By Tara Murray
Hoppers Crossing isn’t getting carried away with an Australia Cup win with plenty of work to go before the FV state league 3 north-west season kicks off.
The Reds have been working hard under new coach Reardo Luka and shown some good signs early on.
Luka said they know they still have plenty of work to be done.
“We have a very exciting group that we have managed to put together,” he said. “We get a bit more time with work on things with players.
“We’ve had some injuries and some people have had time off football. We had a pre-season game in Geelong which was good where we worked on fitness and tactical things and getting to know each other.
“There’s a good mix of guys and the boys are energised… There’s still work to do.”
Luke, who was part of the Reds playing group last year, said he had managed to keep eight players from last season.
He said they had a squad of about 20 to 22 players.
“It is challenging to get the mix right and the boys that have come in are in their honeymoon phase.
“We had some open trials and there’s others who we thought would have the right level of experience and had a bit of a connection to the group.
“We’re very happy at the moment.”
Ivan Silic, Kosta Paganis, Luke Barisic, Mathieu Mahindo, Paul Tiktikakis, Aleks Petkoski and Andrew Van Berkel are among those who have joined the club in the off season.
Harry and Allister Kilpatrick, Antonio Veljanoski and Chris Widmar are among those who have re-signed.
The Reds kicked off official action with a good win in the opening round of the Australia Cup against Diamond Valley United, 4-1.
Luka said they weren’t getting ahead of themselves.
“It was good to get out there for a competitive game,” he said. “We were able to get a good result, it was very difficult for both sides [with the weather].
“We did the best we could and it paid off for us with four goals. We convincingly beat them.
“I was proud…. But I think it flatted us.”
Hoppers Crossing will face Brandon Park on Saturday night in round two of the cup.
The Reds will this season play in state league 3 north-west after being relegated.
Luka said that was their main focus, not the cup and would be putting their efforts into preparing for the season ahead.
In other cup matches this weekend, Point Cook will face Mooroolbark.
