Under-manned Myrtleford dig deep to win 2-1 away to Albury City

The Savoys, already ravaged by injuries and suspensions, were further handicapped when Nathan Mirt pulled up with a calf problem during the warm-up.

But goals from Nagus Henry and Connor Caponecchia earned the visitors a 2-1 win which was no more than they deserved.

After suffering heavy defeats to Albury United and Wangaratta in their previous two outings, Myrtleford proved here they remain one of the teams to beat in 2021.

"The character of the boys showed out in that game," Savoys co-coach Rob Caponecchia said. "To come here to Albury City with an under-manned team, and to come away with a 2-1 win, I couldn't have asked for more.

"We had to reshuffle everything today to cover certain positions and what the players did was unbelievable. It was a real good team effort and hopefully this will make them bond a little bit more.

"Albury City beat Albury United 6-5 not long ago, so we thought there were going to be some goals in it for them but our makeshift backline did really well."

Fletcher Caponecchia and Jack Milford, back in the Myrtleford side after returning from their studies in the US, both looked sharp as the visitors made the early running.

The best move of the match led to the opener on 14 minutes. The visitors strung at least 20 passes together before working the ball wide to Vincenzo Paglia, whose driven cross was forced home by Henry.

It was 1-1 midway through the first half, however, Patrick Brown netting his 12th league goal of the season from the penalty spot after Seb Berkhout's shot was blocked by an arm.

Brown hit the base of the post after Nathan Gleeson had parried a Paris Maw shot but Myrtleford retook the lead four minutes before half-time.

It was another handball which led to the goal, Connor Caponecchia blasting a free-kick from inside the D straight through the City wall and past Lachlan James.

The second half was a war of attrition, as conditions worsened, with a tiring Myrtleford digging deep to thwart a City side short on ideas.

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"We were a bit flat," admitted coach Ricky Piltz. "Myrtleford were pretty good but I think we defeated ourselves.

"We didn't go out there with a set game plan and we had a lot of unforced errors, which gave Myrtleford their opportunities.

"That's our season right there. We play some massive games against Wangaratta and United but we didn't bring the same performance today."

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