Sebastopol Vikings have landed a huge recruit following the signing of former Ballarat Red Devils captain Daniel Firth.
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The Vikings have already shown it is one of the most-improved sides in the Football Federation Victoria’s state league four west competition and Firth’s inclusion is set to provide a further boost to the third-placed Sebastopol.
Firth was originally planning on taking a year out of soccer given his work commitments that made fulfilling his National Premier League training duties difficult.
But Vikings coach Corey Smith was happy to have the experienced Firth on board even if it was not on a full-time basis. Firth will be available to play four out of every six matches and Smith was more than happy to oblige.
“Due to his work commitments he couldn’t commit to three nights of training and games at NPL level this year so we reap the benefit of that,” Smith said.
“Any game he does play is going to be a bonus for us.
“I think his experience and his leadership will be the biggest help to our squad. Also his NPL quality, there’s no doubting in terms of football he will help the squad as well.”
The Vikings will also be boosted by the recruitment of fellow Ballarat City player Ibrahim Ghulami.
Ghulami has played seven National Premier League two west matches for City this season, but has moved to Sebastopol for extra opportunity.
“He’s a nice kid, he’s got a great attitude and he adds to our attacking depth.”
Smith felt both players would add greatly to the side and its ambition to be promoted by seasons end. He said the combination of some key recruits and the significant improvement of last year’s “fringe” players has led to the rise up the ladder.
“We’re sitting in a good position, but we don’t want to get carried away.
“Our aim is to do as well as we can and these two players add to our depth to give us a chance to achieve that. They add depth, they also add competition for places, which raises the standard at training sessions which then raises the standard in matches.
“Our players who were on the fringe last year have really taken the next step.”