Footscray dropped the game it could ill afford to lose on the weekend.
The Bulldogs were sucked to second bottom after a 4-2 loss to Southern United at McIvor Reserve in a performance dubbed “terrible” by coach Josh Burt.
Facing matches against premiership contenders Hawthorn and Camberwell in the next fortnight, the Dogs are in danger of getting bogged down in the Hockey Victoria men’s premier league relegation zone.
“The problem with young teams like ours is they lack consistency,” Burt said. “We play some really good hockey for 10 or 15 minutes, and then we go through 10 to 15-minute patches where nothing goes right for us.”
Footscray had more than its fair share of chances in a dominant second half. At 2-2, the Bulldogs were constantly on the attack, but misfired when it counted. Southern United needed only a five-minute window to put two goals on the board and steal the points.
“We had about 15 circle penetrations to their five and, sadly, we missed three or four open nets,” Burt said.
“Being young heads, they get a bit nervous and panic, and they commit unforced turnovers, which cost us in the end.”
Footscray is young and inexperienced, but oozing with talent. They lack a steadying influence, particularly in defense, since the departure of Andrew Monte last season.
“If we could get some maturity into the backline,” Burt pondered. “One’s 16, one’s 19, one’s 20, and the other one is 21 – they’re all just young heads.
“As soon as we get a bit of maturity into them, they’ll be alright.”
There are no plans for Footscray to alter course, though.
But the Bulldogs may have to sacrifice a run at this season’s finals to get hard minutes onto the legs of their talented youngsters.
Burt is a little downcast about the loss to Southern and admits his side will have its back against the wall for the next two weeks.
But he is excited by what the future holds.
“Someone asked me today, do we want to get someone in?” he said.
“No club likes to be sitting near the bottom and in the unfavourable position that we’re in, but we need to trust the group we’ve got.
“They’re a good bunch of kids with fantastic potential, and they are learning.
“They’re just not there yet, but they’re certainly coming and when they do, give it two or three seasons, our season like this one will be forgotten.”
Meanwhile, Altona lost ground in the finals contest after a 2-1 loss to Doncaster.
The A’s are down in eighth place with 10 points in nine games.
In women’s premier league, Footscray belted Southern United 7-0, with Lily Brazel leading the way with a hat-trick.
The Bulldogs are three points clear in second spot, but still trail undefeated ladder-leader Greensborough by five points.
Altona was upset 3-1 by Doncaster in a blow for the fifth-placed side.
