By Luke D’Anello
A STUNNING victory in the final day of the Victorian Premier League (VPL) regular season could not save Altona Magic from relegation.
The Magic started the season gunning for their third straight title in the elite competition, but they will contest State League One in 2011, despite a 4-2 win against Oakleigh Cannons on Sunday.
“We relied on results going our way and we also needed to win the game, but that’s the way it goes. You start the season off poorly and you are sort of chasing it at the end,” Altona coach Sash Becvinovski said.
It appeared in the early stages that lady luck could be on Altona’s side after captain Pece Siveski opened the scoring from a free kick in the first minute of the fixture. The Cannons levelled the scores in the 27th minute but the Magic’s Sime Kovacevic restored the advantage with a header 13 minutes later.
Then Kole Delev danced around the Oakleigh defence on the brink of halftime to give the Magic a two-goal buffer.
Oakleigh momentarily kept the match alive with a goal after the resumption. But John Thornley sent the Magic’s fans into raptures and got his name on the score-sheet in the 57th minute.
It was a lead the Magic would hold until the final whistle.
Becvinovski, not surprisingly, was in a reflective mood after the match, pondering where his team could have got the one extra point it needed to survive.
“You start to dissect things. You don’t do it when the season is going on, because you just concentrate on the next game.
“But now the season’s finished, I’m just sort of thinking that all we needed was a solitary point.
“There were games there where, had we been a bit smarter and organised, it would have helped us so much.”
In the aftermath, it was clear the Magic had left their run too late. They started the final-round in last place two points adrift of Sunshine George Cross and Bentleigh Greens.
By the finish, the Greens kept their spot in the top-tier after a 1-1 draw with ladder-leader Richmond. Sunshine George Cross was the other team relegated from the top-tier. Becvinovski, who took on the role as coach in round 10, rued the lack of depth he said hurt the Magic.
“The quality players we needed out there were not always out there at the same time. Our depth was not as strong as some teams.
“We just didn’t have the right depth and we had some players who couldn’t find their form.”
But he also anticipated some players may decide to leave the club following the relegation.
“I don’t know how many players will stay or move on. It (losing players) is one thing that always happens when a club goes down. Certain players don’t want to play in that league (State League One), they want to play in a higher competition.”
Becvinovski said his own future at the club was undecided. The 38-year-old is one of the youngest coach’s in the VPL and the commitment the top-job demands has prevented him spending as much time as he would like to with his young family.
