Melton Phoenix put in one of its most disappointing performances of the season on Saturday, losing 1-0 to Altona North in state league 4 west.
With both teams in the middle of the table, the win was important for their ambitions of reaching the top four.
But Phoenix struggled from the start and was never in the game at Duane Reserve.
Coach Theo Karapanagiotidis said it was a frustrating game to watch.
“It was probably one of the poorest games for the season,” he said.
“The ground was heavy and we didn’t get into the game. Everything we tried didn’t work and we couldn’t play our style of football.
“The guys couldn’t adjust to the conditions and didn’t play well because of it.”
Karapanagiotidis said the referee spoke to him about the possibility of postponing the game before it started.
“We should have taken the option to postpone it, but they [Altona North] had to play on it, too,” he said.
“It was one of those days when the conditions didn’t suit our better players.
“We tried to play nice football, which didn’t work in those conditions.”
He said the scoreline could have been a bigger margin in Altona North’s favour.
“If they’d taken their chances it could have been another one or two goals in their favour,” he said.
“Most of our better players were defenders and the goalkeeper.
“In the second half we went all-out all in attack, leaving the defence exposed. It’s a credit us them that Altona North scored only one goal. We struggled in the midfield and the forward half, which makes it hard to break down the opposition.”
The loss is the Phoenix’s sixth straight in away matches.
“We are trying different things and they aren’t working,” Karapanagiotidis said .
“We’ll look at doing something different ahead of this week’s game.”
Phoenix, in fourth position with six wins and five losses, meets 10-placed Sebastopol Vikings at St Georges Reserve this weekend.
