We are bringing the NPL to Ballarat this weekend when we take on South Melbourne at the Ballarat Regional Soccer Facility.
We’re excited to reach out to the wider football community and involve them in one of our marquee games of the season. Ballarat have watched our club many times in the past but this will be the first time we’re playing as the home side. It’s our hope that we can be embraced by the community and build a relationship so more events can be done like this in the future.
Two games will be held today. The Under 21’s teams will open the game at 1:00 PM, with the Senior game following at 3:45 PM.
Our Under 21’s will come into this game looking to build off a difficult result last round against
Avondale. Despite clear efforts, the boys fell 3-0, leaving Avondale undefeated for 2022. The boys played with heart regardless and showed plenty of good football despite some notable outs.
This week they face South Melbourne. South just fell short of a result (2-3) against Hume City last week despite kicking two second-half goals to Hume’s nil. In the week prior they recorded back to back wins against Croatian clubs St Albans Saints (3-1) and Melbourne Knights (1-0), lost 1-0 to other league powerhouse Bentleigh Greens and before that opened the season with a strong 4-0 win over Heidelberg.
From what we can tell, when they win, they win big. Our 21’s will be ready for a challenge this Saturday and we have no doubt that it’ll be a game to watch.
South Melbourne’s senior group poses a similar challenge for our GG seniors. They are without a loss and are coming off their largest win for the year over Hume City (5-0). They have left two clean sheets and have at most conceded two goals in a single game.
Our Seniors were perhaps a little unlucky not to secure at least a draw in last week’s game against Avondale. The second half presented plenty of opportunities with a lot of near misses, but in the end it wasn’t to be. Avondale defended well on the day and left with the three points.
Despite this the intensity and effort was there from our Seniors. South Melbourne will be a challenge for sure but it’s one our boys will look to embrace. Our opposition definitely knows how to fire on goals, boasting 17 goals in just five rounds of football at 5-0-0. We’re looking forward to a good game against a quality opposition.
The event will be accompanied by a pre-show interview on NPL.TV stream with Head Coach Stephen Downes, as well as a half-time discussion by our Football Victoria commentators.
The action kicks off at 1:00 PM from our 21’s with our Seniors following close at 3:45 PM. There will be an hour break between games to allow our Senior group some time to warm-up before the game. We hope to see you all there!
#GoGreen
Story by: Brandon Hutchinson
Photo by: Mark Avellino Photography
