Western Eagles solidified their place at the top of the Football Federation Victoria state league 4 west table at the weekend, taking a convincing win over Melbourne City.
Sitting at opposite ends of the table going into the contest, the Eagles were heavy favourites, and they played that way as they slotted four goals to come away with a 4-1 triumph.
The Eagles class across the pitch was evident, with four different players – Matt Lodkowski, Maciek Slodyczka, Juan Igic and Ange Soumbassis – finding the back of the net in the win, while the defence was stoic all day.
The win means the Eagles sit nine points clear on top of the ladder, with Altona North their closest challenger.
In state league 2 north-west, Brimbank Stallions stayed in touch with the top of the ladder with a commanding 4-0 win over Hume United on Saturday.
The win meant the third-placed Stallions jumped into second, while Hume slipped to fourth after a day it would like to forget.
Three goals in the first half all but secured the result for the Stallions at their home ground, and a fourth in the second half gave them the best goal difference in the competition.
They now sit just one win behind Whittlesea United ahead of this week’s clash with Mill Park.
Elsewhere, Westvale, Westgate and Cairnlea all fell to single goal losses.
Westgate grabbed the lead over Altona East Phoenix in the opening minute of the game when Djordje Aleksic broke free, and they held onto that lead until the second half when the game began to turn.
The Phoenix scored twice after the break to take a 2-1 win, with Westgate missing the chance to move within a point of three sides locked on 23 points.
Cairnlea also held a 1-0 lead at half-time of its match with Fitzroy City after Habib Fleifel opened the scoring, but it also faded in the second half. Fitzroy found two goals after the break to claim a 2-1 win.
Westvale was gallant in its clash, with the 11th-ranked side only conceding once to third-placed Corio.
However, it struggled to find its own avenues to goal and fell to its tenth loss of the season.
Ewen McRae
