren’t able to find an equaliser, electing to throw all their men forward late in a desperate play. While the strategy was sound, Hotspurs were able to counterattack and slot a goal in the 90th. Despite their season being over, coach Vitaly Leschen was positive about how his side had improved over the journey. “Obviously Hotspurs are a very good team – we finished seventh and second for a reason,” he said. “We had a game plan to pretty much do what we did last week, which is just to restrict the scoring. “Realistically, it was 1-0 before we threw everyone forward in the 90th minute, they just got us on a counter, we gave away a penalty and it was 2-0. “While disappointing, I think we well and truly took it to them – on another day, we had a couple of chances that could’ve gone in the net, and if they’d gone in I think we would’ve had the chance to progress. “But that’s football, and that’s alright, and I think the way we went out was important for our season. “In the second half [of the season] I think we’d played 10 games, won five, drew two and lost three – if you compare that to our first half, those numbers are probably completely reversed. “It showed the progress we were looking for as a team and as a club.” The Lady Devils similarly crashed out of finals, defeated by the ‘Spurs 3-0. Wangaratta’s reserve men kept their season alive with a stunning 2-1 win against Wodonga Diamonds. They’ll take on Albury United on Saturday at Savoy Park. “The ressies have been good all year, there’s plenty of talent which will come into the seniors next year in that squad,” Leschen said. “It’s more than deserved for the ressies, it’ll be a tough game at Myrtleford on the weekend but it’s a winnable game.” In other grades, the under 12 boys Black side progressed to the semis with a 1-0 win, while the under 16 boys (2-1) also advanced.

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