Stocky's Scribbles: Vics break the drought

Wednesday at the 2014 FFA National Futsal Championships was a successful day in more ways than one for the Victorian U16 Girls team.

Words and images by Craig Stockdale

The girls finally broke the drought in the first game against ACT scoring their maiden goal from a free kick and then followed this up with a convincing 4-2 win against South Australia to end the day.

With the two games scheduled in the searing heat at the ANU sports arena, both the players and the coaching staff knew the importance if gaining ascendancy quickly.

Game three saw the Vics tackle the ACT U16 Girls team who were yet to lose a game. Dedic had worked hard with the girls to instill a level of confidence and positive aggression overnight that saw them really attack both games from the outset and the resultant play highlighted the known talents of these young girls. Hannah Ryan was outstanding; like a steam train she hustled and bustled her way around the court with a focus her team mates all drew upon.

With a number of players suffering from heat exhaustion, Dedic knew he needed to rely on the bench to step up and contribute on the court, as the rotations would be critical, and that they did.

The Vics were driving hard early taking, some great shots on goal but yielding no results as it seemed like a force field around the goal was preventing anything from entering the net.

ACT scored late in the first half to open up a 1-0 lead and then entered the second stanza looking to protect the score line. This was the invitation the Vics needed. Stockdale managed to draw a free kick from a late tackle by the ACT and the resultant strike on goal clinched the first major for Victoria, piercing the ACT defensive line.

Finally the monkey was off their back but the euphoria did not last long. ACT managed to score a second goal with 10 seconds remaining in the game to steal a 2-1 victory from the Vics.

Game four saw the girls pitted against South Australia and any hope of playing in the semi-finals now hung on the result of this game. With confidence levels up from the previous game, the Vics were aggressive and were smashing the SA goalkeeper.

Gudelj and Ryan had some amazing shots on goal but all were deflected. In contrast, South Australia had three shots on goal and scored twice entering the half way mark with a 2-0 lead.

The Vics were baffled at how many shots had been taken yet they were goalless once again. With backs to the wall, Dedic went all out and instructed his starting four of Gudelj, Stockdale, Ryan and Anthony to dig deep, press forward and apply pressure in the hope of yielding mistakes.

What transpired was truly amazing as the Vics looked like an entirely new outfit. In the next 15 minutes, the girls scored four times.

Marianna Anthony opened the floodgates after five minutes with a well placed shot into the right-hand corner having tirelessly chased and defended the entire game. Her efforts were inspiring and minutes later Stockdale forced forward and opened up the SA defense with a left-foot rocket into the bottom right-hand corner of the net. 2-2.

With their tails up, the Vics again peppered the goals until finally a shot by Gudelj made its way into the back of the net and for the first time, Victoria were in front.

Needing to close out the last five minutes of play, the Vics continued their aggressive approach until Stockdale completed her brace with a delicate nutmeg of the SA keeper to put the end result at rest. The final score line sat at 4-2 and the hopes of the Victorian girls playing semi-finals lives on.

Game five is against Queensland and this game now holds the key for the remainder of the tournament.