Tara Murray
North Sunshine Eagles coach Ben Isai was a little concerned about how his side was shaping up ahead of the National Premier League 3 competition.
After adding a number of new players to the squad, the Eagles had an up and down pre-season.
But Isai’s early concerns have been put behind him, with the side winning their first two games.
“It has been a really positive start,” he said.
“It’s been really good and I’m really happy at the moment. We had an up and down pre-season and we weren’t feeling confident going into the season.
“The competition started and points were up for grabs we switched on.”
Isai said traditionally the club didn’t look to add many players in the off season, but this season was different.
He said their hand had been forced and it was an exciting time for the club.
“We’ve got some new players and some younger boys, who are getting the opportunity and are taking it,” he said.
“We’ve brought in five, but we normally only bring in one or two, or up to three at the most.
“We had a couple of players left and a few long term injuries, so we had to top up with some players.”
The Eagles managed to hold onto a lot of the players they had brought in late last year as part of the transfer window.
He said they had played six or seven games and showed enough to remain at the club this year.
Akira Udagawa, who is from Japan, made an instant impression last year and is back again.
Mateus Scavardoni is an attacking midfielder-forward who joins the club from fourth-tier Norwegian side, Nybergsund IL-Trysil.
Lewis Shannon is no stranger to the Eagles having scored 23 goals in two previous stints at the club. He has been with Yarraville Glory more recently.
Adem Adovic is a 20-year-old midfielder who joins the club from NPL1 outfit, Port Melbourne Sharks SC.
In 25 appearances for the Sharks under-21’s, Adovic found the back of the net nine times.
Isai said they had also added some players who had been playing under-21s at Avondale, who were keen to take the step up.
“The club always wants to finish top four,” he said. “That is always the task and the KPI [key performance indicator].
“We’re quite happy that we have signed. We’ve had a good start.”
The Eagles are set to face Caroline Springs George Cross on Friday night.
The Georgies have a win and loss from their first two games.
Playing their local rival for the first time since 2019, the match was a big one of the Eagles.
The game marks the opening of the club’s new facility at More Park.
Isai said that they had been hoping for a good crowd at the match to mark the special occasion.
