With a single loss from the first five rounds of the state league 1 soccer season, Altona Magic looks out of place in eighth spot on the ladder.
While the club has been great at stopping goals, scoring them hasn’t come easily. It’s led to one win and three draws from the other four matches.
Magic coach Pece Stojeski said it was frustrating.
“Every draw is like a loss; it’s like we are losing two points,” he said.
Stojeski has called on his midfield to grab hold of half chances.
Altona has scored only six goals this season – among the lowest in the competition.
“To have only scored six in five rounds isn’t good enough,” Stojeski said.
“That area up front, they need to pick up. The goals aren’t coming from the midfield. We need to see more players scoring from that area.”
While Altona has headaches from an attacking perspective, defensively it is clearly one of the best teams in state league 1.
The club has allowed opposition sides to score only seven times, a figure Stojeski believes is even better when a tough schedule is taken into account.
“Four of the goals we gave up came in one game,” he said.
“When we gave up four goals against Keilor, we had played three games in one week.
“We played Saturday, we played Wednesday and the next Saturday – and that’s the one we lost, when they kicked four goals. The players were too tired. They couldn’t run.
“Playing three games in a week was just too much for a team like us where … we’re not professionals.”
After a high level of player turnover in the off-season, Stojeski is confident more consistent performances aren’t far away.
“There are lot of new players in this team and they need a bit of time to gel together,” he said. “We are playing some pretty good football in patches. It’s just the consistency that’s not there.”
