By Tara Murray
Melton Phoenix isn’t taking any side lightly in the back part of the FV state league 4 west season.
The Phoenix are among the contenders as the half way point of the season approaches, but there’s not much between the whole competition.
Coach Vince Massara said they were looking OK.
“Obviously, there was a stretch of three losses in a row last month that really wasn’t ideal, but losses happen in a good league,” he said.
“There’s a lot of good teams in the league this season, and everyone has dropped points.
“We didn’t play terribly in each of those games, but sometimes you don’t get points when you play well.
“It’s hard to judge performances when it’s results that ultimately matter in a tight league, but that’s what you’ve got to do. There’s also some great players coming up through the reserves, which the coaching team have done a great job with, so that’s on track too.”
Massara said he thinks it’s easy to get caught up with where the side is sitting on the ladder but considering everything was happy with where they are at.
He said injuries had played their part.
“We had a few injuries at key moments for starters, so not mentioning that would be an oversight – I always say injury luck isn’t if you get injuries, but when you get them.
“We played Balmoral, Barnstoneworth, and Bell Park while we were undermanned and they’re all quality sides.
“But it’s not just who is-isn’t available, the players have worked really hard on the track to get the ship back facing the right direction.
“Now, it’s all about us playing as well as we can, and getting as many points as possible; and we can see where that takes us.”
The Phoenix continued on its winning way on Saturday, beating Deakin University, 2-1.
Kristian Grillo scored both goals in the first half for the Phoenix.
The Phoenix sit third on the ladder, just two points off top.
The Phoenix now face West Point before a break.
Massara said it would be a challenge in the run home.
“With the league reshuffle, every team will have something big to play for in the second half of the season,” he said.
“That doesn’t always happen in SL4 when it’s usually one team going up, and two going down. “That means every game is going to be really tough. We are also away from home a fair bit on the back end of the season, with a few back-to-back road games. The plan is to focus on us, continue to improve, and see where that takes us.”
Meanwhile in the Victorian Premier League 1 competition, Caroline Springs George Cross had a 4-0 win against the Bulleen Lions.
The Georiges are now up to third on the ladder.
