Tara Murray
Brimbank Stallions’ Australia Cup run is over after a brave performance on Tuesday night.
The Stallions, a state league 1 north-west side, were at home to National Premier League 3 side Geelong on Tuesday, with a spot in the final round of the Victorian stage of the competition on the line.
Geelong hit the lead in the first half and doubled it shortly after the break. The Stallions had to play the whole second half a man down after Noah Thomas-Chinnama got a red card just before half time.
The Stallions got one back in the 65th minute through Benjamin Iluffi before Geelong scored the sealer in the 77th minute to progress through with a 3-1 win.
Stallions coach Andrew Marth said once they went a man down it made it hard for them, but in the end were beaten by a better team..
“There were a few pivotal moments in the game,” he said.
“There were a couple of bad referee calls that cost us two goals and then a bad challenge left us a man down.
“We scored in the second half to make it 2-1 and had a couple of chances to equalise. One player down makes a big difference.”
Having made the seventh round last year, it’s been back-to-back strong Australia Cup campaigns.
Marth said the competition is really important for him.
“A lot of clubs don’t think it is,” he said.
“It’s prestigious for the clubs that are in the lower grades and don’t get the opportunity to play in the big games.”
The Stallions focus now returns to the state league 1 north-west season, with the team sitting in fourth spot after nine rounds.
Marth said one thing was holding them back from being higher on the ladder.
“We’re playing some really good footy, we can’t convert,” he said.
“We’re getting chances to score. We played Yarraville last week and we could have been 5-0 at half time. You can not miss from one metre out and we paid the price and drew.
“If we were an AFL team, with the number of chances we’ve had, we’d be on top of the ladder.”
Marth said he was confident the tide would turn soon and they would soon start converting those goals.
He said they were confident where they sat this season, it was about getting the results.
The Stallions are set to face top side Altona City on Saturday evening.
“We’re a top two-three team,” he said. “We’re fourth at the moment, as if you don’t score goals you don’t win games.”
