Bentleigh Greens temporary coach John Gabrielson believes his side has what it takes to trouble South Melbourne when they meet later tonight but admits a lot rests on the shoulders of the younger brigade who’ll take to the field for the home side.
Bentleigh currently sit in fourth place after a 2-2 draw with cellar-dwellers Goulburn Valley and will have to pull out all the stops to overcome a South Melbourne side that has only lost once all season.
“South Melbourne [is] a top side, the best side in the league by far,” said Gabrielson.
“They’ve led the table all year, they’re the benchmark and it’ll be a good test for us to see what we can do.
“It’ll be a good test for some of our young boys again, they’ll have to back up so see where they fit in to the whole league and what they need to do to achieve first team status.”
The Greens were missing captain Wayne Wallace through suspension and the coach revealed that they contended against the Suns with three or four injuries, fielding a side with a number of youngsters.
They’ll be hoping their youngsters are able to rise to the challenge of causing an upset, with Gabrielson assuring that his team won’t be daunted by the task of facing the league leaders.
“We’ll put out the best side we possibly can and see what we can get out of it – I think mentally they’ll be okay,” he said.
“The young boys will play with no fear so I don’t think they’ll be concerned about that, it’s just a matter of how well we back up.
“Physically it’s been pretty tough over the last couple of weeks so it’s just a matter of how well we back up rather than the mental side of the game.”
Bentleigh welcome South Melbourne to Kingston Heath Soccer Complex tonight with kick-off scheduled for 8:30pm.