South Springvale coach Bill Lambropoulos had mixed emotions after his side’s 1-0 loss to Melbourne Knights in the Dockerty Cup final, proud of his side’s effort to reach the final against the odds, but still heartbroken to be pipped at the post.
Fighting valiantly for 120 minutes only to see the winner fall the way of the Knights just a minute before the final whistle, the Aris’ mentor admitted that despite their underdog tag, the loss was still a bitter pill to swallow.
“It’s gut wrenching because it was in the dying death with seconds to go,” Lambropoulos said.
“It’s gut wrenching for players like Ari Drakos and Ricky Diaco who have now played in three cup finals and not won.
“I’ve got nothing but praise for the lads, they’re part timers, they come twice a week and have a bit of a kick.
“Just for them to reach this stage – I’ve got nothing but praise for them.
Lambropoulos admitted that the approach to the game was the same as most of their encounters against bigger clubs throughout the Dockerty and FFA Cups – to fight to the end and make the most of opportunities presented to them.
“Our game plan went as per what we expected. We were going to grind out a result today,” he said.
“Then again who was to know if penalties was going to be our day. It has been the last two extended finals.
“One team was going to be a loser tonight and that was us. We were underdogs, people can say it was a fair result for us, but to be so close – it’s shattering.
Despite falling just short of the win, the South Springvale coach believed the positives far outweighed the negatives, with this season’s achievements being the club’s biggest in decades, and the publicity helping increase interest in the players from bigger clubs and driving junior applications.
“This is definitely a massive moment. 20 years ago they won a trophy in the state league cup. It [Dockerty Cup] would have been a beautiful trophy to have earned, but it wasn’t meant to be,” he said.
“We’re still in the 16 of the FFA Cup, we’re going to take it as seriously as we took this.
“I’ve already had calls for three of four of the boys in the squad, you can’t hold them back from playing. This is what its all about, getting them identified.
“We’ve been getting calls consistently with juniors for next year, I keep saying this is what its about, the next young kid that wants to play for a soccer club thinks of us first.”