TOLLAND suggested it will be one of the big improvers of the Pascoe Cup season with a 2-0 win over Lake Albert on Sunday.
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The Wolves' start to the season was delayed a week after their game against Albury City FC was abandoned last week due to coronavirus.
They showed no signs of rust as two first half goals was enough to hand them victory over last season's grand finalists.
Jaiden Watson got a faint touch on a Matthew Kleine free kick to give Tolland a 1-0 lead after eight minutes, before a brilliant Nick Tspiras strike from 30 yards out sent the Wolves 2-0 up just before half-time.
Lake Albert did find the back of the net shortly beforehand, through Liam Bryder but the goal was disallowed after he was ruled offside.
Both teams had their chances in the second half as Lake Albert pushed numbers forward but neither team was able to add to the 2-0 scoreline.
First-year Tolland coach Joel Irlam was delighted with the performance.
"I'm really happy with the effort and the attitude," Irlam said.
"They played exactly how I asked them to, plenty of patience, they just knocked the ball around. We knew Lake Albert would come out and really play hard and play strong. They deserved to be last season's grand finallists, Lake Albert, but (our players) knew what they had to do and they did it."
Tolland made sure it flew under the radar in the lead up to the new season but Irlam had no hesitation in revealing their aspirations after the round two win.
"I've said all along in the pre-season, we want to play finals football, we want to be in the top four," he said.
"I've been careful not to talk anyone up too much in this team but there's quality across our team, all the way from one to 11. I knew that, we knew that all along, we just wanted to graft away and play week by week but there's no reason why this team can't play finals football."
He believes the win over Lake Albert reinforces what they already knew.
"It gives us a lot of confidence," he said.
"We would much rather walk off the park with a win then try and encourage or tell ourselves we had a good game. When you come off after a win like that, your tails up and you go into next week with even more enthusiasm now."
Watson was lively throughout for Tolland, while Mitch Henman in defence and Callum Barber and Tspiras also played well in the win.
Lake Albert lost Bryder to a second yellow card late in the contest, after a heated exchange between the two teams.
Moses Redamwang and Justin Curran tried hard throughout for Lake Albert.
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