When Kruni Razov returned to the St Albans Saints managerial hotseat in June, he was taking over the reins of a club that, although struggling for consistency, was well in the hunt for promotion in the West.
His predecessor Zeljko Kuzman had enjoyed a mixed start in his debut senior coaching role, which saw Dinamo win seven of their first 15 league outings before being dismissed following an alleged disagreement with the club committee.
The departure of Kuzman made him the sixth manager to bite the dust in five seasons at Churchill Reserve, with the Saints’ aspirations to return to the top flight for the first time since 2011 remaining unfilled. Replacing him was a familiar face and one man who certainly knew all about getting the best out of the boys from Fox Street.
Razov, who was enjoying a successful stint coaching the Dinamo women’s side, was announced as Kuzman’s replacement and has quickly stamped his mark on the side that is currently the most in-form team in the state’s second tier.
Seven wins, two draws and a frustrating away defeat to Werribee – which came about following a late Bees goal in a game where the visitors had the majority of chances – has taken the 1998 VPL Premiers to the top of the NPL2 West standings ahead of sister club North Geelong Warriors and the Whittlesea Ranges, who are coached by former Dinamo player and boss Vinko Buljubasic.
Yesterday saw them face the tough trip east to face fellow promotion chasers Kingston City, who themselves were coming into the contest on the back of five straight victories,, with the Warriors and Ranges looking to pounce upon any slips up made by the Saints in what has been a topsy-turvy promotion race in West so far this season.
A cagey opening half saw clear-cut chances at goal few and far between as the sides looked to be heading into the sheds all level at the break. However, a turnover in possession from City saw the ball find its way to the feet of Michael Grgic, who ran into open space before placing the ball neatly into the bottom left-hand corner of the net with a well-taken strike from outside the box to give the visitors a precious lead.
The introduction of winger Mouad Zwed of the bench seemed to energise Kingston, who were back on level terms half way into the second half when the Libyan netted his third of the season by thumping the ball home into an unguarded net at the back post.
Undeterred by the setback, Dinamo went ahead once more when substitute Goran Jozeljic won the corner that resulted in his powerful header from close range, restoring their advantage.
A moment of individual brilliance late on saw Joseph Monek add a third as he outpaced two defenders before slotting home his ninth league goal of the season, to the delight of Razov who spoke about the significance of the victory post match.
“It was a huge game for us as Kingston are a fantastic side who almost got promoted last year, and to come over here and beat them 3-1 and pick up the three points knowing that Whittlesea and North Geelong both won keeps us one point ahead of three very big games to round off the season,” he said.
The former Dandenong City and Cairnlea manager was quick to heap special praise on his more experienced players for steeping up and be counted in such an important fixture.
“The experienced players were fantastic and we had a very young side out there today and we were a bit worried how they would fare in this upcoming run home,” he said.
“Going into these last few games we need a bit of experience and cool heads and the likes of Michael (Grgic) and Ryan (McGuffie) were fantastic and these are the sort of games where you want them to step up and show their quality, and that’s what they did today.”
Back in 2010, Razov’s Saints had collected 16 points from their opening 12 games of the season, with St Albans a massive 13 points behind league leaders Springvale White Eagles heading into the final 10 games of the season.
Incredibly, a total of eight wins and two draws saw Dinamo pip their rivals to the top spot as they celebrated promotion back to the top flight for the first time since their relegation from the VPL in 2005.
Goalscorers Grgic and Jozeljic were integral young members of that squad, with the latter finishing the season as the club’s top goalscorer on 10 goals in a team which also included the likes of Tomislav Uskok, Martin Hana, Marijan Cvitkovic, Josip Loncaric, Tomi and Ivan Razov and Maks Cuze. Despite differences in their age and overall experience, Razov sees one important similarity between the two sides.
“There are a lot of similarities and differences between the two respective sides. That side was very technical, while these guys have a bit of speed and aggression about them as they are younger boys,” he said.
“It can sometimes be a bit harder to coach younger kids because they are hot and cold, but the passion they endeavour and wanting to learn and do the right things makes them very similar to the class of 2010.”
One young player who has caught the eye this campaign with his energetic displays in black and white has been winger Monek, whose brilliant third goal caused jubilant celebrations between the players, bench and visiting supporters. The 19-year-old made his senior debut with the club three years ago and returned to Churchill Reserve last summer following spells with the Melbourne Knights and Melbourne City.
Nine goals in 25 games sees him sit top of the Saints goalscoring charts heading into the final three crunch games, with Razov emphasising the importance of the youngster.
“Joey (Monek) has his days and is hotter more often than he is colder. He was quiet for much of the game but has that ability to produce that one moment of individual brilliance like he did today and that’s what wins you games,” he said.
Despite starting the season coaching Dinamo’s women in State League 3 North-West, Razov is finishing it by guiding the Saints into pole position in the hunt for promotion and admitted the transition to coaching the men’s side was made easy by his prior experiences and understanding of the club.
“It hasn’t been too bad as once you’ve been there, done that you know what it is all about and understand the ropes. I watched these boys fairly often before I took over, meaning the transition for me was quite smooth.”
The 2014 FFA Cup Round of 16 finalists now ready themselves for three season-defining games to round off the season starting with next Sunday’s home clash against near neighbours Sunshine George Cross, before making the road trip to Central Victoria where they will face Bendigo City.
Should Razov’s side win those two games, they will be in the driving seat heading into their round blockbuster at home against the Ranges, where a proposition that seemed unlikely 10 rounds ago could well and truly eventuate.