An all-STFA clash in the Champions League yesterday ended with a 5-3 victory for the Goulburn Strikers, who in doing so kept their season-long winning streak alive.
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The Strikers played the Wollondilly Soldiers Green at Cookbundoon in the second round of the mid-season tournament, in a rematch of their first-versus-second clash which took place just weeks earlier during the regular season.
Both sides were plagued by absences, but the Strikers relied on their "very good squad numbers and depth", veteran midfielder David Albrighton said, to claim a hard-fought win.
"Soldiers were also missing a number of regular players, so it was always going to be a test for both teams in how they could get the job done," Albrighton said.
"It was a good opportunity to test our depth out on Saturday, and it's great to see that anyone within the squad can take another's place and get the job done."
Albrighton also praised the Soldiers for their performance, particularly considering they were playing with 10 for the majority of the match after an early sin bin and a send-off in the second half.
"They did a great job to stay competitive in the circumstances," he said.
Yesterday's match was a fitting warm-up for what Albrighton expects to be the toughest clash of the season so far in round three, against Yerrinbool.
The Highland Soccer Association side is currently ranked second in the All Age Men first division competition, with four wins from four games.
Though no matches took place in the Southern Highlands on Saturday, the Yerrinbool team is a perennial premiership contender in the HSA and a stern contest for the Strikers.
"This will be a really good test for us," Albrighton said.
"Yerrinbool sat on top of the Highlands' table until only a week or so ago when their match was deferred. If the fitness and skill of last week's fourth-placed Mittagong side [which the Strikers beat 4-2] is anything to go by, we'd better be on our game next Saturday."
For the teams involved the Champions League is either an opportunity to test out new combinations and players, or another trophy to win.
As far as the Strikers are concerned, it's a little bit of both.
"We're not likely to have the same starting 11 for any of the matches, so it is a good opportunity to give some players more game time and try a few different positions and tactics," Albrighton said.
"I'd be lying if I said the boys aren't hungry for results though after last year's disappointment of not getting any silverware. Our guys will be trying to win it, there's no doubt.
"The most important things for us is our STFA competition, but if we can come away with a grand final spot in the Champions League, that will certainly give us some confidence heading back into regular fixtures."
The Champions League as a whole has been well-received by the Strikers, and Albrighton said it was a "great concept" which the players hope will become a fixture in future seasons.
"We love the idea and it's been managed exceptionally well by the STFA and the Highlands Soccer Association," he said.
"It means the players get extra matches for the fees they pay and they get to experience playing different styles of teams they wouldn't otherwise have the chance to.
"There's also bragging rights on the line of which competition and which teams are stronger, which is usually a theoretical debate that now gets to be settled in reality."
With two wins, the Strikers now sit on top of the Champions League Pool B ladder, ahead of Yerrinbool in second.
Meanwhile, in Pool A, Marulan and Bowral are in first and second, while the Stags have climbed to third thanks to Saturday's 3-0 win over the Workers.
This Saturday, July 10, the Strikers will play Yerrinbool and Mittagong are scheduled to take on the Soldiers from 3pm.
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