SOCCER
LVSL
By LIAM DURKIN
HE would of loved the result, and absolutely hated every second of the attention.
Moe United Soccer Club icon, Peter Albanese has never been one to make it all about him.
He just lets his goal keeping do the talking.
‘Albo’ was in a customary familiar position for much of Saturday’s cutthroat match against Falcons, seeing a number of close calls stopped, deflected and parried to safety.
He’s been doing it for 50 years, longer than his teammates have even been alive.
The Red Devils, with their hopes of the Latrobe Valley Soccer League title virtually hanging on the result, found themselves locked in a nerve-killing 2-all battle late in the piece at Moe’s Olympic Park.
“Dig deep” came the call from the lone figure guarding Falcons’ goal, as the clock ticked further and further into stoppage time.
The call resonated with all wearing red, and in what almost seemed destined, the ball found the back of the home team’s net.
The final whistle sounded barely 30 seconds later.
Moe United had come from 2-nil down to hit the lead right at the death, and possibly, take a critical step toward their first championship in almost a decade.
It was Troy Deeney, Nick Davis, Steve Waugh last ball century on your home ground type stuff.
For the beloved, Albo – just about the perfect day.
Taking a moment to surely feel some sense of relief, Albanese was congratulated by players from both clubs, who before the match, lined up alongside paintwork on the Olympic Park pitch inscribed ’50 Albo 1′ in homage to his length of service wearing the Number 1 shirt.
This followed a guard of honour as he entered the arena, and he left being chaired off by Connor O’Hanlon and former Red Devils captain Nick Fogarty, who is also his nephew.
The pair have played countless matches together over the years, clocking up countless kilometres in the car as well.
Moe United Coach, Lee Dastey said the veteran keeper was a credit to himself.
“Really proud of him. Lot of respect for the guy. He’s amazing,” Dastey said.
“The longevity is just unheard of, for one guy to play at one club for 50 years.
“I said to the boys before the game, you can play for as long as you want, but you will never play with another guy who’s played at the one club for 50 years.”
As Dastey also rightly pointed out, Albanese was still getting a game on his own merit.
“He’s here Tuesday, Thursday without fail (at training), 58-years-old, throwing his body around, diving on the ground, I don’t know how he does it,” the coach said.
“At some stage one of the younger goal keepers have got to step up and take that mantle, but he deserves to be there.
“His shot-stopping is definitely his strength.”
Dastey made the presentation to Albanese upon his induction as an LVSL legend in 2022.
Embarrassed then as he was at the weekend, the man himself has always cited a love of the game as the reason he keeps playing.
Moe United 3-2 Falcons 2000
IT’s not over until it’s over.
It’s only now and then Moe United loses a game as well.
The Red Devils secured a victory for the ages last Saturday, edging ahead with a last minute stoppage time winner against Falcons to keep their Latrobe Valley Soccer League title dream alive.
In front of past players congregated for the annual reunion at Olympic Park, the home side was forced to overcome a 2-nil deficit, and go for an almighty gamble as the game looked destined to end in a 2-all draw.
Stakes were at an all-time high for Moe and Falcons heading into the Round 15 clash, with both club’s seasons virtually on the line.
While the ending was thrilling, much of the game was unfortunately marred by frustration, which led to a near all-in brawl along the interchange huts in the second half.
A total of seven yellow cards were handed out (six to Falcons), while three players were evicted.
That being said, the frustration of players was understandable given the totally confusing nature at the way in which certain situations unfolded.
The fight perhaps overshadowed an otherwise high-standard game between two of the league’s most successful clubs.
Falcons, who have been on the road every week since mid-May due to construction works at their ground, sent early panic into the Moe camp after striking within the first 15 minutes.
A corner kick and subsequent scramble saw the ball deflect off a few shins, seemingly catching players by surprise, before Lachie Spiteri got enough purchase to sneak the ball through.
Falcons appeared somewhat surprised at their own early success, and spent most of the first half grimly defending their lead.
Falcons midfielder Tommy D’Alia was everywhere early, displaying some fancy footwork to get around opponents.
The Red Devils missed a few gettable shots to equalise, the most telling when two players ran into each other near the goal post.
Falcons kept a watertight defence up until halftime, at times surrounding Moe strikers in packs of three.
The visitors took a 1-nil lead into the half, and showed signs that it might just be ‘their day’ once play resumed.
While the day was all about Moe keeper Peter Albanese’s 50th year, Falcons keeper Callum Dominguez was playing just about the game of his life – and he was only supposedly filling in.
“He’s not even a goal keeper!” one Falcons supporter quipped.
Up the other end, Albanese was caught offguard after most players stopped assuming a Falcons player was offside, only for a high kick from Lachie Frendo to lob over the Moe keeper at the 53 minute mark.
