The team with the best defence will emerge with the spoils, right?
Gun-slinging Cairnlea thumbed its nose at that theory by out-shooting all and sundry en route to the Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 3 north-west title.
The Reds were the entertainers of the west, playing with flair and scoring goals for fun.
Their sharpshooting, fleet-footed strike force, led by Adamson Ajayi and Adem Alicevic, had a campaign to remember with the side finishing with 53 goals at an average of 2.4 per game.
“Our two strikers finished one and two in the league for top goalscorers,” Reds president Beige Hussein told the Weekly.
“They scored almost 40 goals between them.”
It was with a touch of irony that the Reds relied on their defence to seal the point that took them to the title.
The last game was full of tension for both the Reds, sitting on top, and second-placed Sunbury United, with both sides knowing a last round draw would be enough to get them both promoted.
A slip-up for either side could have spelled disaster with third-placed North Sunshine Eagles ready to pounce, so the eventual nil-all outcome was convenient for both. Everyone was relieved because if we’d lost, it would’ve given North Sunshine a chance, so it was a nervy game,” Hussein said.
“It was a bit of a strange one because both of the coaches packed the defence. We had six in our backline, they had six in theirs, so there was nowhere to go. It turned out well in the end.”
The Reds were able to give favourite son Mustafa Mustafa a triumphant homecoming.
Mustafa left to play in higher leagues when the Reds were under their previous name, Albion Rovers.
He was one of the main on-field leaders. “He used to be a junior and came back at the ripe old age of 35 and got the team promoted,” Hussein said. “He’s a standout on the field.”
Quizzed on potential best and fairest candidates, Hussein reeled off the names Ajayi, Alicevic, Mustafa and Paul Muscat before pausing: “I would hate to choose, there’s so many in with a chance”.
The Reds were the dominant side in the first half of the season but hit a rough patch with one point from three games from rounds 18 to 20 with the finish line in sight.
Hussein is adamant the Reds were the best side over the duration and deserve to be promoted as champions.
