Brisbane Roar Youth posted a stylish 3-1 win over Melbourne Victory Youth in Round 2 of the Foxtel National Youth League at Cleveland Showgrounds today.
After withstanding a strong opening 15 minutes from the visitors, the Young Roar took control of the match as they dominated possession with a slick, short-passing game that forced the visitors to retreat.
Young Roar captain Mitch Hore and fellow midfielder Jesse Daley were tireless in the centre of the park and ensured a continuous flow of good service to strong-running forwards, Dane Ingham, Harry Sawyer and Shannon Brady.
While the home side was probably fortunate not to concede a penalty when defender Mark Rodic tackled Victory captain Joseph Katebian inside the box in the 15th minute, the remainder of the first half proved to be an outstanding performance.
The Young Roar’s dominance in this period belied the fact this squad has been together for only a few weeks and underlined their potential and the work being put in by Coach Josh McCloughan.
They opened the new season with a 2-0 win in Perth last week and deservedly went into half time 2-0 ahead in this game thanks to impressive goals from Ingham and Daley within three minutes of each other.
Katebian reduced the margin to a single goal with a well-taken long-range freekick in the 67th minute but it took just another four minutes for the Young Roar to respond and restore their two-goal safety margin.
Ingham, whose speed and work rate tested the Victory defenders throughout the 90 minutes, was cut down in the box for a clear penalty.
Harrison Sawyer drove his spot kick hard and straight to easily beat Victory keeper Lucas Spinella, who had made a series of earlier saves to keep his side in the match.
PHOTOS COURTESY: Andrew Shaw/VisibleFocusPhotography
Goals
31′: Winger Shannon Brady (below) made a strong run into the box on the left but was surrounded by defenders. He checked back and laid off for Dane Ingham whose shot from 15m hit a Victory defender and deflected into the net. 1-0
35′: Midfielder Jesse Daley found himself in space about 20m out on the left, he turned, took one step and struck a fierce right-foot shot into the far side of the goal. Brilliant effort! 2-0
67′: Victory captain Joseph Katebian had threatened a few times earlier, and should have scored just two minutes earlier but scooped his shot over the crossbar, but he made no mistake with this freekick from 20m. It was hit hard and curling and ricocheted into the Roar goal off the far post. 2-1
71′: The Victory seemed to have no answer for Dane Ingham’s speed and clever angled runs. He had worked his way into the box on numerous occasions and this time, on the right, he was too quick again and was brought down by a late tackle. Harrison Sawyer comfortably put away the spot kick for his debut Roar goal and the match sealer. 3-1
Quote Unquote
Young Roar Coach Josh McCloughan: “We played some nice stuff once they all settled down. They pressed us quite high (from the kick off) – we been together a short time and you can never emulate that even if you train to whenever . You need to see it in a game and when they pressed us high it asked a lot of questions and will give us something to work on from here on in.
“For long periods we controlled the game. We were threatening when we went forward. Our reaction time was really good. It was definitely a step forward, no question.”
Striker Dane Ingham: “It was fun out there and really good to get the win . . . a good performance by the boys.
“This squad has gelled really quickly. We had a good pre-season and it is good to see us getting rewarded for that.”
Talking point
The Young Roar character was tested when Melbourne Victory came out hard and fast. They weathered the storm and the fact they then went into the break two goals ahead was a measure of the enormous potential in Josh McCloughan’s new-look Youth squad.
What now?
It’s a bye next week then consecutive away games to Adelaide United and Melbourne City. The boys will no doubt use the week off to ensure they maintain the progress they have made across the first two rounds so far.
Match stats
Foxtel National Youth League Round 2, Brisbane Roar Youth versus Melbourne Victory Youth at Cleveland Showgrounds, Saturday, 14 November
Brisbane Roar FC Youth 3 (Ingham 31′, Daley 35′, H Sawyer pen 71′)
Melbourne Victory Youth 1 (Katebian 67′)
Brisbane Roar FC Youth: 20. Tomislav BILIC (gk), 2. Jaiden WALKER (16. Benjamin LYVIDIKOS 83′), 4. Mark RODIC , 5. Tom JARRARD, 7. Dane INGHAM, 10. Adam SAWYER, 13. Mitch HORE (c) , 14. Shannon BRADY (11. Jayden PRASAD 64′), 15. Jesse DALEY (8. Tom MILLER 76′), 17. Cameron CRESTANI, 18. Harrison SAWYER.
Unused Substitutes: 30. Finn MATHESON (gk).
Yellow cards: 15. Jesse DALEY 21′, 7. Cameron CRESTANI 49′, 8. Tom MILLER 90′. Red cards: Nil
Melbourne Victory FC Youth: 1. Lucas SPINELLA (gk), 2. Reece CALDECOURT (13. Sebastian PASQUALI 55′), 3. Callum GOULDING, 4. Benjamin CARRIGAN (5. Damien MISKULIN 73′), 7. Lucas DERRICK ( 8. James XYDIAS 64′), 9. Joseph KATEBIAN (c) 10. Cameron McGILP, 11. John MACLEAN, 16. Jonathan VAKIRTZIS, 17. Pierce WARING, 18. Christian CAVALLO,
Unused Substitutes: 20. Wyatt CHANT (gk).
Yellow cards: 8. Christian CAVALLO 51′, 9. Joseph KATEBIAN 76′. Red cards: Nil
Referee: Alan Milliner; Asst Referee 1: Cameron Fawcett, Asst Referee 2: Daniel Olson, Fourth Official: Matthew Male