Things levelled out not long after when Luke Bathgate goaled for the Red Devils, while on the scoreboard, they levelled out numerically at the 61 minute mark, although not before even more confusion.
The play saw O’Hanlon get through and goal from close range, although Falcons were adamant a foul had been called, and stopped in their tracks. The visiting defence was then left stunned when, following a lengthy deliberation, the goal was given the all clear.
With scores level and still more than 30 minutes remaining, the contest reached fever pitch.
Both sides had numerous chances at goal, before the game turned sour after some push and shove near the Moe United bench erupted into spot fires galore.
The fallout saw Bathgate sin binned, and Frendo likewise for Falcons.
Further drama unfolded when D’Alia was given his marching orders for his second yellow, although in fairness, his punishment hardly seemed to match the crime.
That he received a supportive pat on the back from Moe United president, Harley Robinson, who was sitting on the bench as a senior player when D’Alia walked past, perhaps summed up the situation.
Still, there was a game to be won, and with barely 10 minutes left and an extra player on the park, the Red Devils pressed.
Moe defender Lachie McKenzie screamed “do not let it bounce” as Falcons took a goal kick, while Falcons coach Adrian Salvatore’s instruction was “we’re going high and long”.
Some heart-in-mouth moments followed, especially when the Red Devils looked to have a golden opportunity with an open goal, only to butcher the chance.
Moe finally found the winner in good time at the 90th minute, when Oscar Sceney got the ball in acres of space and slotted it through.
The goal ignited celebrations on the Red Devils bench reminiscent of their last game against Falcons, which played out in eerily similar circumstances.
Falcons didn’t look too despondent when the final whistle was blown, perhaps internally surmising Moe had ample opportunity during the game to put the result beyond doubt.
Moe coach Lee Dastey said his side certainly did it the hard way.
“We left it late, I didn’t think it was going to come,” he said.
“We had to make a few changes. We wanted to leave two up front, shoved Oscar up there and went a bit thinner down back. I’m not sure exactly how it happened, I was a little bit surprised how he got through two-on-one. Even up until the last finish I was thinking, the way some of the other finishing went, the day we’d had, it wasn’t going to go in, but he hit it sweetly.
“You take some risks, you can be vulnerable, but it worked.”
Dastey was understandably happy to take the three points given the number of near misses.
“The first 20 minutes they (Falcons) were on top, we were struggling to get into the game.
As the half went on, last 25 minutes we had chances,” he said.
“There was a couple of times when they got through on goal and it was that final pass that didn’t get there, if you get that right, we could have been 3-2 down.”
The planets could be aligning for Moe, who are three points clear on top of the ladder with three rounds to play, albeit with a game in hand and a bye in the last round.
The Red Devils’ path to the championship was helped by second-placed Olympians drawing 1-all with Churchill United last Saturday night.
Should Moe win the championship, it will cap off a remarkable season given most pundits didn’t see the Red Devils in championship calculations during preseason.
This writer, bumping into Dastey at the Irish Bar, Trafalgar during last cricket season, even asked if the coach himself would need to come out of retirement and pull on the boots.
Evidently, he’s weaving enough magic from the side lines.
LVSL Round 15
A MAJOR curveball was thrown into the race for the Latrobe Valley Soccer League senior men’s championship at the weekend.
Following Moe United’s thrilling 3-2 win over Falcons on Saturday afternoon, the Red Devils went to bed that night with a sudden opening after Olympians and Churchill United drew 1-all at Harold Preston in the later game during Round 15.
The result keeps Moe United three points clear on top of the table with just as many rounds to play. The Red Devils however have a game in hand and the bye in the last round, meaning they may be forced to sweat on other results right to the last day.
Put simply, Moe just has to win its last two games against Churchill and Monash to win the league.
That might be easier said than done given both games are away. The Rams have seemingly become a different side since gun striker Kuku Mahammud joined, while Monash has proven to be a difficult opponent to shake in recent encounters.
Second-placed Olympians travel to Monash this Sunday (who are coming off a bye), before ending with matches against East Gippsland Untied (away) and Newborough Yallourn United (home).
After appearing to have one hand on the league title after beating Moe 4-1 in Round 10, unexpected results have once again thrown the championship open.
The Combine lost 5-1 to Sale United last Saturday night coming off a league-wide bye.
The Swans have been the league’s big improvers this season, while NYU continues to front up admirably.
A late goal provided a highlight for the travelling Combine, who will now turn some of their attention to the Battle of Britain Cup.
Falcons are facing a similar prospect, and the reigning league champions are resigned to the fact they will more than likely finish third on the league table.
Scores were not published online from the Traralgon City versus East Gippsland game at Harold Preston.
East Gippsland remains a close watch for the last three rounds, with some suggestion the Bairnsdale-based side is more than capable of splitting points with Olympians in the penultimate round, which would all but guarantee Moe the title.
