Jason Colli and his teammates have learnt in the past fortnight exactly what is required for Inglewood United to be considered serious challengers in the National Premier Leagues title race. Inglewood entered the month as one of the competition’s form sides, a five game winning streak propelling them to fourth on the leader.

But despite being on a high, Inglewood have come away empty-handed from their two most recent outings, against perennial powerhouse Perth SC and league leaders Bayswater City. Colli, Inglewood’s longest serving player, says those back-to-back losses have highlighted where improvement needed to bring silverware to the club.

“The football we play at times is good enough but the effort needs to be there from all our players all the time if we are to challenge for the title,” Colli said. “The last two games have shown us that we will be punished for lapses in concentration and effort. If we can erase those from our game we will be okay.”

Inglewood are away this weekend to Balcatta, who gained a 1-1 draw when the sides met earlier in the year, and Colli is confident the team can take all three points this time around. “We were still quite raw as a team back then,” he said. “We all understand each other a lot better now and our game is progressing each week.“

“Balcatta have a good squad with many potential match-winners,” Colli acknowledged. “But we’re playing some good football, we are creating chances and we just need to get that consistent 90-minute performance. If we play with the same determination that we showed during that five game winning streak we can beat anyone in the league.”

Colli can see no reason why Inglewood can’t reclaim their place in the top four before the season is out. “Positions four to eight are very close and a good result can move you up the ladder,” he commented. “We have a good group of players and if we play at our best I know we can finish the season strongly.”