ON THE CHASE: YSC's James Taylor gives Shepparton South a run for their money on Saturday night. Picture: Anthony Stipo.
YOOGALI Soccer Club has sounded a warning to the rest of the Regional Premier League after claiming a clinical 2-0 victory over competition heavyweights Shepparton South on Saturday night.
After a shaky start to their RPL season, YSC has left no doubt of their potential with the dominant performance making the local outfit the first Griffith team to claim a win over a Shepparton side.
YSC coach Ryan Spencer said no one deserved the hard-fought win more than his squad and it had given the men in blue and yellow a much-needed confidence boost.
"You can't wipe the smile off my face," he said.
"It was a big win to beat a team from Shepparton and to beat the top team.
"It's got the monkey off our backs."
Shepparton South looked to be in their usual classy form when they stepped out on to the paddock on Saturday night, while YSC were struggling to get off the bench.
But Yoogali soon woke up and began to give the top side a run for their money.
“They had the first 20 minutes of the game,” Spencer said.
“But after the first 20 it evened out, and we pressured them high up the pitch and got the rewards.
“The guys started having a bit of belief and from there we matched them and fully deserved the win.”
Despite both sides having opportunities in front of the goal, neither were able to convert their chances and
the game went to the break nil-all.
“We spoke to the boys and just told them to keep going,” Spencer said.
“We worked really hard all week at training and they were playing to a structure and we actually stuck to the game plan for the whole 90 minutes and not one guy let us down.”
Seeing their opportunity to take control of the contest, YSC came out of the blocks firing and it wasn’t long before Mitch Bagiante found the back of the net following some excellent lead-up work.
“The whole team contributed to both goals, which was really pleasing,” Spencer said.
Their second goal came not long after with good work around the goal allowing Bagiante to again slot one home, taking their lead to 2-0.
While Shepparton continued to look for their first goal, YSC shut them out and denied them the chance to close the gap.
“It was a pure team effort, defensively we worked as a team and backed each other up,” Spencer said.
“Everyone put in 110 per cent from the first minute to the 90th minute.
“In the second half we really matched them and even bettered them.”
Luck continued to run against Shepparton and one of their players taken off with a sickening break to his arm while another was sent off after a dangerous tackle.
“Getting the three points was massive but keeping a clean sheet was also massive,” Spencer said.
“The boys just kept going and I couldn’t single out a better player from the team, they all put in a huge effort.”
Yoogali Soccer Club 2
Shepparton South 0
