Newport Storm is hoping to keep the momentum going and claim the FV state league 5 west championship in its inaugural season.
The Storm has been the team to beat all season and sits atop the table with five rounds remaining are three points clear of Bendigo City.
Storm’s Zayed Halloum said they were pretty proud of the efforts of the squad and coaching staff this season.
“They have produced some amazing results,” he said. “The football has been entertaining and we’ve faced a few challenges and we have been very resilient to overcome them.
“In the second half of the season other teams have paid attention to us and everyone is looking to beat the team at the top of the table.
“It’s been challenging, but I’ve been so proud of them.”
Halloum said they were always hopeful of having a strong first season feeling they had the right team and right coaching group in place.
The side has lost just two games so far.
“I’m not going to say that I’m surprised as I know the quality we have in our players and coaching staff,” he said.
“We’ve overcome a lot of hurdles, even in games and been able to come back and get the result in a couple of really tough games.”
Halloum said they weren’t getting too far ahead of themselves and were taking it a game at a time as the end of the season quickly approaches.
He said they wanted to to ensure they continued to play the way that they have for the season so far.
While normally promotion would come with finishing in the first couple of spots, a competition restructure means that is the case.
The top two teams will play in the new state league 5 north-west competition.
Halloum said it would be a good achievement to remain in state league 5, with teams from that current to drop into state league 6 and 7 competitions.
Winning the championship would be the icing on the cake for the season.
“The title was the objective at the start of the year,” he said. “We wanted to be as close as we could be to the top of the ladder.
“I think the team deserves it, the players deserve it after a long tough season. We’ve worked hard to get the results.”
The Storm claimed another win on Saturday, beating the Footscray Rangers, 3-1.
Halloum said the Rangers results don’t show how competitive they have been this season.
“It was a competitive game with a bit of a tense start,” he said. “We were able to take the lead and you saw that reflected in the first half and it was relatively comfortable.
“We conceded one just after half time and it puts the pressure back on you.”
In other matches, Maidstone United beat Ocean Grove, 2-1.
In state league 4 north-west, Melbourne City lost to Balmoral 1-0 and Barnstoneworth United lost to Melton Phoenix, 2-0.
