Heading into Ballarat City's final game of the National Premier League competition, coach James Robinson said his side it approaching its road match-up against Werribee City like any other.
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"We know we're not going to change our processes and preparation," he told The Courier on Friday afternoon.
Despite the fact Werribee is placed seven spots higher than City on the ladder, Robinson is confident in his side's ability to challenge the competition's top teams.
"We've done our previews, we know where we can hurt them and we've got a gameplan... we want to deliver on our plan and be adaptable within it.
"We're going into the game looking for three points... we want to finish the season on a high and to continue our building."
Ballarat came close to beating Werribee in the two sides first meeting of the year, however went down 2-1 at home after a late goal.
Since that loss, Ballarat City's aforementioned building has defined the team's second half of the season, which has a lot of people around the club forgetting about the side's 14-game losing streak.
Robinson said he always expected his team to close the season strong and pointed to the increased experience as the biggest contributor to City's more consistent play across its last 11 games.
"It comes down to experience... we had players who didn't have experience playing at this level and now they've embraced it and are learning from it."
Across its last 11 games, City has registered two wins, five losses and four draws, a huge improvement over the teams one win and 15 loss record over the first 16 weeks of the season.
Robinson says his side's understanding of what it takes to compete and win at this level is now at a point where he is confident going into ever game.
"You can just see the development in their actions... you can only get greater understanding by doing. Their belief and confidence has growth through the roof.
"They know what it takes and they're no longer just meeting those requirements, they're actually going out and dominating."
The growth of Ballarat City's young players became clear following the side's 3-2 victory over Melbourne City, which led the professional club to bring young duo Chudiar Tharjiath and Xagai Douhadji in to train with the club's senior team. The pair have combined for eight goals this season.
It was another positive sign for Ballarat City as a development program who recently saw former player Brandon Lauton sign with Melbourne Victory's senior team.
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