IT wasn’t pretty, but Keilor Park grabbed a 1-0 victory over Altona East Phoenix in the Football Federation Victoria State League 2 north-west on Saturday.
The Parkers, now second on the table behind Moreland City, were well-matched by the Phoenix , despite the gulf on the ladder – Altona East is 10th with only one win this season.
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Altona East started the game full of energy and would have had the first goal but for a miraculous save by Keilor Park goalkeeper Alfonso Cardinale, who deflected a shot onto the post.
Keilor Park worked its way into the game after about 20 minutes, creating several chances from corners before Farouk Tijani nailed a header from a long ball into the box in the 37th minute.
The Parkers looked better in the second half but the closest they came to scoring was when the Altona East keeper thwarted winger Michael Esposito.
Keilor Park president Paul Portelli said the win, the team’s fourth in five rounds, was important.
“It was good we ground out a result . . . a bit like Hawthorn’s win over West Coast in the AFL,” he said.
“We didn’t play well. It wasn’t our best and we have been playing pretty good soccer lately.
“They started the game well and were playing better than us in the first 20 minutes.
“In the second half we played a lot better; we were more settled and started creating more chances.
“They were always a threat to us and they had a few chances as well.
“We were probably a bit lucky to win 1-0 given our first-half performance.”
In the Victorian Premier League, Green Gully drew 2-2 with second-ranked Bentleigh Greens.
