Altona Magic appears to have turned its season around the last couple of weeks in the National Premier League.
After losing three matches in a row, the Magic has now won its last two and are putting pressure on the top six after 17 rounds of the season.
On Saturday, the Magic came away with a 3-1 win against Moreland City at Paisley Park
The Magic hit the front in the eighth minute with Jonas Markovski converting a penalty
The lead was made 2-0 in the 30th minute before Moreland City got one back in the 39th minute
Moreland went a man down just before half time after Michael Tzoutzidis received his second yellow card.
Markovski sealed the win in the 78th with his second goal of the game. Markovski now has 12 goals for the season, three more than anyone else in the competition.
Coach John Markovski said he was really happy with the performance.
“It was a good win,” he said. “The boys did really well to get the three points, that is what we came for.
“We’re playing some really good football.
Markovski said it always helps to get an early score on the board and while he was happy with being 2-0, they could have easily been 3-0 up the first half.
The Magic now sit seventh on the ladder with seven wins.
Markovski said the return for some experienced players had really helped them in recent weeks, while the side just continues to get better.
“We had 13-14 new players come into the squad,” he said. “The longer the season goes the better we will get.”
The win means the Magic are just one short of the total of wins it had for last season and just four points short of last season’s total.
This week is a massive game for the Magic against sixth placed Green Gully.
“We are in contention now,” he said.
“The rest is now up to us. We have Green Gully on Friday night and if we win we will jump on top of them.”
In NPL2, Western United had a 2-2 draw with the Preston Lions.
Scores were locked at 1-1 at half time after United equalised following an early goal from the Lions.
The Lions regained the lead in the 82nd, before an own goal levelled the scores again.
United sits third on the table.
In FV state league 1 north-west, Altona City had a 2-0 win against Banyule.
City scored once in either half on the way to the win.
City sits six points clear of Sydenham Park after 11 rounds.
Yarraville Glory had a 1-1 draw with Sydenham Park.
It’s a big week for the Glory as it plays off for a spot in the national stage of the Australia Cup.
The Glory face Melbourne Knights on Tuesday night.
Tara Murray
