The Entrance v Wyoming
Two teams who found themselves in a relegation battle last year will meet in the round 3 match of the round as Wyoming look to make it two wins in two games as they travel to Pat Morley and face the Reddies.
The Entrance got their season underway last weekend against Kanwal and despite finding the back of the net twice, the Entrance fell short as the Bulls prevailed 5-2.
Last week marked Andrew Ollier’s first competitive game back in charge of the Entrance but unfortunately for him, it wasn’t the welcome back he would have hoped for as they failed to pick up any points in front of a home crowd.
“Yeah, it’s good to be back. I’ve reacquainted with a lot of players and people I’ve had a lot to do with. So, it’s great in that sense,” stated Andrew.
“Our preseason I’m sure it’s been the same for everyone. Players come and go. Players are unsure whether they want to play or not. Training venues with no lights at times. A club struggling to find people to get on the committee. I guess you would say it has been challenging.”
The Entrance remains with one of the competition’s youngest squads and this was evident in round 1 when they used 16-year-old Jai Rose and Evan Hunt off the bench to make their first-grade debuts.
“We have no real expectations for the season. We have a very young squad, so really, we just want to improve as the season goes on.”
The Entrance will take plenty of confidence out of knowing they were able to score two goals against one of the competition’s better defensive sides in 2022.
However, conceding five goals with more than half of them coming from individual errors must be fixed if they wish to have better success and pick up points on Sunday and for the remainder of the year.
“I’m expecting a tough match with Wyoming. They had a good win last week, so I’m assuming they’ll be full of confidence. Hopefully, we can get on the training track this week and give a good account of ourselves on the weekend,” voiced Andrew.
Despite having their head coach Ian McAndrew away last weekend, interim coach Scott Snodgrass led to Tigers to a surprise 3-2 victory against competition heavyweights and reigning premiers Terrigal.
Although Wyoming went down two goals to one, the Tigers clawed their way back into the contest and took a very late lead. Terrigal had their chance to salvage a point when awarded a penalty, but Wyoming’s veteran goalkeeper Tom Coventry made a fantastic save to ensure his side took all three points.
“The win against Terrigal just proves to the boys that if they can stick to what we have worked on, we will be competitive. It’s a great confidence booster for them to beat the grand final winner from last year. Hopefully, we can continue to build on it,” voiced head coach Ian McAndrew.
Another talking point coming out of their clash with the O’lads was the experienced attacker Jared McNee earning himself the man of the match after a terrific outing and also finding himself on the scoresheet with a brilliant free kick.
Much like their opposition this weekend, Wyoming also boasts a very young squad with only a few senior players that will be key to their success this season.
“The squad is better than last year, we lost players, but we have brought in players who are for the club and each other, unlike the players who left. There is a better togetherness with the lads this year and our senior players have really stood up as we are young again.”
It came down to the wire last year, but Wyoming were able to get the results needed to stay in the top-flight competition. With McAndrew’s young squad another year older and with another year of experience under their belts, this young side could cause major problems to the competition as they did last week.
“I expect to be competitive in all our games this year, we have done a lot of work on our shape and our fitness.”
Wyoming will not have the luxury of playing on their home ground this week as they travel to enemy territory in Pat Morley where opposition teams in the past have struggled severely. Nonetheless, Ian anticipates a tough contest come Sunday as he has nothing but high praise for the opposition coach.
“It’s great to see Olly back at the helm of a team again. We are coming up against a very experienced coach who has a wealth of knowledge, so Olly will have them well set up and ready for a hard fight and you have to expect that from an Entrance team. It should be a very competitive game.”
Match Official – Luke Dunkerley
All Round 3 Fixtures:
