Tara Murray
Things are starting to click for Altona Magic in the National Premier League competition.
After an up and down start to the season, the Magic have kept a clean sheet the last three games, including winning their last two games.
Magic coach Savvas Patikkis said the group was starting to believe in what they were doing.
“It’s been a good couple of weeks on the park,” he said.
“We’re pretty pleased with that. I think the boys have started to realise that we have what it takes to compete with the top sides.
“They really believe what we are working towards and we’re stamping our brand on the league.”
On Sunday, the Magic beat St Albans Saints, 4-0.
Patikkis said it was always going to be a tough match on the road.
“We were 1-0 at half time, but it could have been 2-0,” he said. “The boys kept fighting and going out there and doing the right things.
“We finally got some reward for effort. It could have been a 7-0, 8-0 score line.”
The recent results have seen the Magic move up to eighth on the ladder and well and truly out of the relegation zone.
Patikkis said they wanted to sit around the middle of the table at the half way point of the season.
“It’s a bit disappointing that we aren’t sitting a little bit higher,” he said.
“We lost a few games that we shouldn’t have. When we’re assessing the first half of the season, we want to sit in the middle of the table and in touching distance of the top six.
“We want to set a platform for the second half of the season.”
The Magic will this weekend face Hume City, which sits 13th. Hume’s new coach is former Altona Magic mentor Goran Lozanovski.
Patikkis said it was important to beat the sides below them on the ladder.
