White Eagles extend perfect record at Woden
By Rhyan Misner
White Eagles coach Graeme Plath has hopes of winning his side their first trophy since 2012 after beating Southern Tablelands United Football Club 1-0 on Sunday to remain undefeated in NPL2.
The so far unbeaten Eagles have started the season strongly, and their coach has high hopes for his squad, but he insists they must stay grounded to achieve their aim.
Proceedings began at Woden Park with the White Eagles starting on the front foot, dominating the ball early and trapping Southern Tablelands in their own half.
The first real chance came in the 7th minute when Eric Bonnet’s header thumped off the crossbar from a Caleb Cullen-Rua corner.
Shortly later the White Eagles had the ball in the back of the net only for it to be ruled out for offside as Milan Santrac was unable to beat the defensive trap before smashing the ball into the bottom left corner.
The White Eagles continued to dominate possession and create half chances while the visitors were limited to counterattacking opportunities with Eric Noheli constantly keeping the Eagles backline honest.
With only a goal missing to reward the Eagles of their positive play both sides went into the break with nothing to show for their efforts with neither goalkeeper being sufficiently tested.
It didn’t take long for the first change to be made with Plath opting to introduce Callum Beaton in place of Nik Noveski in the hopes of breaking the deadlock.
Both teams remained fairly timid after the break with no meaningful chances being manufactured at either end.
The wait was over in the 75th minute though when the White Eagles had something tangible to show for their efforts.
After Milan Santrac was put through on goal he was brought down in the box from behind, with the referee immediately pointing to the spot.
The resulting spot kick was calmly dispatched by Tom Hewitt, firing it into the bottom left corner with the goalkeeper going the other way.
That sealed the final score line at Woden Park, with neither team being able to muster another key chance after the penalty kick.
Plath now has his sights on the NPL 2 title after his side continued its unbeaten start to the season but knows they can always improve and have to rely on the core of the starting side.
“Our depth extends to about 3 players so we have a good squad of 14 but I wouldn’t mind having a stronger squad of 15 or 16 who could start for us each week,” he said after the game.
“White Eagles haven’t won a trophy since 2012, so there’s no doubt our aim is to try and win that but the last thing I want is the players focusing on that.”
“I want them thinking firstly of their next game and also of what their roles are.”
The White Eagles will look to maintain their perfect record with an away trip to third placed Weston- Molonglo next Saturday.
Other Results |
Brindabella Blues 1 (David Adams 30’) def. by Wagga City Wanderers 2 (Caylum Barber 35’, Fred Gardner 55’)
O’Connor Knights 1 (Jonathan Ciminelli 23’) drew. Weston Molonglo 1 (Tom Pagett 71’)
ANU FC 1 (Tim Lopez) def. Narrabundah FC 0
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