La Fiamma looking to make Salvatore Sciuto Stadium a home fortress after road success

Ugle Fabrications La Fiamma are determined to make their home pitch a fortress after early success on the road.

The Reds will play their first game in Geraldton on the weekend against Northern City after being on the road for rounds one and two.

Their first road game ended in a draw with league contenders Bayswater City, but last week they thumped Swan Valley 8-3.

Captain Lachlan Gray said it was the most goals the team had scored in a single game for years.

“I don’t think we’ve scored eight goals on anybody in probably eight years . . . I remember a couple of games when I was like 15, and that’s gone 10 years where we might have scored that many,” he said.

“It’s a massive result away from home and massive result for the club, just shows that we still have that scoring capability that we used to have.”

Despite the massive score difference, Gray said his side were just firing on all cylinders against a good opponent.

“It’s not like they were a poor team, quite a good outfit, we just for whatever reason pretty much every shot that we had was on target,” he said.

“As the goal tally went up, the pressure on the players in front of goal became less, when there’s less pressure, you’re probably a bit more likely to take your time on your shot.”

Now La Fiamma sit at second on the ladder, with early season position being crucial as playing catch-up becomes match harder later in the year.

Playing in front of the home crowd is a big deal for the Geraldton team, as they hold ambitions to make Salvatore Sciuto Stadium a home fortress.

Although the side will be without five players from the core squad in their first home game, due to work and other commitments, it leaves room for young players to step up.

“But the younger players and other players who are wanting to break into the first team know that . . . so they are putting their best foot forward to make sure they are the ones who get put in,” Gray said.

“It’s something that we haven’t really had in the last four or five years, is a squad of players that, even when we have a handful of players missing, are very capable of making the first team.”

La Fiamma will face Northern City at Salvatore Sciuto Stadium on Saturday, April 27, at 6pm.