Fans of Kooyong-based State League 1 outfit Malvern City hope its winning start to the season augurs well for the rest of its 40th anniversary year. The team has won both its FFA Cup matches to progress to round five, and also its first league match last Saturday, when it outplayed its more fancied opponent South Springvale.
New coach Steve Aivaliotis has signed 10 new players, including several from NPL clubs.
“I’ve been very fortunate to balance youth with experience,” Aivaliotis says in describing his new squad. “And for me that was the key component. Strengthen the defence, the keeper position. You get a lot of young running players in there, with our experienced players coming in, they’ve just strengthened every position. So I’ve got two players for every position.”
A case in point is the goalkeeper position, where newly-signed current number one Gianmarco D’Oria will soon have competition from Greek import Sotiris Pallavas.
Coach Aivaliotis has sought to eradicate last season’s defensive frailties and along with the new keepers has signed two centre backs from NPL clubs, Jake Moloney (ex Kingston) and Stephen Frantzeskakis (ex Oakleigh), who join skipper Ryan Ratcliffe. It seems to be working well at the moment, with the side still to concede a goal in three competitive matches this season.
Ratcliffe is only one of four of last year’s squad who were in the starting 11 for their opening league match of the season last weekend. These included midfielders Dorian Sorace and Zac Tung as well as forward Oscar Pederson.
New players have also been signed to strengthen other departments, and include 27-year-old Chilean midfielder Pablo Caceres, playmaker Max McCarthur, Jamie de Smit and forwards Daniel Hilder, Jordan Templin and Arthur Papadopoulos.
Coach Aivaliotis has been keen to establish strong unity within the dressing room and is pleased with the team spirit.
“We’ve got a phenomenal bunch of players in the change rooms who are respectful of each other. In particular, with my assistant Michael Tsamis, we’ve chosen (players) carefully and we’ve instilled some of our personality, and that is, respect each other. If you have a concern, come and talk with us – we can work anything through – as a mediator, that’s my job.
“They are very respectful. One of the things that our president and the board have made very clear is that we want a change room where everyone is very respectful of each other, and the juniors and all the supporters. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
The coach is reluctant to make any statements about where the team is aiming to finish on the ladder. Instead he says: “We’ll be highly competitive. We are certainly looking at achieving more than what we achieved last year.”
Coach Aivaliotis also wanted to acknowledge his club’s major sponsors JR Training and Kinisi Live for their support in the club’s 40th anniversary year.
“A few of our players go through trade skills programs with JR Training. And Kinisi Live’s Kon Tangalakis has referred a couple of players to us and is also a major sponsor of our club, and I’m very thankful to him for that.”
Malvern City has drawn Knox City in round five of the FFA Cup, scheduled for late April or early May. Although Knox City plays in a lower division, they’re coached by former Frankston Pines coach, who has recruited a number of last season’s Pines players.
“As I explained to my players, it doesn’t matter which division you’re in. It’s a cup game and anything can happen. You have to show them total respect and still play your own game. It’s going to be a very hard game,” Aivaliotis says.
If Malvern City can continue to build momentum based on their promising early results, their 40th anniversary year may turn out to be one for the fans to remember for a long time.