A late goal to Altona East Phoenix resulted in a draw with arch-rival and neighbour Altona Magic in the FFV men’s state league 1 north-west division on Saturday night.
After starting the slower of the two teams, it took the Phoenix until the last minute of regular time to hit the scoreboard and seal the 1-1 result.
Magic coach Pece Stojeski said his team was the better of the two sides and should have got the win.
PICTURE GALLERY: Altona East Phoenix v Altona Magic
“We missed so many chances. When we play our best soccer it’s the best quality in the league,” he said. “We were a lot better than them and unlucky to lose the whole three points in the 90th minute.
“Our side had 60 per cent of the possession. They came with strong defensive tactics to stop us and it worked well for them.”
Stojeski said most of his young side was still in the process of gelling after a lot of changes in the off-season.
“We have a brand new team at the club and it’s not easy to get new teams to win games early in the season,” he said.
Phoenix coach Terry Antoniadis said his players’ defence was again what kept his side in the game.
“I thought the Magic started better than we did and had more of the ball.
“We started the second half really well and they scored against the play which was disappointing. We then put on more attackers and managed to score [through Tom Yabio] in the last minute of normal time. We will take the draw.”
Antoniadis was delighted his side was heading into the Easter break with two wins and a draw from three matches.
In state league 2 north-west, Yarraville lost to Heidelberg Stars 0-1. In state league 3 north-west, both Altona City and Williamstown lost, while in state league 4 west Laverton Park and Melbourne City played in draws and Maribyrnong Greens and Altona North drew 1-1.
