By ADEM SARICAOGLU
THE vibe in the dressing room of Altona Magic remains upbeat despite the club suffering its first loss since mid-June against Werribee City on Sunday.
Travelling to Galvin Park for the crucial State League One local derby, Magic couldn’t find an equaliser in the second half after City’s Julien Cassano found the back of the net in the 35th minute.
Despite the disappointing result, club spokesman Rubin Todrovski insisted Magic was not beaten by a better team on the day.
“We lost, but I don’t think we ran into a better team,” Todrovski said.
“In the second half, we actually annihilated them and pretty much threw everything at them.
“We hit the post twice, we missed three or four chances to score and they were pretty much camped in their 18-yard box in the second half.
“We pushed them all the way, so I wouldn’t say we ran into a better team.”
Todrovski said the side had primed itself for what they knew was a vital clash, and for the most part of the first half-hour, everything looked to be going to plan.
“We started the way we planned to, and we were dominant,” Todrovski explained.
“We looked comfortable on the ball and all those types of things, and obviously with Werribee, I don’t know if they changed up something, but our boys dropped off and we conceded a goal, which was disappointing.”
Magic is aiming for a top two finish with three fixtures still to come against fellow local rivals Sunshine George Cross, St Albans and Western Suburbs.
But with the club currently sitting in fifth place on the table, Todrovski knows Magic needs a fair amount of luck to get there in the final month of football.
“I suppose, mathematically we’re still a chance if other teams drop points, but at the end of the day we’re not going to rely on that,” Todrovski said.
“We just need to keep going, keep producing and keep performing to what we set out to do.
“George Cross is no easy game for us regardless whether we’re at home, and they lost today as well, so they’re kind of in the same situation as us.”
The two will meet this Sunday at Altona’s Paisley Park.
