After a rollercoaster start to the season, Northcote City coach Goran Lozanovski was able to breathe easy again after his side’s 4-1 home victory over giant-killers Werribee City at John Cain Memorial Reserve.
Having begun the season with a disastrous streak of three straight defeats, the reigning Victorian champions have since wrestled together a slab of weighty momentum to force the pendulum the other way.
Northcote’s surging revitalisation in form has seen them notch up three successive wins, culminating in Saturday afternoon’s effortless domination over the recently promoted Bees.
“Today we put our chances away, could have scored a few more. Disappointing we didn’t find a clean sheet, we gave away a soft goal. But at the end of the day we scored four goals,” Lozanovski said.
“The first few rounds were not ideal. Compared to last year when we got off to a flyer, we know we had a change in roster which was going to affect our fluency. But now we’ve got more stability and confidence running through the group.”
Despite the flux of changes in Northcote’s lineup, Lozanovski welcomed the fresh impact of his new signings and the impending return of young speedster Evan Kounavelis.
“Liam [Wooding] is a Young Socceroo and ex-Adelaide United youth player. There’s something in him. Key signing for us. Been outstanding. Workrate second to none,” he said.
“It’s important to recruit right in the right position. Great to have interstate boys come down to Melbourne to play in our NPL. But they must suit the team and league.
“Once Evan Kounavelis comes back, he brings in more pace and creativity in our group. It’ll be like having a new signing when he’s back!”
The Northcote head coach complemented his glowing praise for his youth by also singling out talismanic striker Trent Rixon as a central leader in the playing group.
“Rixon’s job is to score and create goals. He’s been influential at this club for years [and is] back on board now which is fantastic, but experience is hard to buy,” he said.
“It’s not just that he’s a good footballer and scorer. He also helps the younger boys and gets us to that next level. He’s a good coach.”
Lozanovski expressed confidence in the NPL’s grassroots pathways and in particular, the critical role of leadership at the youth level.
“The NPL is trying to become more professional. Coaches are more qualified for licenses which is fantastic going down the grassroots football path. We’ll get better coaches at grassroots football, which is vital for our competition and the junior development of this game,” he said.
“Hopefully these kids to my right over here will one day play for our country. That’s important. As much as I’m giving back at a senior level, I think it’s important that the junior coaches are developing these kids at an earlier stage [rather] than a later stage.”
Follow Steven Chang on Twitter at @Gixibyte.