Cairnlea’s squad is not built for three games in seven days.
That was the enormous task assigned to the Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 2 north-west team in the past week.
The Reds’ success in the FFA Cup meant they had a fixture pile-up, one that took a toll on the players, who have nine-to-five jobs to attend on top of their football.
Reds coach Kevin Theuma commended his players for their commitment during a tough period in the schedule.
“It’s an ‘almost glad it’s over’ type of scenario,” he said. “It’s tough on the boys to play three games at our level in seven days.
“We basically didn’t train. It was play Saturday, recover Sunday and Monday, play Tuesday, recover Wednesday and Thursday, and then play Saturday. We’re not as deep as some of the NPL squads.”
The Reds started the tough period with a 2-1 loss to Westgate, then bowed out of the FFA Cup with a 2-0 loss to Murray United. But the Reds’ players dug deep on Saturday, grinding out a 3-2 win over Westvale at Cairnlea Park.
“Glad to just get a result after a tough week,” Theuma said. “It was never going to be a pretty game – it was just a game where we needed to get a result.”
Cairnlea had not conceded more than one goal in its first three league games.
Reds goalkeeper Chris Maynard was powerless to stop Westvale from spoiling that defensive record.
“We copped two wonder goals, two of the best goals I’ve seen for a long time,” Theuma said. “A couple of amazing long-range shots.”
Even if it wasn’t a vintage attacking performance from the Reds, they did enough to find the back of the net three times and claim all three points.
Maselas Lian Bawi Thang opened his account for Cairnlea, with Chris Vartaci and Habib Fleifel also scoring.
Fleifel has scored four goals in four games to be equal leader in the league’s golden boot with Whittlesea United’s Baki Efe.
“It probably wasn’t his best game today, but Habib does what Habib does and still hit the score sheet, which is what you want from a striker,” Theuma said.
“He doesn’t always have to play amazing – he just has to score goals for you.”
Cairnlea is fifth, three points off the pace, but it’s early days.
The Reds get a chance to rest up before taking on ladder leader Whittlesea United at Epping Stadium on Monday night.
“We’re thereabouts,” Theuma said. “The top half of the table is very close, but there’s still a long way to go.
“We’re confident we’ve got the quality there, so we’ll plug away and see where it takes us. It’s exciting times.”
Lance Jenkinson
