Inglewood United’s player group have vowed to commemorate Siggy Kramer by climbing their way up the National Premier Leagues standings over the closing rounds of the winter. Kramer, 76, passed away earlier this month after six-plus decades of service to Inglewood, as a player, coach and administrator. His passion and drive for the club has proved an inspiration for defender Jason Colli and his team mates, who intend finishing the season strongly in tribute to Kramer. “Collectively as team we have said that, in honour of the great man, we need to finish the season off well,” explained Colli.
A six-game winless streak has derailed Inglewood’s hopes of making this year’s play-offs but Colli points to the recent friendly win over A-League side Perth Glory as evidence of what is possible. “It shows that we are capable of beating anyone, as long as we have the desire to do so,” Colli asserted. “Everyone in the squad knows we can play good football, and if work for each other we can achieve anything. I know the team is eager to get on the park this weekend to make up for the last six weeks, and if we played like we did against Glory then we will come away with a win.”
Colli feels recent results do not reflect his team’s on-field efforts. “We played well enough in all six games to get more than we did, unfortunately, we didn’t take our chances when they presented and made some silly errors which cost us at the end of the day,” said Colli in explaining the three draws and three losses. “In those six games the team changed a lot due to injuries, holidays and such, and there’s no doubt that constant change had a negative effect on our performances. Having said that, we still have a group of players that is more than capable of winning games.”
Victory will be at the forefront of Colli’s mind when he steps out at the Edith Cowan University campus on Saturday to play ECU Joondalup. “I’m feeling confident for the trip to Joondalup. The whole team is in good spirit and we have a good record at Joondalup in recent times,” he said. “Whenever you play Joondalup you know it’s going to be a battle for the whole game and that they have some quality players that can hurt you. But we want to finish the season as high as we can on the ladder because we know we are better than ninth position.”
