Bentleigh Greens may have fallen one match short of an unprecedented FFA Cup finals appearance, but coach John Anastasiadis couldn’t have been prouder of his side’s admirable run to the semi-finals
Despite going down 3-0 to a rampant current A-League leaders Perth Glory, the Greens put on a solid showing, with the final scoreline more lopsided than the general balance of play would suggest.
The coach was most impressed by his side’s willingness to battle it out to the final whistle.
“[Defeated but] certainly not deflated. Especially the second half I thought we gave a great account of ourselves today, the boys pushed Perth all the way, even though 2-0 down, we never really stopped and sat back and concede that we’ve been defeated,” Anastasiadis said.
“They kept at it, we had some great opportunities on goals, maybe the referee could’ve been a little bit lenient on a penalty decision if he wanted to, but I couldn’t be prouder of the boys, they gave it all they got.
“In the dressing room they were very tired, you could tell they were just spent, and that’s all you can ask for, really.”
In the wake of the FFA Cup and media attention that put the club on the national stage, the Greens’ mentor now hopes more players, sponsors and the general public follow to help further raise the profile of local leagues and strengthen the competition.
“I think it is the biggest thing that could’ve happened to the club, and hopefully the club will be better for it,” he said
“Hopefully a lot of people of people will come on board now and help out these clubs in the lower leagues, because without the support of those people you can’t really go far.
“If this FFA Cup is to become bigger and better, we’ve got to attract some good players too, and the lower leagues have to get better, and more professional to match it with the A-League clubs.
“I know there’s the romance involved but how good would it be with a club that’s not A-League to be able to make it at least to a final?”
And so it ends. We gave it a massive crack and they boys deservedly got their rewards, hopefully we see them in the @ALeague! #BGvPER
— Bentleigh Greens SC (@BentleighGreens) November 11, 2014
One of Bentleigh’s toughest hurdles to overcome was a lack of match fitness brought on by the Cup’s schedule into the state leagues’ off-season, but Anastasiadis believed the gap was closing between them and A-league clubs, with a suggestion the FFA re-think the Cup’s schedule to favour the A-League clubs less in the competition’s latter stages.
“10 years ago, about 100 metres off them [A-League clubs], but since that time clubs have been getting better, we’re not very far off them, and if were in full season and have a full squad [we’d be more competitive],” he said.
“Today we played with eight senior players and eight young kids, Perth had the luxury of putting on internationals, we don’t have that luxury at the moment.
“No doubt we’re getting very close to the A-League, which is a good thing because the A-League will benefit from that too, players will be able to go to the A-League ready to step into any team at any time.”