Cairnlea has endured a frustratingly inconsistent start to the Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 2 north-west season.
The Reds, sitting eighth after three draws and a loss, have shown quality in patches, but have been tripped up by a tendency to concede goals too easily.
A microcosm of how Cairnlea’s season has gone so far could be found in Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Geelong Rangers at Cairnlea Park.
The Reds once again looked dangerous in attack, but they were let down at the back end even if it did take one of the goals of the season from the Rangers to break the home fans hearts with a late equaliser.
“It was exciting to see the way we put away two of our goals,” Cairnlea coach Kevin Theuma said.
“It followed structures we’ve put in place in terms of how we want to go forward and what style we want to play.
“It was good to get a couple of goals that way to fill the group with confidence. We just need to get tighter in defence. You can’t leak three goals and expect to win.”
Habib Fleifel was outstanding on the front line for Cairnlea.
He scored twice, one on the tail end of a team build-up and the other from the penalty spot.
“He played well,” Theuma said. “He put his couple of chances away.”
Burak Kocak, who played in the midfield, was Cairnlea’s other scorer, finishing off after another nice team move.
While the Reds scored three times, they also let a number of chances slip.
“There wasn’t really one person who missed a whole heap of chances,” Theuma said. “It was four or five guys who missed a chance each.”
A positive for Cairnlea was the introduction of young winger Joel Charles.
In his starting debut for the Reds, the St Albans Saints recruit made an immediate impression.
“He was fantastic early on,” Theuma said. “He was quite good in the Sporting [Whittlesea] game coming off the bench, so he earned his spot.
“He was probably the stand-out, with the two goalscorers.”
Cairnlea is disappointed to be without a win after a month, but is working hard to rectify the situation.
“We’re not panicking,” said Theuma ahead of a trip to ladder-leader Hoppers Crossing this Saturday. “There’s still a good vibe around the group.
“We just need to get that one win and we’ll get that confidence.
“We’re not that far away.”
