Derby won’t be a simple coast for Bell Park

BELL PARK will be aiming for its second straight derby win in two weeks when it hosts fellow local outfit Surf Coast on Saturday.

But having taken care of Golden Plains in comfortable fashion last week with a 6-0 rout, Bell Park coach Tony Hayes said that Surf Coast would present a much greater challenge to his team.

“I think it is going to be a different type of game,” Hayes said.

“Surf Coast is a much more formidable team so we know they are more dangerous going forward.

“Obviously it would be nice to run over them but we have got to be realistic and know that it is a derby and we have a proper challenge ahead of us.”

Bell Park sits second on the State League 4 table, three points away from ladder leader

Laverton with a strong goal difference of 11 after seven matches.

But Hayes said despite the obvious temptation to be distracted by promotion should his side finish on top at the end of the season, his focus was on continuing to build on the foundations that have been laid in the hope of future, sustained success.

“Our objective isn’t to win the league but we definitely want to put ourselves in the best position to win the league,” he said.

“When I came into this project we had a lot of stalwarts of the club retire so we had to rebuild the side.

“We maintained a fantastic core group but it has been a building process and trying to put ourselves in the right position this season or the following season.

“If we are within striking distance we definitely want to have a tilt at it, but it isn’t the major objective.”