By: Daniel Cencic
Twitter: @DC_EFL
Bayswater and Mount Evelyn will renew acquaintances tonight, as the two clubs meet in a top-of-the-table clash in the Deakin University Eastern Region Women’s Competition.
Sitting first and second respectively, Mount Evelyn sits undefeated while Bayswater has only lost one match for the year – in the pair’s first bout earlier this season.
Bayswater coach Maurice Kouvaras believes the ‘Waters have improved out of sight since their Round 1 clash which saw Mount Evelyn prevail by 31 points.
“That was our first game together and my first coaching this team,” Kouvaras said.
“We’ve certainly learnt a lot since then and considering we’ve got about 10 girls who’ve never played before, the way they’ve come along in the last few weeks, they’ve just improved out of sight.
“Their spirit is amazing and they just want to improve and keep asking how to play better.
“We’ve been having a lot more talks and training’s been pretty intense.”
After a number of lean years for the Bayswater women’s, 2017 has been a breath of fresh air after seven-straight wins since Round 1.
“Considering Bayswater has only won a handful of games in the last three or four years altogether, to string seven in a row, they’re over the moon,” Kouvaras said.
“They’re very happy girls indeed.”
Zoe Alston has been a revelation for Bayswater this season, and Kouvaras couldn’t be happier with her performances to date, which has included bags of three and four goals against Knox and Heathmont respectively.
“Zoe’s a superstar,” Kouvaras said.
“She knows football and she’s just brilliant and she knows what to do in all situations.
“You can see the determination in her eyes – she brings other players into the game and she’s just a natural.”
Leesa McShane has also impressed for the ‘Waters this season, leading the goal-kicking to this point of the year with 20, including a bag of seven against Upper Ferntree Gully in Round 3.
McShane is expected to be on the Mount Evelyn radar in tonight’s clash.
“She (Leesa) knows how to get the ball and kick goals (and) she’s a very laid-back type,” Kouvaras said.
“But it’s a team effort – every line we have, everyone just puts in 100 per cent effort.
“They will make a contest every time, it’s so rewarding for me and I’m just so rapt for them.”
In what has been a taxing week leading up, Kouvaras has managed the training loads, with Bayswater having only a four-day break between matches.
“We played on Sunday and trained Monday and Thursday,” Kouvaras said.
“Monday had to be fairly light as there were a few sore bodies (and) last night was more about concentrating on little things in the game – pressure, tactics and man-on-man training.
“We kicked 9.20 last week so we had a bit of goal-kicking practice.”
Despite Mount Evelyn’s dominance this season, Kouvaras is encouraging his side to play on their terms in the top-of-the-table clash.
“They’ve got a fairly solid line-up and some good onballers who can kick a lot of goals as well (but) I don’t want to go in worrying about the opposition,” he said.
“I don’t want to go into a game negatively, I want to go in saying ‘this is the way we want to play and they have to stop us’.
“We’re going to go in with a positive attitude and not worry about tagging, nothing like that, just be accountable, push forward when we’ve got the ball and man-up when we haven’t.
“The girls are so excited.”
Mount Evelyn v Bayswater – 7.30pm tonight at Mount Evelyn Ground 1.
