Melbourne City’s assault on the State League 4 West top two has been spurred on by a Simba Said-inspired 4-0 whitewash of Point Cook on Saturday.
Said put on a master class at Saltwater Reserve to pocket a hat-trick and trim City’s deficit to second-placed Strathmore from five points to just two in one fell swoop.
Leo Malik, coach of the South Kingsville-based City, was full of praise for his versatile attacker.
“We lost him for about a year through some personal issues, but now he’s back on track and he’s absolutely killing it,” he said.
“He’s everything – he can play striker, he can play midfield, he’s our playmaker.”
Malik was a long-time servant as a player at City before turning his attention to coaching.
One thing he has preached as coach is a united front, and it’s only now since taking over the reins three years ago that he’s managed to get a playing group to adhere to that.
The togetherness of this team is what Malik believes will form the key ingredient to the club’s promotion push.
“Everyone sticks up for each other inside and outside the ground,” he said.
“They go out together; they get along, that’s what you want from a coach’s point of view and it’s what I’ve been trying to achieve for the last two or three years.”
Malik is adamant his players will leave no stone unturned in their bid for promotion.
Upon telling his players they would be training three nights ahead of this weekend’s bye round, he says he didn’t get a single groan from the group.
You have to remember, these are people with nine-to-five jobs kicking around in the sixth tier of Victorian soccer, not paid professionals. No one’s complained at all,” Malik said.
“It’s a beautiful sign when you’ve got all the boys kicking the same way and thinking the same goals.
“We’ve been working hard all year.
“The boys are understanding and taking what we’re doing on the training ground into games on Saturday.”
City’s greatest strength is its one in, all in defensive approach.
The group has conceded the second-least goals in the league due to the discipline of its players across the board.
“A lot of people say the team starts from the back, but we start defending from the front,” Malik said.
“If the strikers do their work and the midfielders do their work, it’s going to make it much easier for the defenders.”
City’s next game is against an improving Brimbank Stallions at the Club Italia Sporting Club in Sunshine on August 2.
