By Tara Murray
Mill Park is hoping to rise up the ladder in the second half of the FV state league 2 north-west season.
Sitting in the middle of the pack after the first round of matches, Mill Park found itself not quite where it wanted to be.
Speaking before Saturday’s match, coach Andy Vlahos said it had been a solid season so far.
“We had a bit of a lull in the middle of the first round,” he said. “We set our expectations a bit higher than where we are.
“It’s a close competition and there is a gap in the points. Hopefully we can get a bit of a run starting this week.”
Vlahos got his wish with a strong win against the Geelong Rangers in Geelong on Saturday.
Mill Park led 2-0 at half time before sealing the win with a third goal in the 65th minute.
It won 3-0 with Mitchell Franco, Luke Gallo and Shifa Ahmed the goal scorers.
Both sides finished the game with 10 men after red cards.
The win was Mill Park’s fifth of the season and takes it to a 5-2-5 record.
Vlahos said they were hoping to see things start to turn their way.
“We bought in a couple of players to strengthen the squad and we’ll see where we finish,” he said.
“We want to be more competitive than we have been at the moment as we expected to be a bit higher.
“There have been a few personnel changes with only three players left from last year. It’s a big overhaul from last year.”
Vlahos is in his first season coaching the club. He said it was a good little club.
“I started in November,” he said. “They have been mid table the last few years try to find the balance to get ourselves higher on the ladder.”
While the state league season hasn’t been what it had hoped, Mill Park has had some success in the cups.
After a strong Australia Cup run, Mill Park made it through to the Cecil Earley Plate for the top eight state league sides in the Australia Cup.
It beat Chisholm United in the first round and now face Balmoral for a spot in the final.
“We did well in the FFA Cup [Australia Cup],” Vlahos said. “We take it as it comes with the next game in August away to Balmoral.
“We try to win every game, Cecil Earley Cup, the FFA Cup, we try to challenge ourselves and put the progression on show.”
In other matches in state league 2 north-west, Uni Hill Eagles beat Albion Rovers, 3-1.
The Eagles had led 1-0 at half time.
Whittlesea Ranges lost to Strathmore Split, Craigieburn City beat Williamstown and Lalor United and Dallas City had an 0-0 draw.
