Hume City hope gun recruits can lift the club back into NPL Victoria finals calculations

Eye-catching pre-season performances from international recruits Lloyd Isgrove and Mickel Platt has Hume City eyeing a return to NPL Victoria finals in 2024.

Lloyd Isgrove in action for Hume City. Picture: TAFE Sports Photography

Hume City’s English import Lloyd Isgrove looms as a genuine NPL Victoria Golden Boot contender.

The Welsh international has showcased his class with doubles in recent friendlies against Caroline Springs George Cross and Green Gully and another against Moreland City.

City hopes the former Bolton Wanderers, Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley and Swindon Town man’s arrival can help it jump back up the ladder.

Isgrove will be joined in attack by fellow overseas recruit Mickel Platt and Aamir Abdullah, while former Australia under-20 defender Harry Ascroft arrives to bolster the backline.

Hume coach Cameron Watson revealed how the club was able to secure two international talents.

“Lloyd actually emailed the club, I think he sent out a general email because he was keen to get out to Australia and play,” Watson said.

“I responded to the email pretty quickly and lucky enough we had someone in the UK who was able to go and meet him in person, which I think was a big factor in getting him over the line.

“With Mikel, with someone on the ground in the UK, we found out he wanted a change of scenery and it was quite a quick process.

“He was playing non-league football and once he told his club it all happened pretty quickly and he came out at the start of January.

“Both have brought a lot of professionalism and they’re getting the best out of our boys as well, raising the intensity, which is great.”

This pre-season is Watson’s first in charge at Broadmeadows after taking the reins mid-season last year.

The former Australia under-17 and under-20 representative took the top job in May, starting with five consecutive defeats before finishing with three wins, two draws and two losses, including a 2-2 result against South Melbourne.

It saw the club finish 10th, 12 points outside the top-six and 13 clear of relegation.

Josh Bingham was a standout, leading the club’s scoring with 12 goals.

Watson was confident his squad was ready to challenge for finals.

“This is my first pre-season as head coach, which is exciting, and the boys have been excellent,” he said.

“They’ve brought in straight away and we’ve seen good progression in the last couple of months.

“We’ve done a lot of work to put our imprint on the team and what, hopefully, is a nice, attractive way of playing.

“Anyone would say they want to finish as high as possible and that’s our goal for the season – to push for a top-six position.

“If the boys can keep doing what we ask them to do, we’ll give ourselves a good chance, we’re just excited for what’s going to happen.”

The club has secured some impressive pre-season results ahead of a Round 1 clash with Dandenong Thunder at George Andrews Reserve on Saturday, February 10.

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“We haven’t lost, which is great, that’s a credit to the boys,” Watson said.

“We’ve managed to score in every game we’ve played, except the one we played on Saturday (against Western United NPL), so credit to the goalscoring but also the boys at the back and our goalkeepers too.

“It’s a matter of being consistent and not letting complacency settle in, that’s our job to keep them on their toes.”

Hume plays its first match at Hume City Stadium on Saturday, February 17 against Green Gully.