South Melbourne Women’s coach Bill Mihaloudis knew his side were in for a tough midfield battle against premiers Sandringham SC in Monday’s WPL match.
The brisk night at Kingston Heath saw the two heavyweights play out a tight scoreless draw, with both sides strong in the build up whilst lacking that final ball.
Mihaloudis was prepared for the close fought contest in the middle of the park, declaring the result in the end even.
“It was always going to be a battle of the midfield, we knew that right from the beginning before kick-off,” he said.
“We always knew it was going to be whichever midfield sticks out is the one that’s going to win. Today they both stood out quite well.
“We both had some good opportunities to score – so yeah I’d walk away saying that it was quite an even contest.”
Focusing on his girl’s performance, the coach was pleased with the standard of football on the park as a result of their impressive passing display.
“Look I thought it was two top teams right at it. I thought it was quite entertaining to watch on the sidelines,” Mihaloudis said.
“I was just saying that to the girls. I thought the standard was quite high. Both teams never backed off and they are what they are.
“I was very happy with the way we moved the ball, we had a lot of possession, we could’ve scored, just like they could’ve as well.
“But yeah overall I’m happy with the way we’re moving the ball around at this time of the year.”
He then reserved further praise for the back four, who played out of their skin to curtail the attacking threat that Sandringham posed.
“Totally, the defenders were all just brilliant, Lauren Farrugia was fantastic, Nat Brajanovski and Alex Cheal and Demi Mihaloudis were all just brilliant,” the coach said.
“All four of them just stood up to their attack and it was excellent but the midfield worked tirelessly as well – it was the engine room and it was just fantastic to watch.”