It’s always impressive when a manager has enough faith in a 16-year-old footballer to thrust them into the cut-throat environment of NPL Victoria for their senior debut.
But in the case of Pascoe Vale’s Matthew Conversano, who just 12 months ago was on crutches with a broken leg, this may be the feel good story of the year.
His goalscoring form in Pascoe Vale’s U20s, along with application on the training ground, saw Vitale Ferrante reward him with first-team action off the bench against Avondale FC and Werribee City in recent weeks.
However, it was a completely different story this time last year for the youngster, who seemingly took the “break a leg” idiom too literally when debuting for Hume City’s U20s, shattering his femur just above his knee.
“I really wanted to prove myself and repay the faith the coach [Matt McNamara] put in me as I was only 15 at the time,” Conversano said.
“Just before half time, a cross came in and it bobbled toward the keeper and I thought I could get there first, so I lunged at the ball and my leg was caught underneath the Knights keeper as he dived on top of it.
“I actually didn’t realise anything happened until I realised I couldn’t get up. I remember one of the opposition telling me to stay down but I was unsure why, it was only when I looked down and saw the outside of my right foot facing up that I realised I’ve done something very serious here.
“I can only assume my body went into shock as I didn’t feel any pain until about 5 minutes after the injury occurred.
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After immediately being transported to hospital, Conversano did have one lucky break – for lack of a better phrase – finding out there was no damage to his ligaments, which would have put him out of the game for much longer.
Nonetheless, it was a tough road to recovery for the then 15-year-old, who had to once again work his way up through the different age groups back to the U20s, before making the switch to Pascoe Vale in the off-season.
“After the initial disappointment of realising I was probably going to be out for the season, I was told by the surgeon that I was lucky, in a way, as no ligaments were affected at all, which is what i was really worried about – it was only a matter of waiting for the bone to heal,” he said.
“And so after breaking what I was told was the strongest bone in the body, I was back to training with the U16s within four months of the injury.
“I was nowhere near match fit at that stage for any age group, but my goal was to get back to playing at an U20s level, and I believed the best way to do that was to regain my touch and my confidence in training without playing and slowly work towards my goal.
“My aim was to get back for at least one game at the back end of last season. That way I would have a good indication of how far I’ve come, and how far I still needed to go to get back to the level I was at before my injury.
“I had a run with the U16 team in their final round match against Gully and I did feel a little rusty, however scoring a brace in that game helped to boost my confidence a great deal.
“But it was during pre-season with the U20s at Pascoe Vale I felt I really got back into my football and wasn’t feeling nervous or rusty at all, I spent the better part of five months training, with no match day, to make sure I was fully ready when I went back.”
Conversano had made such an impression at Hosken Street in his first few months at the club that the Pascoe Vale backroom staff fast-tracked him into the senior team, with head coach Vitale Ferrante picking him in the first-team squad to face Avondale FC in a midweek Round 3 catch-up fixture.
The striker, who admits he would have been happy to bide his time for a senior opportunity, was shocked to hear his name called out for selection.
He made his debut off the bench in a 1-0 defeat, but justified the continued faith in him by being involved in the lead-up to Joseph Youssef’s winner against Werribee City in his second consecutive appearance.
GOAL!!!! Conversano sets the ball to Youseff who fires home. 1-0 to @pvsc_official #PS4NPLVIC #WCvPV C’mon Paco!
— Pascoe Vale SC (@pvsc_official) April 12, 2015
“I had a few training sessions with the seniors here and there, but I had no idea I was so close to a senior berth – I thought I’d have to wait another season or two,” he said.
“I was stoked when Vitale pointed at me and selected me in the squad for the Avondale match, to the point where the thought that he might’ve made a mistake even crossed my mind. It was only after I was congratulated by the boys that it really sunk in.
“Last year to get the opportunity to play U20s whilst 15 I was delighted, but now at 16 to have experienced NPL seniors is unbelievable.
“My debut against Avondale was somewhat unexpected, I didn’t expect to get a run but was stoked when I came on for the last 15 minutes. To get 30 minutes against Werribee was great, it’s simply made me want to work harder and harder to keep myself in this environment.
“I think people underestimate the difference in speed between reserves and senior football and right now it’s about adapting to that as quick as I can.”
The natural goal poacher attributed his rapid rise to the top of Victorian football in such a short time to the high work ethic instilled in him by his current and previous mentors, and has no intention to take a backwards step any time soon.
“I like to think my best traits are that I’m clinical around the box, I try and get into areas where I feel the ball is going to end up and make sure I finish when the opportunity arises. I also like to think my work rate doesn’t go unnoticed, that’s something that’s helped me immensely as a junior,” he said.
“As a kid I modelled my game on Filippo Inzaghi. He was never the most technically gifted player but he had an incredible instinct for goal – if I can be a fraction of the player he is I’ll be a happy man.
“Work rate is something I’ve learned a lot about throughout my footballing education and I’ve been extremely fortunate to have junior mentors Lachlan Armstrong, Riccardo Marchioli and Matthew McNamara instil in me the importance of work rate in taking the next step in football.
“Now having been given a senior opportunity, Vitale Ferrante is certainly proving them right, getting me to work as hard as possible whenever I come on.
“Having only played under him for 2 weeks, my first impression is that Vitale is the kind of manager who his very well respected by his players and staff, I like the brand of football he implements at the club and I hope to be part of his plans in the future.
Photo: Skip Fulton/ NPL Vic Football