Tara Murray
Whittlesea United entered the FV state league 1 north-west mid-season break with a bit of a reality check.
Whittlesea sits atop the table at the halfway mark, but suffered its first loss of the season against Geelong before the break.
Coach Andrew Marth said the bye couldn’t have come at a better time. He said there were only 13 players at training on Tuesday night.
“We were undefeated until last week,” he said. “It was pretty disappointing and we had a few injuries.
“It was a pretty physical encounter and we paid the price. There’s still plenty to learn and it’s a bit of a reality check for the boys.”
Marth said the group was playing the system that he wanted them to play, with results coming their way so far.
This comes despite Marth joining the club once the season started.
“When they got me across they wanted me to do a job,” he said.
“They are a family oriented club and we’re working hard to achieve the goal of getting into the National Premier League.”
He said the side could no longer fly under the radar, having become the team to beat this season.
Despite the loss, Whittlesea sits five points clear after playing everyone once.
There’s still plenty to work for Whittlesea.
“We want to work on our defensive structure,” Marth said. “We will always score goals in our system.
“We need to tighten up in defence.”
Whittlesea this week faces Western Suburbs. The teams had a 3-3 draw in round one.
“I watched half of their game last week,” he said. “They’ve really improved.”
