A powerful first half performance has seen Lake Albert skip clear at the top of the Football Wagga ladder.
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The Sharks proved way too good for Tolland, scoring a 6-2 win at Rawlings Park on Saturday.
Neither team had lost coming into the clash but Lake Albert flew out of the blocks to lead 4-0 at half-time.
Coach Mitch Tinnock was thrilled with how his team started.
“We blew them away in the first half really,” Tinnock said.
“We came out of the blokes so well, were passing it around really well, our movement was good, we moved the ball quickly and out shooting was really on point.”
Henri Gardner scored a brace in the first half while his brother Fred Gardner and Matt Hof also scored.
Tolland were improved in the second half and scored twice through Jaiden O’Brien but couldn’t recover from their slow start.
Tolland coach Dan Lawrence was disappointed with their first loss of the season.
“The first 10 minutes we matched it with them, but for the next 30 minutes we probably allowed their dangerous players way too much time and space on the ball,” Lawrence said.
“They’ve got a couple of quick players and found their way in between us a few times and scored some cheap goals. That was pretty disappointing.”
Lawrence, who is out for the remaining on the season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, was pleased with how his team responded in the second half.
He believes it will be something to build on moving forward.
Tinnock was expecting a big challenge from the Wolves, but thought his team was really up for the contest.
He was impressed with how the defence, led by Blake Smith and Steven Edwards, nullified Tolland’s usually quick play on the edges, especially in the first half.
However just how switched on the team was is what impressed Tinnock the most.
“We were winning every contest and every time there was a 50-50 we were winning the ball,” he said.
“They way we were passing it around it was really beautiful to watch through the midfield.”
Tolland had the better of the second half before Fred Gardner’s second and a strike from Duncan Brodie levelled things up in the second stanza.
It will be back to the drawing board for Tolland ahead of their clash with Tumut while Lake Albert are looking to keep their good run going against Young.
