Season stretched

March 18 2008

Shepparton News

Facing a team shortage crisis, North Eastern Soccer League has introduced a three-meeting season set to kick off on April 6.

Clubs will now play on a 21-round model with the six-team men's division one competition the main motivation for extending the season.

NSW teams Hanwood and Yoogali withdrawing from the league in the space of eight days last month left the league needing to urgently overhaul its playing schedule.

Staying on the two-meeting format would have left senior clubs with as few as one game a month in what would have been a bye-riddled season.

A league delegates' meeting two weeks ago urged the league to adopt a three-meeting format and approved a draft proposal last week.

While men's senior clubs will play 15 home and away games, second division, women and some junior grades will play 21 games.

League secretary Sam Saracino said it would put the onus on clubs to build numbers and bridge the gap between Shepparton's booming school-based juniors and club soccer.

``The feedback we got from all the clubs has been positive,'' Saracino said.

``We knew the division one clubs didn't want to only have 10 games a season, so we worked on a few proposals and this was the best one.''

Compressing the finals series into three weeks has also averted the possibility of mid-week night matches for senior men.

The longest any team will go without a senior match this season will be three weeks, the result of Shepparton United, Shepparton, Cobram Victory and Tatura having a bye either before or after the girls' countrychampionships in early June.

Shepparton United and Shepparton East Football Club will never use Central Park on the same weekend, while Shepparton and Rumbalara Football Club will only play at Mercury Dve on the same weekend once.