Daniel Lawrence would have plenty of reasons to kick up a stink after his side’s dismal showing last weekend but the Tolland coach has already turned a new leaf ahead of Sunday’s elimination final.
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The Wolves trailed 2-0 at half time in their last regular season outing against Henwood Park before capitulating in the second term, conceding four more goals in a performance that left coaches and spectators utterly bemused.
Lawrence has since expressed disappointment in the 6-0 loss and says it’s a timely reminder for his side to be on their game at all times.
“Yeah, it was definitely a bit of a wake-up call for us and it wasn’t a great game,” Lawrence said.
“We were just a bit slow out there and we didn’t take the game as well as we could have.
“Henwood Park obviously came out firing and were up for it and it showed.
Goalkeeper Riley Portors was handed a baptism of fire in his return from a lengthy injury layoff as six goals shot past him but Lawrence was quick to defend his gloveman’s efforts.
“It was a tough game for him to come back for and I don’t think many of the goals would have been on him, if any.”
“That’s probably more on the boys defending in front of him.”
The first-year coach is remaining upbeat about his side’s prospects against an in-form Wagga United this weekend and will welcome back regular starters Nick Young and Ramon Atayde for their must-win clash.
Key midfielder Nicholas Tsipiras remains unavailable through suspension but will return for the semi final round if Tolland survive Sunday’s showdown.
Meanwhile, United face an uphill battle after dual-registered players Tyler Allen and Prince Thompson were ruled to be ineligible for the Pascoe Cup finals.
The pair won’t feature in Travis Weir’s starting line up on Sunday but the coach is confident of filling their places.
“We’ve got Lincoln (Weir) coming back in for that sweeper role and Jack Schein will head up front for us on the weekend,” Weir said.
“Lincoln’s probably one of the best defenders in the competition and Jack’s been good all year, so I don’t think we’ll lose too much with them on the park.”
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