“Crofty is a warrior, she’s got a big heart,” Casey Comets coach Ian Williamson’s gushing words of praise for his captain would probably have left her ears burning had she been around to hear it on Sunday night.
“She’s a fearless leader, she plays to her strengths and she has an unbelievable respect for the club.”
As FC Bulleen Lions welcomed the visitors to the Veneto Club for their cup tie, they would have taken note of the blonde defender at the heart of Casey’s defence. Laura Croft is hard to miss, especially with the bright yellow captain’s armband strapped on.
But if there was any hesitation on the home team’s side, they certainly weren’t showing it as they lined up with a similar looking back four, with their own defensive leader Emily Coppock marshalling the defence from the middle.
While the two key defenders don’t seem too dissimilar at first glance and play in almost identical positions for their teams, each offers a different set of skills. Croft lacks pace, but makes up for it with fantastic defensive positioning and almost absolute air superiority when going for headers. Coppock is much more mobile, smartly moving into any defensive gaps along the back line and choosing to play her way out along the ground instead of hoofing it long.
It was going to be an interesting personal battle in this cup tie, and an ideal match up for our first Showdown piece of the season. You had the feeling that the result would hinge on their performances this evening, and so it proved in the end, though not exactly as we would have imagined.
The game kicked off at a furious pace, with Bulleen pinning Casey in their defensive half for large parts of the opening 45 minutes. Croft appeared reluctant to stray too much from her sweeper role, and for once her tackles weren’t sticking as Casey struggled to play out from the back.
Coppock on the other hand seemed to be relishing a much more involved role in her team’s machinations, even moving straying infield at times to help link defence to attack. The goal, when it did come for the hosts was well-deserved and it was an uncharacteristic error from the Casey captain that gave Bulleen the chance.
As Lions captain Emily Dolzan waltzed down the left flank, Croft came out to meet her and made a fatal error as she misjudged a tackle and slipped. Quick as a flash, Dolzan danced past her and into the box, opening up her body before curling a delicious shot into the far corner from an acute angle.
It appeared to all be going Coppock and Bulleen’s way as the first half drew to a close, while Croft’s wretched evening summed up by her first successful tackle on 40 minutes, having missed five of them previously.
The second half was a completely different story though, as Casey came roaring out of the blocks following the restart. Here, we saw a complete role reversal as Croft started to gain a foothold in the game, making timely interceptions and winning every header that came her way.
Bulleen were the ones defending for all they were worth now apart from the occasional foray forward, and Coppock seemed to have run out of legs after an all-action first half. The breakthrough came from the irrepressible Alexandra Gummer as she smashed through the lines and conjured up a fine equaliser.
Players were starting to come off the interchange bench, as both coaches attempted to find they key to the tight contest unfolding before our eyes. Such was their importance though, that both Croft and Coppock went the distance, staying on the field for the entire 120 minutes as the game went into extra time and then penalties.
But how much exactly did the two defenders contribute to their team’s performance? Croft seems to edge it on almost every component, registering more headers, passes, interceptions and clearances, as well as edging the completion and success rate across the board. Most of this can be attributed to her blistering second half performance, as Coppock faded slightly.
The stats only tell half the story though, as we now put forward what might be a controversial conclusion: While Croft did more on the pitch, her errors on the night were significant, while Coppock’s key contributions were vital.
Hark back to Bulleen’s opener, as Croft’s missed tackle led directly to the goal. Another defensive error almost handed the game to the hosts on the stroke of regulation time, as a weak header out of the box was pounced on by a lurking Jessica Tay. Casey goalkeeper Kelly Soles could only watch on helplessly as the Bulleen midfielder drilled a shot just wide of the left post.
On the other hand, Coppock hardly put a foot wrong and was very influential when she stepped up. Her never-say-die attitude was apparent in the first half as a 42nd minute attack by Casey almost saw them grab an equaliser. The dangerous Brittany Dudley-Smith managed to bulldoze her way into the box, but Coppock stayed tight despite being on the wrong side of the striker, wrestling her to the ground before coming away cleanly with the ball. The referee had a good view of the incident and waved play on after seeing nothing untoward.
There was more to come in extra time though, as Bulleen tried to repel a strong-finishing Comets side. The excellent Gummer thought she’d won it as she slid past two defenders and let loose with a firecracker of a shot, but Coppock seemed to pop out of nowhere at the vital moment and made a brave block. Gummer was so surprised that she stayed on the ground long after the defender had motored away with the ball.
“Em’s tremendous, she kept one of the most dangerous strikers in the division completely quiet,” Bulleen coach Adrian Drury couldn’t hide his admiration after the game.
“There was that chance where she dribbled past a couple of our players but not Coppock. She’s outstanding, she’s just growing and growing and growing.”
Casey might have won this contest on penalties, but the battle of the central defenders would have been edged by some smart defending from Emma Coppock. As they say, sometimes less is more.