Hoppers Crossing unleashed its full arsenal in a 6-1 demolition job on Geelong Rangers in the Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 2.
The Reds were on-song from the first whistle to the last at Myers Reserve on Saturday as they stretched their unbeaten run to six games.
It was the Reds’ fourth win in that time and it has the second-placed side keeping pace with ladder leader Altona City, with both teams on 47 points with two games remaining. City holds a slender +2 advantage in goal difference.
Another complete performance left Reds coach Shaun Barbara delighted on Saturday night.
“I can’t really complain about the performance, to be honest,” he said. “It was just good all round.”
While Hoppers Crossing was in total control for the first 45 minutes, a 15-minute period after the break gave them reason to sweat.
The Rangers applied the pressure on the Hoppers Crossing defence and halved the deficit with a goal.
“Any team that is 2-0 down at half-time, on their home ground, you know they are going to come out hard,” Barbara said.
“They’re a proud side, a good side, so I have no doubt they wouldn’t have been too happy with their first half.
“They certainly came out and threw everything at us in that first 15 minutes of the second half.
“We had to weather the storm after they scored and [we] were under the pump for a bit. But we were able to get a third goal and the boys never looked back from that point on.”
Once the Reds got rolling again, they were unstoppable.
Alister Smart banged in two goals, while Ben Sardelic, Kwaku Dade, Matthew Scott and Daryl Roach also got in on the scoring act.
It turned into a pummelling on the scoreboard, but not by design.
“We’ve made it very clear that we want three points – it’s as simple as that,” Barbara said.
“If the goals come, fantastic, but it’s certainly not something we sit there and say this is our target, we need to get X amount of goals.”
Hoppers Crossing has been the entertainer of the division.
The Reds have scored 59 goals at a touch under three a game.
They have banged in 11 goals in the past two games, which has seen them make up a considerable amount of goal difference on Altona City.
Barbara will always ensure his team plays an attacking brand of soccer.
“The boys don’t have restrictions placed on them that subconsciously hold them back,” Barbara said.
“That freedom allows the players to express themselves and allows them to put themselves in good goal-scoring opportunities.
“We’re creating a lot of chances, and fortunately our boys up front and through the middle are putting them away.”
Hoppers Crossing will have two weeks to prepare for its September 2 clash with Essendon United at JH Allen Reserve.
