South Melbourne defender Ante Kovacevic tackles Peter Zorbas vs Parramatta Power - 2003
So we are now into the home stretch of the 2011 league season with 6 proper league fixtures remaining. The fortune for the troops of the Goddess and her supporters favoured the brave and the faithful true believers. We finally had the run that we needed to have. That run for survival of the fittest in that Darwinian sense in the special ecological world of the WA Premier League.
Sighs of collective relief could be heard and felt where ever Athena took took to the field in the battle for football supremacy. Chants of 'hallealeujah - we have turned the corner!' - could be heard in the terraces. Finally, the footballing talent that the coaches had ammassed for the 2011 campain were not only clocking up hard earned points but they were entertaining the fans. Our opponents were reflecting the respect that the players and the club deserved. With out a shadow of doubt our sights are now fixed on the horizon of finals football.
We must remember that the 2011 squad is still very much a work in progress. Given the magnitude of the changes witnessed during the off season just only in the sheer number of new faces at the club - a period of adjustment was always to be expected amongst the football rationalists and the realists.
However the football is different at Floreat Athena and the old adage of the importance of patience and its virtues often do not sit well with the lofty heights of demand and expectation of the club, its fans and sponsors.
No doubt this pressure cooker in the kitchen of Athena has at times permeated onto the players and coaches. And to their credit and professionalism they have risen to the challenge and have not shirked from their respsonsibility. The Athena Army salutes you for your footballing performances on the green battle fields of the WAPL. Rest assurred thatn your loyal fans just like you all will keep fighting to the end.
Now with almost three quarters of the regular season gone - to gain a better understanding of the thoughts and feelings of the boss - we catch up with Ante Kovacevic for a Word with AK.
Hello Ante!
Well, Our fantastic run in the league that has taken us to the brink of the top five has come to an end with another heartbreaking narrow one nil home loss to now the cemented league leaders Balcatta.
So,its official now - the club has a new high profile and emotionally charged fixture on our calendar and that's just great!
Micheal Roki was quoted as being ecstatic at the away victory vs the form side in the league - Athena.
What was your take on the match and how good do you think they are?
I thought we had the better chances in the first half to go into halftime with a lead or at least a draw. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be. We were a bit slack on set pieces and that’s where their goal came from. But they did cause us a few problems from previous corners, which we didn’t learn from, and we got punished for not improving our defending from set pieces.
Balcatta are obviously a quality team, who have got enough experienced players to know how to win games. The ladder doesn’t lie. But we’ll take some comfort in our performance and hopefully we’ll have another chance to play them again in the finals.
How's the squad traveling during this well deserved 2 week break with the bye followed the NTC fixture?
As we all know - if we can achieve another successful run as we did in the lead up to Balcatta we will be well in there for a shout come finals time and anything can happen in this environment. How confident are you that we are capable of making it to the finals stage and what major challenges do you think lie immediately ahead for us?
I’m always confident and always want to win every game we play. The last 6 games of the regular season will pit us against the following teams: Perth, Mandurah, Bayswater, ECU, Stirling and Inglewood. We had a good run against these teams in the first half of the season and this needs to be emulated, and even bettered.
The immediate challenge is overcoming Perth and bouncing back from our loss against Balcatta. Especially with the 2 week break which has allowed other teams pick up points while we drop off the pace. 3 points against Perth will bring us back up into the pack.
Do you think the squad is short of one experienced high profile quality striker to round off the overall impressive qualities of all squad members?
All squads would love to have depth and experience in all positions, to cover injuries, suspensions and poor form. At state league level, my belief is that we have to strive for a combination of success and development. Liam Boland was a young striker I identified last season that I wanted to spearhead our attack. If we added an experienced striker it could’ve have stifled his opportunities and development. I think Liam has scored 9 goals so far, which is a decent return. We have also got other players like Kyle Moran and Mark Pritchard that have played in the strikers role in the past, and can score goals.
The NTC appear to be here to stay now. Kenny Lowe is noted for saying whilst the WAPL clubs are focussed on outcomes and results his brief is all about development and process. What opinions do you have on the football development concept model, the quality of the players being unearthed and what do you think would be the ideal or your preferred 'rules of engagement for the NTC in the 2012 WAPL, (i.e., point no points, fixturing mid week vs weekend?
The players definitely need the extra training provided by the NTC system. Unfortunately, clubs in the State League aren’t as focussed on development as they should be these days. The NTC is providing a professional environment for the young boys coming through the system. In an ideal world, we’d have all clubs in the state league providing this sort of training, but it obviously isn’t the case. We’d hope some quality players will be filtering up through the system which will hopefully benefit the Perth Glory, and the state league clubs.
Unfortunately I don’t think there is a perfect model that will please the clubs and the NTC as both seem to have different aims in the league. In saying that, I think the current model works fine as the NTC are still getting competitive matches, even though some clubs rest players against them. One adjustment I would make would be for the game to be held mid-week to avoid the bye/NTC fortnight clubs currently have. There are enough decent venues around town to accommodate midweek fixtures under lights.
Do you have a personal view on gambling in our game?
I have never really thought about it as I am not a gambler, but at first thought, I don’t think it should happen. We’ve seen gambling ruin reputations of professional sports, leagues and players over the years, and at lower levels of sport the potential for corruption is higher.
Finally, hows your bro getting along at St Albans?
Unfortunately not well. He is assisting Vinko Buljubasic at St Albans, and although their season has improved and won a few games it’s been too little too late for their VPL survival hopes. With 4 games to go and a 12 point gap from 3rd last, they’ll be in the 1st Division next season.
Nice one AK, thanks for the insights, enjoy the break and we look forward to seeing the boys in action vs the NTC at home and then the traditional blockbuster vs Perth at the Gardens. So OK our two league encouncounters vs Etna are over so lets now look forward to payback come finals time maybe!
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