By Tara Murray
Things are starting to come together for Craigieburn City in the FV state league 2 north-west season.
After a slow start with its squad coming together late in the piece, Craigieburn has claimed points in three of its five matches.
On Saturday, Craigieburn got its second win of the season, beating Strathmore, 3-1.
Craigieburn coach Michael Loche said they were happy with how things were coming together.
“It’s been a far better start than last year when we only had one point at this stage,” he said. “It’s our second year in state league 2 and boys are doing well.
“The squad is still a work in progress but we’re coming together well.”
On Saturday, Craigieburn had a strong performance against Strathmore. Loche said they could have easily had a bigger win.
The win moves the side up to sixth spot.
“I think the boys played really well,” he said. “We took our chances early in the game but we should have buried them,
“We missed a penalty and they got one back before half time.
“In the second half, I felt like we were the better side.”
Loche said getting their goalkeeper back had been a massive help on Saturday, with the side winning both games he had played in.
Craigieburn has a new looking squad this season, with about10 players being added to the group.
Loche said they wanted to close the gap with the top sides.
“We want to try and improve our depth and add a bit more quality,” he said.
“Last year was an unknown and we needed to improve the squad. We are nowhere near a finished product.”
Loche said after being around the relegation mix for much of last season, they want to improve on that this season.
“We want to be competitive in state league 2,” he said. “We don’t want to put parameters on what we can and can’t achieve.
“We don’t want to be around 10th where we were last year. We want to push up the ladder.
“We want to improve each game we play and get better as a group.”
Loche said overall the club continues to grow with it having more than 800 members and now one of the biggest clubs in the north.
In other matches, ladder leaders Lalor United had a 3-1 win against the Geelong Rangers.
Lalor scored two goals in extra time in the second half to seal the win.
Mill Park suffered a 1-0 to the Western Eagles.
The only goal came just after half time.
Whittlesea Ranges had a 2-0 win against Dallas City, while Uni Hill Eagles lost to Williamstown, 5-0.
