The Flight of the Bald Eagle

This round saw La Trobe playing top of the ladder Altona at home. This was a crucial game and a win was needed to keep in the race of winning back to back flags. The injury list still remained the key talking point around the club. With Slater and Boz both back (although still carrying injury) it meant La Trobe at least had a bench to work with. The guys got off to a great start with goal scoring supreme Ronaldo and the Gabmeister with early goals. With Ronaldo set to head off during the off-season to sunny Spain, he has been keen to get the top goal scorers award over and done with early in the season.

However, this was about as good as it got with the Bald Eagles. The opposition whinged and whined their way through the game and sucked the ref into every decision they could. The boys have had a shocking run this season with the refs. Many seasons ago La Trobe would have to specifically request a ref for game (where the opposition was notorious for causing trouble). Now it seems like it they are better off without them for these games, as a biased spectator could do no worse. Throw in an opposition linesman who can’t flag offside because it is not his job but somehow can make it his job to wave down the referee when one of his players gets as good as he is given. Unfortunately, this was the case in the second half when the Flying Dutchman (FD) tussled with a forward as Altona started their comeback. With eerily similarities to the AFL’s Barry Hall, the FD just can’t seem to take a trick. They just don’t breed soccer players like they used to, back in the days when he carved studs out of the bottom of his clogs. A simple inflating of the chest is all it takes for the FD to knock a player over. Of course, it doesn’t help when they are a good 12” shorter than him. However, his second yellow card meant the Bald eagles were a player down and would struggle from there on. The ref never saw the incident but took it on good advice from the opposition – who needs a more unbiased and reliable witness than that.

The most disappointing aspect of the game was that La Trobe got sucked into playing the Altona way when their own game would beat them on any given day. Something to learn on the return leg we all hope. The highlight of the second half came when the team had just gone 5:3 down. Ronaldo, out of pure angst, had a wild shot from just over the half way line. The slight deflection saw it clear the goalkeepers head to make it 4:5. Two goals to both him and the Gabmeister were good to see but unfortunately, time ran out for them in the end.