The first box in Myrtleford Savoy’s buildup to the finals has been ticked, with the senior men knocking off St Pats with ease 5-0 on Sunday.

Hosting the Pats at Savoy Park, Savoy were able to hit the scoreboard early through an unlikely finisher in Matt Vaccaro, who slotted his third goal for the year in the 18th minute.

Savoy continued their dominance, with Jack Milford (30’) and Tom LaSpina (37’) finding the back of the net to give the home side a 3-0 lead heading into the half-time break.

Myrtelford kept the pressure on, with further goals coming from Scott Peggie in the 56th minute before Jack Milford slotted his second in the 68th.

With three games scheduled in the space of seven days, Savoy made some changes and were able to hold the lead until the final whistle.

“We started really well, we got the game on our terms and looked really sharp and solid down back and explosive going forward,” Savoy coach Jayden Vescio said of the match.

“We went into half-time 3-0 up – playing three games in seven days, we wanted to make sure this game was done quite early.

“They just threw numbers forward for the 15 minutes of the second half, we dealt with that quite well and were able to break back and go 5-0 up with 25 minutes to play.

“We tried to change a couple of little things, things we think will stack up in finals, so that was pleasing.

“We threw the magnets around a little bit, didn’t take risks on a couple of players who were managing some injuries

“We played some players out of position and a couple of players who had been playing reserve grade.

“It was good to see the squad we’ve got perform – it’s good headaches if everyone gets up and is fit come finals time, which is normally the case, it creates a few headaches for myself to pick a starting XI.”

The whirlwind week continues for Savoy, set to take on Wangaratta City in a midweek clash at South Wangaratta, to make up for their recent rained out match, before a Sunday clash with Wodonga Diamonds at La Trobe University.

While they are unlikely to reclaim top spot and the league title, given frontrunner Albury City’s recent form, Vescio said they were focussed on playing the best they could and fine-tuning their game ahead of finals.

“I’m not really thinking about the league title, I’m more thinking about making sure we’re charry-ripe come the first week of finals, so if someone’s got a niggle and there are any issues, they just won’t play,” he said.

“The way it’s looking, pending results, we could end up playing Wangaratta is the first week of the finals, but a lot hinges on the next two results.

“We can’t drop from second, but in the same breath, we want to win on Wednesday night and put the pressure on Albury City, knowing they play Thursday.”

Meanwhile, the division one women’s team will return to action this weekend after sitting out with the bye, taking on Wodonga Diamonds to round out their home and away season.