HOPPERS Crossing refuses to toddle off quietly in the Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 4 west.
The Reds were once a relegation candidate, but they could now
finish as high as fifth in the 12-team competition after an impressive
second half of the campaign.
They claimed a “scalp” in a 3-0 win over Essendon Royals on their visit to the Reggio Calabria Club on Saturday.
The Reds have a chance to upset another side above them on the
ladder in the Western Eagles on Saturday, before finishing the season
with four games against sides below them on the ladder, so they should
be able to improve on their current eighth ranking.
“We’re looking for a big finish,” Reds coach Alfonso Opazo told the Weekly.
“We’ve got five games left and the boys’ attitude is that we want five wins, basically.
“We want to finish as high as possible.”
A high-intensity Hoppers Crossing made a blistering start with
attacking midfielder Kevin Smart slotting home after five minutes.
The Reds would double their lead at the mid-point of the first half through Khalil Assaad.
Assaad formed a dangerous “three-pronged attack” with Zia Sherzai
and Alister Smart, and it caught the Royals defence on the hop.
The Reds were sitting pretty at half time, but Opazo warned of the perils of complacency.
“Two-nil is a dangerous scoreline, they could easily get one back and momentum shifts,” he said.
“To the boys’ credit, we came out in the second half and performed
reasonably good, as per the first half, and went on with the job.”
Substitute Liam McDermott put the game out of reach of the home side with a third Reds’ goal. The victory has come at a cost for the Reds with defender Julian Zach set to be sidelined with a broken nose.
Zach flew for a header and was taken down by a flailing elbow, which resulted in a sending off for the Royals’ transgressor.
“We’re not quite sure how long he will be out for, but he didn’t look in the best shape after the game,” Opazo said.
