Whittlesea United has had an ideal start to the FFV state league 3 north-west season, with three wins from as many games.
With a tough draw to open the season, new United coach Peter Schwellinger was thrilled to have kicked off well.
United has scored multiple goals in each appearance, only conceding two goals in total.
“I didn’t expect that start, with the three opponents we have faced,” Schwellinger said.
“It’s the perfect start. ”
While only new at United, Schwellinger, who previously coached against United while at Melton Phoenix, had been approached previously.
“I coached against them three or four years ago,” he said of United. “They had approached me before, but I’d already signed at Melton.
“This year was different and I was keen to get involved,” Schwellinger said, having parted ways with his old club midway through last season.
Most of last year’s squad, which finished sixth with a 9-9-4 record, have returned, while three players followed Schwellinger across.
Jordan Borg, a goalscoring machine at Melton, joined United, along with goalkeeper Chris Vassallo and Beau Chang.
Schwellinger said while the squad was larger than normal, this would help later in the season.
“Normally, you have about 16 players to pick from, but we have a squad of 20-plus players.
“It’s a bit of a luxury, but at the same time, we’re struggling to pick which players will play.
“You need a big squad in case there are injuries or yellow cards.”
Schwellinger said expectations were high.
“I think top-four is achievable, and a top-two finish and promotion is a bonus. The side narrowly missed out on promotion two years ago on goal difference.”
With a bye at Easter, United had the weekend off ahead of matches against Upfield and Brimbank Stallions. The coach had mixed views on whether the bye came at a good time.
“It’s not ideal with the start we’ve had, and we wanted to continue on. But on the other hand, it’s ideal for injuries and it’ll do the boys good to recuperate.
“We’ve got a couple of good challenges ahead. We play Upfield away, and they finished fourth last season, then have Brimbank Stallions – a very good side.”
In other round four matches, Williamstown hosts Epping City and undefeated La Trobe University battles Melbourne University in the battle of the universities.
