By Tara Murray
Keilor Park couldn’t have asked for a much better start to the FV state league 1 north-west season.
In their first season back up in state league 1, the Eagles sit three points clear on top at the halfway mark of the season.
Coach Serge Sabbadini said it has been a solid start for the side.
“I’m pretty happy with where we are at,” he said. “I think we recruited pretty well and had the squad that we wanted.
“If you had told me at the start of the year we would be three points clear at the break, I would have taken it.
“It’s been good fun.”
While happy, Sabbadini said they had dropped off slightly the last couple of weeks before the bye which had resulted in their first loss of the season and a draw.
He said injuries hadn’t helped but that wasn’t an excuse.
“Every team has injuries thought,” he said. “Up until the last fortnight we have played fantastic football.
“We’ve been really active and scoring a lot of goals and our defence has tightened up a little bit.
“The whole game plan has come together.”
The midseason bye on the weekend came at a good time for the Eagles.
Sabbadini said it would give them a chance to do something different for the week and refresh the side before a big second half of the season.
He said they were hoping to have one of their defenders and one of their midfielders return from injury.
Sabbadini said now having played everyone once the second half of the season would be a bit more tactical with the teams knowing what to expect.
“They know us more and we know them,” he said. “We are a team that they want to beat and they will look at how to break us down.
“It’s the nature of the beast.”
Sabbadini said having been the team to beat last season in state league 2 north-west last season would help them in the back half of this season and managing that pressure of every team wanting to beat them.
“The league is closer this year,” he said.
Keilor Park next Saturday faces Ballarat City in a top of the table clash at Keilor Park Recreation Reserve.
The Eagles sit three points clear on top of Ballarat City.
The Eagles women’s side is set to return to action on Sunday against Bundoora United in the Victorian Premier League competition.
Keilor Park sits second on the ladder.
