Altona Magic was eager to be promoted to the NPL and it deserved to be elevated to the realm of the state’s elite teams campaign after taking out the state league 1 title.
But the Magic will be denied an immediate opportunity as the FFV waits another 12 months for a promotion-relegation system to kick in.
The Magic is shattered at missing out on the chance of promotion, despite being the runaway champion of the north-west conference of state league 1 and then becoming the overall state league 1 winner in a 1-0 playoff final win over Mornington.
Magic president Igor Georgievski concedes his club only has itself to blame for not applying for an original NPL licence.
“It’s our own fault why we’re not there because we should’ve applied for it at the time,” he said. “We didn’t do it and now we’re really dominating state league and even NPL1, I reckon we would’ve done well there, too.
“Nowhere in the world does this happen. Every club that ends up first gets automatically promoted unless it’s the top tier.
“This is the only place where a club gets rewarded with nothing.”
The Magic will not blame the FFV – quite the opposite.
Aside from the disappointment of not being promoted, Georgievski says the federation has bent over backwards to help his club.
“The FFV have been a great help to us,” he said. “They got teams to come and play finals series games at our ground.”
With a promotion-relegation system being implemented between the NPL and state league next season, the Magic will get a belated chance to step up in class.
It will not be easy for the Magic, with opposition clubs ready to re-load for that chance of promotion.
“It is a bit of a struggle to stick to it again over 22 weeks,” Georgievski said. “You have to do it, you have to stay positive and keep the boys positive so we can achieve what we achieved this year. It will be bigger and better things next year.”
Adamson Ajayi scored the winning goal for the Magic in the playoff final win over Mornington at Jack Edwards Reserve.
The win sparked wild celebrations in the Magic camp on the day it farewelled club legend Slave Bozinovski.
“It was emotional,” Georgievski said. “He’s an important part of the club. Guys that are club people like him want to be there until their last breath.”
Georgievski paid tribute to super coach Vlado Tortevski. Tortevski has won three titles for the Magic, including two in the highest league in the state.
“He’s magnificent,” Georgievski said. “His knowledge of the game as coach, knowing how to set up a team and putting the right people in the right positions has been crucial.”
