Tara Murray
Gisborne finally has a win on the board in the FV state league 4 west season.
It’s been a tough season for the Sky Blues with just one draw from their first 18 matches.
But on Saturday, the Sky Blues got the chance to smile and sing the song after the game, beating Spring Hills, 4-3.
Playing coach and president Carl Valeri said it was a massive moment for the group that has stuck together all season.
“It’s the result we’ve been longing for,” he said. “We knew we had a shot. Last time we played them it was a close match.
“We had a strong team out there, one of our strongest teams we’ve had in a long time. We could feel before the game that they really wanted to win.”
The match wasn’t an easy one for the Sky Blues with plenty of twists and turns.
The Sky Blues opened the scoring in the 33rd minute before Spring Hills levelled the scores on half time.
The Sky Blues again took the lead before going a man down with Spring Hills soon levelling the scores again.
Valeri said the group just pushed themselves to the limit to come away with the win.
“We went down to 10 men,” he said. “We scored two goals with 10.
“We said to the boys we are still in this game, they scored from two free kicks. We felt like we were in control of the game. To score a third and fourth goal was a real team effort.”
Valeri said the result was the effort of a lot of hard work for the group they had put in during the season.
He said it was nice to see the smiles on the playing group after the game and it showed the maturity of the club and that they were heading in the right direction.
The Sky Blues remain on the bottom of the ladder, but are now four points behind Spring Hills and eight points behind the Truganina Hornets.
Having been keen to consolidate their spot in division 4 this season, Valeri knows the results haven’t been what they wanted.
He said everyone, including himself, had learned a lot this season and that the club was still on the right track even if they go down a division.
“We knew it was going to be a challenge, but we wanted to give it a crack,” he said. “We have given it a good shot.
“Having a goal has helped everyone including myself become better. We have improved as a team and individuals.
“We will keep going as there’s still a chance [of avoiding relegation] but a lot would have to go right, we will hold our heads high as a club.”
There is a catch up round this weekend, which means the Sky Blues.
Valeri is one player keen to rest the body this week, having played more games than he would have expected.
The Sky Blues then have a tough run home, with trips to Geelong and Torquay in the last three matches.
In the women’s state league 3 west competition, Gisborne beat North Melbourne Athletic, 5-2.
The Sky Blues sit in sixth spot.
