The season may not have started as planned but Rikki Smith says Inglewood United remain very much on course for a top four finish. Inglewood entered the year with ambitions of finishing towards the top of the National Premier Leagues table, following a strong off-season recruitment drive under rookie coach Michael Garcia.
However, the opening six games haven’t quite gone to plan with Inglewood having a solitary win on the board to be positioned eighth, a record Smith acknowledges as unacceptable. “No one at the club – including the playing group – is happy with our current position on the ladder,” the defender commented.
“We are still a very confident group and the top four is very much within our grasp. We just need to focus on one game at a time and build some consistent form. Our overall structure is getting better and as that develops further teams are going to really struggle to break us down.”
Inglewood picked up their first league win last weekend by defeating Perth Glory 2-1. Prior to that, the team matched three of the competitions top sides in reigning champions Bayswater City, perennial favourites Perth SC and a revitalised Balcatta, however, any gains made there were offset by losses to Cockburn City and Sorrento.
“If you look at the season as a whole, the results so far probably have been a fair reflection on how we have been playing,” said Smith. “When we turn up and give 100% it’s shown we can match it with any team in the league. And in the games we lacked intensity and effort we were duly punished.”
“The gaffer has been working hard to implement the way he wants us to play,” he continued. “Unfortunately, a general lack of application in a few games has cost us this season. However, when we have applied the game plan we’ve shown that we can match it with the so-called bigger teams in the league.”
The task ahead doesn’t get any easier with an undefeated Floreat Athena making the trip to Inglewood on Saturday evening. “One of their strengths appears to be scoring goals so stopping that presents a good challenge,” said Smith. “Ludovic Boi, Lewis McMahon and Steve Burton are very good attacking players but we have players who will match-up well against them.”
“Defensively we are getting better each week and I can see that trend continuing, which will frustrate Floreat,” Smith added. “The pace we have down the wings is going to cause them some problems and in my opinion that is where we will win the game. Like I said, we are a confident group and seem to lift for these big games.”
