Undefeated

They’ve done it, one of the rarest accomplishments in team sport – Myrtleford Savoy have gone through the home and away season without a single loss. The dominant Savoy made history on Saturday night at Savoy Park, as they swept away Melrose FC 6-0 in a display of sheer and utter skill and teamwork. They’ll enter the finals as league champions with a record of 17 wins, two draws, and no losses. Up against eighth-ranked Melrose, Savoy hardly put a foot wrong through 90 minutes of play, striking early and powerfully to bury the game before Melrose had a chance to start. Three first-half goals put the game to rest, while resolute defence ensured their eighth clean sheet of the season. Coach Jayden Vescio said the weekend result was the culmination of months of hard work. “In other years where we’ve had success or win leagues, we seem to pull up and drop off three or four games and some teams will get you, but credit to the boys this year, no one’s got them,” he said. “We started the game really well, young John [Yaw Han Ngai] got on the end of one - he’s been really good the last three or four weeks, nearly first or second on the teamsheet at the moment, he scored in the eighth or ninth minute mark. “Connor Caponecchia scored, I don’t think I’ve seen a better goal at Savoy Park in the last 20 years. “He hit a volley from probably 37 yards out, he saw the goalkeeper was off his line and more or less chipped the goalkeeper, that was 18 minutes in and a bit of a full stop. “We grabbed a third before half-time, we made a couple of changes in the second half, managed to get Parksy [Matthew Park] and Lewis Holloway on the field to look at a couple of different things, and we were able to score three more times in the second half. “Azia Feltrin got another double, Connor got a second, and Josh Zito who was best on ground on Saturday night scored the last one which was really pleasing.” While the achievement is of course a substantial one, Savoy won’t rest on their laurels, with a maximum of three knockout matches in the way of ultimate glory in finals. Coincidentally, Savoy will take on Melrose again in the quarter finals this weekend, just over a week since their previous meeting. “The league’s great, we’ll celebrate the league title and the undefeated season once we’re finished, but now our focus turns to winning three games of football,” Vescio said. “We all know what our finals series is like, it’s a bit unique and you don’t get double chances or anything, so we’re looking forward to getting back out there against probably the same Melrose. “We’ve just got this really big emphasis on not conceding goals, only conceding 14 league goals with maybe five of those 14 from the penalty spot, so we’re only really conceding eight or nine goals in a season from open play going into finals. “If we don’t concede, we know our attack will score in most games if not all games.” Meanwhile, the senior women’s side will enter the finals series fifth overall after a 0-1 loss to Melrose. The physical and tough match was a good tune-up ahead of finals, where Savoy will meet Wodonga Diamonds in the quarter finals. Co-coach Tom Scott said the squad was prepared do go deep into finals. “It was an extremely great hit-out before finals,” he said. “On paper, we probably were unlucky not to share points – we were able to control the ball in all areas on the ground, while also forcing their keeper to make some last second saves. “Diamonds will be a tough game, we know they have some quality players in their squad. “Previously when we played them, we had a depleted squad due to injuries and illness - fortunately for us, we have had a lot of players come back from injury. “Our girls are excited for the challenge and want to go one step further than we did last season.” The AWFA quarter finals are on this Sunday, with the division one men at Ian Barker Fields against Melrose, and the senior women at LaTrobe against Wodonga Diamonds.

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