Olivia Ellis: “We finished strong and we can build on that”

After last Friday’s hard-fought NPL Women’s season opener, our captain Olivia Ellis shared some words following the fixture.

In a tough 2-1 defeat to Brunswick Juventus, the opposition came out firing. Brunswick looked eager to prove themselves in the club’s first-ever game in NPL Women’s.

Despite the defeat, Ellis was impressed with the Pythagoras’ overall performance and particularly the continued intensity throughout the match.

“It was a good hit-out, both teams were very competitive,” she said.

“Overall, it was an intense game and I saw lots of good things.

“I’m happy with the girls, we were unlucky to concede late.”

Eliis’ driven mindset and relentless attitude left her unsatisfied with the loss. She specifically pinpointed some of the ups and downs of the match tactically.

“We try to just focus on the positives, but also take what you can from the negatives,” she said.

“We finished strong and we can build on that. I saw lots of effort.”

“However, it was frustrating because we had a lot of chances and we could have put the game away early.

A late surge from Brunswick Juventus was a curveball that Pythagoras needed to deal with it. Beginning the season with a team of fresh faces offers the chance to regroup and assess the best plan of attack.

“In the last 15-20 minutes of the match we played very defensive.” Ellis said.

“With some long balls down the pitch and some more shots on goal, it would relieve some pressure going forward.

“It would’ve made a difference to relieve some of that pressure because it was relentless and our back four worked really hard to get it out.

“These are things to work on for next week.”

With a long and exciting season ahead, Ellis capped off her statement by touching on how the newly formed squad is progressing and planning to move forward.

“We have a whole new team pretty much and several new players,” she said.

“We’re still finding our feet and looking to come together as a team.

“Overall, we fought hard but unfortunately it didn’t go our way.

“We’ll come back next week to reset, refocus and get ready for the next game.”

With an exciting away fixture against Bentleigh Greens on the horizon, Ellis is ready to captain the squad to what will hopefully be their first of many wins for the 2024 season.

Written by William Kenyon