Altona Magic’s season is set up for an uneventful ending.
The side can’t move from sixth place on the Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 1 ladder after a 0-0 draw with St Albans Saints in the penultimate round at Churchill Reserve on Sunday.
“We can’t go up, we can’t go down – whether we win, lose or draw
in the last game, we’ll finish in sixth spot,” Magic’s football
operations manager, Rubin Todorovski, said.
It was a young Magic squad that took to the field this season.
The players had their ups and downs, like most inexperienced teams.
Being neither serious title contender nor threatened with
relegation, a sixth-placed finish seems the right outcome for a
developing side that has taken giant strides.
“A mid-table finish is acceptable with the personnel,” Todorovski said.
“We’ve had a pretty young team from the start.
“We did have a good run, but it’s hard to maintain it with a young side.
“It’s good that our younger boys gained a lot more experience and it will be better for them come next season.”
The Magic’s scoreless draw with the Saints won’t live long in the memory.
It was a game of few goalmouth chances, with the physicality of the two teams in the midfield cancelling each other out.
The Magic had the lion’s share of possession in the first half but
rarely threatened, while the Saints suffered a similar fate after
half-time.
Magic goalkeeper Max Tommy was forced to make one outstanding reflex save to preserve his clean sheet.
“It wasn’t an exciting draw, put it that way,” Todorovski said.
“You could say it was a physical type of game more than anything.”
Young defender David Straniero was best on ground for Altona Magic
thanks to his negating role on veteran St Albans striker Johnny
Sapazovski.
Japanese import Takanori Nishimoto wasn’t afraid to mix it with the physically intimidating Saints in midfield.
And Tommy answered every challenge between the sticks.
Altona Magic takes on Western Suburbs in a local derby at Paisley Park on Saturday in its final match of the season.
