Altona Magic has all but secured themselves the much sought after double chance after trouncing a very disappointing South Melbourne outfit at Paisley Park on Saturday night.
Coming into the game, both teams knew that a win would see them propel themselves into the top three, where they would receive not only a double chance, but also a realistic hope that they could host a final in the opening week of the playoffs.
The game started with Altona dominating play immediately, with the Magic able to assert their physical presence on the contest from the outset.
With the home side completely dominating play, they were rightfully rewarded in the 20th minute.
In a poor piece of defending by the home side, a long throw in from the left hand side of the park by Slave Bozinovski somehow found itself into the path of the unmarked Carl Recchia just outside the six-yard box.
With a gaping hole in the defence and with the goalkeeper Tommi Tomich uncommitted, Recchia tapped home to give his side the advantage.
With Carl Recchia limping off just before the break with a badly corked thigh and with Altona unable to double their advantage despite dominating the game, the South faithful were starting to hope that the side would come out in the second half and get back into the game.
The hope that they may have had was crushed in the 49th minute, following a disastrous kick by Tomich being intercepted just outside the area by Tony Saric.
With the custodian also being out of position, Saric slammed the ball into the bottom corner to send the small home contingent into raptures.
With South’s double chance aspirations seemingly heading down the drain, veteran Vaughan Coveny tried to ignite his side via a series of long-range attempts.
Unfortunately for the Kiwi veteran and the South Melbourne faithful, all his attempts sailed well wide of the target.
South continued to push forward at every opportunity and once again missed a golden chance when Fernando was set free just inside the area.
With the ball bouncing in front of him, the Futsalroo attempted to hit an audacious lob over the keeper. However just like previous attempts, the ball could not find the target and sailed out for a goal kick.
With time winding down, Altona once again punished South up the other end. On this occasion, Pece Cergovski picked up the ball on the right hand flank before cutting in past a host of South defenders. With the entire goal to aim for, Cergovski then hit a long-range attempt onto the target.
Fortunately for the Altona attacking player, the ball deflected off the unlucky Steven O’Dor to fly over the top of Tomich’s head and into the back of the net.
With South fans heading towards the exit, the referee blew his whistle for full time, leaving the Altona players and fans to celebrate a thumping home victory.
South will need to re-group immediately as they play host to Sunshine in a big clash for the club.
A win would ensure that South plays finals football, whilst a loss could see the lakeside miss the finals for the third consecutive season.
With the club hosting their seasonal MVP awards function that night at Bob Jane Stadium, a loss could be a disastrous way to finish a promising 50th season as a club.
The event will be held directly after the game, with all South fans encouraged to come along and review the home and away season for 2009. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $50 and includes dinner and all beer, wine and soft drinks.
Altona Magic 3 (Recchia, Saric & Cergovski)
South Melbourne FC 0
Crowd: 1000 at Paisley Park
Man of the Match: Steve Laurie (Altona)
Courtesy of Goal Weekly