Altona North copped a confronting reality check of its Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 4 status that will see it play against much tougher opposition.
North received a rude welcoming to the new division by a seasoned Hoppers Crossing outfit.
North was mauled 5-2 at Grange Reserve on Saturday, signifying the gulf between the top sides and the rest in the newly restructured division.
North coach Jimmy Naumovski had nothing but compliments for the Hoppers side he believes could go all the way.
“They’re a good side, very well-drilled, with some good individual players,” he said.
“They work well as a team but they’ve got some individuals who can cut you apart.
“They’re going to be a good chance to win the league, so that’s the level that we’re going to have to strive to reach.”
North took a surprise lead after five minutes when Josh Davies found some space and tucked away a goal.
It would be Altona’s only joy until a bizarre Hoppers Crossing own goal before full-time.
In between, it was a Hoppers rout, with the home side piling on five consecutive goals. “It was good to get the early goal, but it was undone when we conceded a few soft goals,” Naumovski said. “They put you under a lot of pressure and force you into errors, and we had some lapses of concentration.”
With North’s No.1 goalkeeper, Chris Thring, unavailable, the club turned to makeshift custodian Carmelo Cassar to fill the void.
Cassar pulled off a number of quality saves, preventing what might have been a double-figure Hoppers tally, but he was never going to hold back the waves of attacks on his goal.
“Even though he conceded five goals, I thought he was brilliant with the effort he put in,” Naumovski said.
Jerobeam Damons was the best player for North, putting in a trademark up-tempo performance.
“All energy, never gives up, always puts an effort in,” Naumovski said of Damons.
“(He’s) the type of guy who, when he loses a challenge, just re-sets and gets going again.”
New recruit Martin Smithson added a touch of class to the midfield.
North will play its first home game of the season against Bell Park at Duane Reserve on Saturday.
LANCE JENKINSON
