The positives far outweighed the negatives for Hoppers Crossing in a 0-0 draw with Altona City in Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 2 top-of-the-table clash at Grange Reserve on Saturday.
The Reds lost no ground in the race for the title, still trailing City on goal difference with five rounds to play.
The Reds and City strengthened their promotion bids by creating further space between themselves and third-placed Hume United, which suffered a shock loss to Westvale to trail the top two by five points.
Reds coach Shaun Barbara said the Hume United result made his own side’s outcome sweeter.
Of the two goalkeepers, it was Reds custodian Kieron Sharratt who had to do more work, a reflection of City’s strength in general play.
“He was outstanding,” Barbara said.
Hoppers Crossing defenders Ben Sardelic, James Daly and Fab Albuquerque withstood the heat the same way.
Barbara reckons his team was deserving of a point, despite the better chances falling to the City strikers.
“We worked our socks off and the boys put in a really good effort,” he said. “I’m happy and proud.”
Hoppers Crossing faces another stern test when it travels to Corio on Saturday.
Corio is the only team to have beaten the Reds at Grange Reserve this season and will have home ground advantage on this occasion.
The top priority for Hoppers Crossing is to stop Corio striker Vedran Stojanovic, who scored a hat-trick against the Reds at their last meeting and is leading the race for the league’s golden boot by a whopping 10 goals with 21
