LAST week, Williamstown CYMS coach Mathew Montebello hailed his side’s best win of the year in the Victorian Amateur Football Association division 1. It came seven days after the team’s second-worst loss of the season, invoking the cliche: ‘A week is a long time in football’.
So we have now seen the best and the worst of what a full-strength CYs has to offer.
They went from the intoxicating heights of becoming the first team to bring down the mighty Hampton Rovers to a reality-checking 20-point loss to lowly Old Geelong on the road at Como Park on Saturday.
Montebello found it hard to pin- point the reasons for the up and down nature of his side’s form.
“There’s no explanation, no players missing; it’s as simple as that,” he said.
“Maybe we’re not quite where we want to be, maybe we’ve been playing above ourselves.
“It’s been a big improvement from last year and we still have high expectations, but maybe there’s going to be growing pains along the way.”
What is certain is that when in top form, CYs are capable of inflicting damage on the best sides in the competition.
At the worst, they are susceptible to shock losses and heavy defeats. Montebello admits his side was not prepared to do the hard yards against Old Geelong.
“Mentally, we weren’t prepared to work hard,” he said.
“We put in a stinker of a performance and got beaten by a team that’s probably below us skill- wise, but just went out there and had a crack. We just thought it would happen for us.”
While it was a bleak afternoon for CYs, the stars of two young midfielders are shining brighter after it. Tim Murphy and Nic Holdsworth tried to carry the team over the line with their unwavering desire and enthusiasm.
“It’s funny how in these sorts of games it’s your two youngest players who stand up and give you the greatest effort,” Montebello said.
Josh Vanderloo booted five goals.
The CYs dropped to third on the ladder and can ill afford a slip up in the last four games.
“I sent a text message to the boys basically saying four wins equals finals, three wins and we’re going to have to depend on some other results, and two wins you can forget about it,” Montebello said.
