Laverton Park trails the Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 5 west promotion race by eight points, but a fixture logjam created by postponements will give the Reds a fighting chance of breaking into the top two in the run home.
The Reds were left frustrated again on Saturday when their home ground was deemed unplayable, meaning the clash with Spring Hills will have to be rescheduled as a midweek catch-up game later in the season.
Reds captain Vince De La Plaza said that with games up their sleeve, promotion was still in the Reds’ sights.
“If we win all our remaining games, we’ve got a good chance of finishing second,” he said. “It depends on other results as well, because Brimbank and Point Cook will have to drop some points, but they’ve still got to play each other.”
The Reds have been in patchy form in the past month, but a 7-2 win over Melbourne Lions in their last game represented an upswing.
They have some genuine match winners in hot form. They will be crucial in keeping up the momentum in Saturday’s win-at-all-costs home clash with Greenvale United.
Ricky Castro returned to the club after having time out from the game and has slotted in seamlessly up front.
“He was just playing indoor futsal, so he thought he would come back to play with his brother [Yanco],” De La Plaza said.
“The standard of the league wasn’t as high as when he was playing with us before, so he really stands out.
“He’s playing up front, he’s scored a few goals and created a few chances in the last few games.
“He’s a skilful player and strong on the ball.”
Striker Ajak Panek continues to bulge the back of the net.
Goalkeeper Dejan Andrijanic underpins the tightest defence in the league, one that has conceded just 13 goals in 15 matches.
With a young team, the Reds have fresh legs, youthful enthusiasm and will be in the promotion battle until elevation becomes mathematically impossible.
“It’s a very young side – about 80 per cent of them are probably under 23,” De La Plaza said.
“We’ve got about three or four experienced players who are in and out of the team. The rest are all young guys.
“We’ve got to make sure we win each week, get the points and hopefully push up the ladder for promotion.”
In other matches, Altona North crashed to a 6-0 defeat against second-placed Brimbank Stallions.
North matched it with the Stallions in general play but conceded two soft goals before the break and had no answer to the clinical Stallions in the second half.
Melbourne City was mauled 5-2 by the Sebastopol Vikings.
In other divisions, Altona Magic had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Box Hill United in state league 1, doing itself no favours in the race for promotion.
Altona East Phoenix dropped to third-last in state league 2 after a 1-0 loss to Preston Lions on the road, but remains eight points clear of the relegation zone.
It was a state league 3 weekend to forget for Altona City and Yarraville Glory.
City is 10 points adrift of safety after a 3-2 defeat to Melbourne University, while Glory’s promotion hopes took a blow with a 5-2 hammering at the hands of Geelong.
Williamstown is destined for a mid-table finish in state league 4 after a 3-0 belting from promotion-chasing Geelong Rangers.
