St Albans coach Ryan McGuffie urges player ‘bravery’ to end unsavoury trend

From shouldering the top teams on the table to the bottom, it has been one roller coaster ride for St Albans this NPL season. Here’s what their club leaders have to say about the surprising start.

St Albans has lost six straight games for the first time in NPL history.

After the opening five games of the season, the Saints along with leading sides, Oakleigh Cannons and Avondale, were the only undefeated team in the NPL Victoria competition.

They defeated Heidelberg United 1-nil in Round 3 and recorded four draws which included current top four teams in the Cannons and Melbourne Knights.

Their shock drop in form beggars questions.

Saints coach Ryan McGuffie said the form slump “could be due to a number of things.”

“Obviously getting beaten at this level, it can affect the confidence of players,” McGuffie said.

St Albans coach Ryan McGuffie. Picture: St Albans media

“And we have had a couple on injuries to key players, the likes of Brian Summerskill who has had a surgery.

“He has been out the last four or five weeks, he is a key player for us and we are trying to bring someone in that can replace him.

“So it has been a combination of a lack of confidence and obviously missing key players has affected our performances and being away from home.

“So hopefully being back at home this weekend, we can get a decent result and try and look to build again for the second half of the season.”

A season-ending injury midfielder Summerskill (kidney) is one of a number of key player absences the Saints have had to deal with in their run of six losses.

Troy Ruthven, Zachary Thomas and George Ott have been other players to have missed games but are now back playing.

21:56: GOAL! St. Albans Saints SC scores to make it ST.A 1 : HUFC 0

Watch live and free on https://t.co/bOA3JNp71S#NPLVIC#ST.AHUFC pic.twitter.com/DNTMTRzBnc

— NPL Victoria (@nplvictoria) March 3, 2023

Playing away from home has been another challenge for the Saints.

The Saints were forced to play their last five matches on the road as their home ground, Churchill Reserve, underwent renovations.

The Saints will return to St Albans on Sunday where they will face Moreland City, who are new to the NPL competition this season after earning promotion.

Saints captain Michael Grgic says the return to Churchill Reserve will be a big advantage.

“I think being at home is going to be a massive factor,” Grgic said.

“We have had some good home form this year and being away the last five weeks has been a bit tough.

“Being at home in front of our fans should be a big incentive for us to win.

“Our fans are probably the best in the league, they are always supporting us and always turn out in good numbers so I think that is a big advantage as well.”

FT St Albans 1 - Heidelberg 0
A late chance is missed by the Bergers and St Albans hold on to win on their home turf after going 10-men down in the 82nd minute. First win of the season for the Saints. pic.twitter.com/oXD8IJYx4b

— Max Hatzoglou (@MHatzoglou) March 3, 2023

With City sitting one spot above the Saints in 11th position, the Saints will see Sunday’s game as a strong opportunity to bounce back.

McGuffie has a clear message for his side ahead of the match.

“We need to stand up,” he said.

“We need players who are going to be brave.

“When your back is against the wall, you got to come out fighting.

“And in the NPL competition, you got to be competitive so I need players to stand up and be brave, and basically show me what they have got.”

The Saints will gather confidence from a 2-nil win over Whittlesea United on Tuesday night in the Australia Cup.

McGuffie, who was assistant coach with reigning NPL champions Oakleigh Cannons last season, understands how competitive the league is.

“It is a very tough league, there are no easy games at this level so you’ve got to make sure that when you’re playing each match, you’re on,” he said.

“I think we did really well at the start of the season.

“The first seven matches, I think five of them were with 10 men and we still managed to remain undefeated (for the first five game) so that was a great achievement by the team.”

McGuffie hopes his side can return to strong form from the start of the season on Sunday.