Tara Murray
A packed road schedule has been a challenge but it hasn’t shown in the results for Westvale in the FV state league 2 competition.
With six of its first eight games on the road and having made it through to the fifth round of the Australia Cup, Westvale has done a lot of miles already this season.
With the exception of a loss to Keilor Park in the previous round, coach Bill Georgopoulos has been pretty happy.
The club had four wins from its first five games, having scored a massive 20 goals.
“We’ve started off pretty well,” he said. “It’s a long season though and there’s still a long way to go.
“We’ve got three away games coming up in the next three weeks. We’ve already played in Shepparton and Dandenong and had a few injuries.
“It has been challenging.”
Georgopoulos said he was unsure why they had so many road games early in the season but it means at the back end of the season they will finish with the majority at home.
He said they set themselves a pass mark of 16 points after the first eight games, with the side having achieved 12 after five rounds.
“Hopefully we can go a bit better than last year when we finished in fifth,” he said. “The goal is always to finish better than the year before.
“We are still a fairly young side which isn’t always easy as there is some inconsistency.”
Georgopoulos said having been in state league 2 last season does help the side for those who are still at the club and preparing for who they play.
The side though is completely changed to last season.
“We’ve managed to bring in a few boys from other countries,” he said. “They’ve come to Australia and signed with us and that always helps,
“There’s only seven boys from last year. We kept the core but I’m always looking to bring in other younger players.
“Our average age is 22 and half or 23, we are a very young team. We punch above our weight with the resources available.”
?? said the opportunity to play National Premier League side Oakleigh Cannons had been massive for the club.
He said while they had fallen short in the Australia Cup, losing 5-1, they had their opportunity to have the scores 2-2 at one stage.
“Once they got their third goal, I put on a few youngsters off the bench to restrict the minutes of a few players,” Georgopoulos said.
Westvale was set to play the Whittlesea Ranges on Friday night in round six after deadline.
The Ranges came away with a 3-1 win.
Having been sent from the field against Keilor Park, Georgopoulos was expecting to miss the match through suspension.
“Whittlesea Ranges are in third spot, two points behind us,” he said. “They are one of the bigger sides in the competition.”
