Harper Sercombe
Altona City has solidified its move into the National Premier League for the 2024 season.
City needed just the point from its last three games to guarantee both the championship and promotion from state league 1 north-west and did just that against Corio on Saturday afternoon.
With Corio currently being in a relegation battle, City coach Michael Calandrella said it was a tough, hard fought game.
“In the first half we were fairly comfortable, and got up one nil but in the second half Corio came out really strong and they equalised and gave us quite a few problems,” he said.
“I could see that our boys were playing with a little bit of pressure.
“But at the end of the day, the boys knew one point was what we needed, and we stuck it out and when the final whistle went there was a lot of relief.”
After finishing in sixth last season, Calandrella said the win was the product of a lot of hard work.
“To see the relief in the boys and the joy within the group and the supporters and committee. It was an amazing feeling,” he said.
“It’s not easy not easy to win leagues and championships and get promoted, so to get it done yesterday [Saturday], and to see the joy throughout everyone, it’s a feeling I’ll treasure and won’t forget that’s for sure.”
With the challenge of the NPL looming over City, Calandrella said it is what his players deserve. He said they had been brilliant throughout the whole year.
“I think they set a benchmark this year within state 1,” he said. “One thing that’s for sure is, they’ll be up for the challenge.
“We know there is going to be a lot of hard work, but they’re ready to go.”
With two games still to play of the season and the top of the table position locked, Calandrella said it is now a good time to play some of the people who haven’t had much of a go this year.
“We’ve got some very young boys in the squad that have stuck it out all year, and they haven’t had a heap of game time,” he said.
“We will use these next couple of games to really give those boys the game time that they deserve, they were a massive part of what we’ve achieved and we want to reward them.
“The last two games will be about rewarding the squad and all the young boys who have stuck by us.”
City will play Brimbank Stallions on Saturday.
