Although no goals were scored, it was exciting game of football with both teams going agonisingly close to scoring what would have been the decisive goal.

 The Young Lions quickly settled into a rhythm early and were able to maintain possession while also looking dangerous in attack. Both Duncan Cameron and Storm Anderson were a constant threat, beating their defenders regularly.

 Young then had two excellent chances towards the end of the first half. Nathan Hislop was unable to get the finishing touch with his desperate lunge after a well-constructed move down the right flank. 

Shortly afterwards Caylum Barber had his powerful strike tipped onto the post by the Tolland goalkeeper after being left with too much time outside the penalty area.

The second half was a more even affair, with both teams pushing forward in search for a winning goal. 

With 10 minutes remaining, Tolland had their best chance of the match. Their left winger managed to beat two Young defenders before crossing to an unmarked man who put the ball over the crossbar from the top of the six yard box.

 Coach Mark Mellish was happy with the performance, although he felt that it was a case of two points dropped against the Wagga side. 

“It was one of better games we’d played all season, but we just weren’t clinical enough in the final third,” Mellish said.

 “A draw is probably a fair result considering the limited number of chances, but we really should have been able to convert some of the good buildup play into goals.”

Mellish conceded Young will miss winger Dmytro Sytin who was injured a week earlier. It is highly unlikely that Sytin will return to the field this season after being diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

 Young Lions 0 drew with Tolland FC 0.

YOUNG currently sits equal first with Junee on the Madden Shield ladder following a 6-nil victory against Wagga United on the weekend.

Despite being slow off the mark the Lions held out a determined Wagga United side in the early stages of the match at Alfred Oval on Sunday.

Coach Brett Humphreys said Wagga were unlucky in not scoring against his side who were “sluggish” early in the game - a common trend lately.

“Lucky our defence held through and our goalkeeper Katie Trompp made some good saves in goal,” he said.

Young’s Micaela Hall was first to find the back of the net, scoring just outside the 18 yard box.

“Once we scored that goal it freed us up a little bit and we played a bit more fluent and got our passes together, allowing us to get a couple more goals,” Humphreys said.

Ellie Hawkey scored two goals within 10 minutes to make it 3-nil at half time.

Humphreys reshuffled the team’s configuration after half-time which allowed the girls to focus on moving the ball up the field, as opposed to the kick and chase method adopted in first half.

“Once we got that sorted out we got aggressive and we went for some more goals and ended up getting a fast three,” Humphreys said.

“Jemma Long got hers in a goal mouth scramble, Cass Edwards made a quality finish within the 18 yard box among a lot of traffic to the bottom left corner, and Ellie completed her hat trick with a consolation goal at the end.”

Young eventually won the match 6-nil, with plenty of room for improvement, according to Humphreys.

“When we meet some of the tougher teams we aren’t going to get away with the sloppy passing we were doing,” he said.

“I feel like we’ve earned our spot at the top of the table - we’ve been playing consistant soccer. 

“With Patty Dawe playing the way she is [in defence] - the team only conceeding two goals since she’s played - she’s really leading as a captain and making it very difficult for other teams to get on top.

Young look to get in some good training sessions before taking on Tolland on June 14.