Northcote City has continued to build on their excellent start to the season and now find themselves eight points clear at the top of the NPL2 W ladder after 11 rounds.

Following last season’s relegation from the NPL1, the club appointed Zeljko Kuzman as senior coach and he immediately set about rebuilding the team with 16 new signings.

The largely new team jumped out of the gates winning their first five league games before suffering their first and only defeat of the campaign, a 4-2 away loss to Dandenong Thunder. They responded well to the defeat at Thunder, winning four of their next five, culminating in last Friday’s impressive 2-0 away win at Dandenong City in a clash between the two leading teams in each conference.

Given the quality of the opposition, which boasted three ex-A-League players, it was a win coach Kuzman agreed was probably the most impressive of the campaign thus far.

What was particularly impressive were Northcote’s team structures, and their disciplined performance particularly without the ball. Although Dandenong was allowed to enjoy the bulk of possession in the first half, it wasn’t able to break down a Northcote side, who also looked potent on the counterattack.
Coach Kuzman said after the game, “I think we’ve been toying around with a couple of players in different positions, it hasn’t quite worked. I thought we got the balance right tonight. We looked really good when we didn’t have the ball. In fact I thought we controlled the game when we didn’t have the ball. And we made the most of the opportunities that we had. Very pleased at this stage.”

As well as an impressive team performance, individuals who stood out were the two wing backs Tremayne Sadler and skipper Josh Knight who both provide energy and drive going forward as well as defensive support, and in Knight’s case, leadership out on the park.

A new addition to the squad is Kiwi international Moses Dyer, who announced himself as a game breaking playmaker with an excellent goal in his starting debut against Dandenong City.

Kuzman said of recent signing Dyer, “It’s always dangerous including someone in a pretty settled squad. They’ve got to be someone pretty special to contribute… we’d like to keep him as long as possible. Right now he’s a possibility of going to the Confederations Cup with New Zealand. We’ll maximise his usage while he’s in the country. But it’s a privilege to have him to be honest. He’s a good, young talented boy with loads of potential, lots of energy. We’re just really pleased we can include him in the squad.”

“At the moment we’re pretty blessed with having a full healthy squad of 20-21 players. At the moment its proving to be a really difficult decision to pick the starting 11 but at the end of the day, it just puts a lot of internal pressure on our performances. That helps what we do on the weekend. I’m just happy with where we’re at with the squad. It’s very settled, the balance is right. Hopefully we can continue this way.”

Many new coaches coming into a new club look to set and introduce professional standards on and off the park. Kuzman is no exception, going as far as scheduling extra training session during some weeks. “Yeah, we’d like to be as professional as we can in this environment. If that includes three to four sessions that week, we’ll do it. To raise the bar, you’ve got to do more than your opposition and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Despite the excellent start, the coach won’t allow complacency into the squad. “We’re really fussy about standards. I think comfort is a standard-killer.”
“At the end of the day, there is a belief we can compete against any other team in the competition, but it’s a long season. With 17 games to go, anything can happen. We’re pleased with our start. Momentum’s important. I think we’ve built some decent momentum now. The belief and confidence is there.”