Altona City made a tough decision to take on a new coach five weeks ago, and it has reaped immediate dividends in Football Federation Victoria’s men’s state league 2.
It was not a decision taken lightly by the City board to axe young up-and-coming coach Aaron D’Antino, but the more experienced managerial team in Andy O’Dell and his assistant Stuart McCluskey was deemed best to serve the team at this point in time.
“We’ve got every bit of faith that Aaron is going to end up being a good coach at a higher level,” City president Joe Tanti told Star Weekly.
“The way he went about it, the professionalism, he was there early setting up, and did everything right.
“Unfortunately, state league soccer is a little different to A-league.
“Sometimes you have to win ugly instead of losing pretty.”
City’s form has been turned around, with three wins and a draw from the past five matches. Their biggest came on Saturday in a 5-1 victory over Corio, which moved City up to sixth on the ladder, a more palatable ranking than 10th, and relegation danger, five weeks ago.
O’Dell plugged holes in a sinking ship with a number of key signings during the transfer window.
Newest recruit Ayodeji Omoboye made a big splash in his home debut at Kim Reserve on Saturday night, taking a hat-trick.
“Andy’s taken over and brought a few players in and moved a few things around,” Tanti said.
“We’ve only had one loss under him so far in the last five games.
“He’s got a reputation as a good coach.
“We’ve also got Stuart McCluskey, his assistant … they’ve both been around the traps for a while.
“We’ve still got our vision of top four, we think we can make it.”
Omoboye’s instant impact delighted the City fans. It also would have been a relief for striker Bobby Lojanica.
“To have a partner for him is good,” Tanti said. “They’re old Sunshine George Cross teammates as well, so they work well together.
“We lacked a bit of pace up front and, fortunately enough, we knew George Cross was going to make a move [with Omoboye].
“So we jumped on him as soon as we heard that he was up for offer.”
James Neighbour was outstanding in defence for City, marking Corio striker Vedran Stojanovic, who is the leading scorer in the division.
Goalkeeper Jack Dovey was another standout, while newcomer Max Wright, who has arrived from the Philippines, looks a significant addition in the midfield.
