It hasn’t been the start to the season they would’ve liked, but Wangaratta City FC’s senior men’s side aren’t as far off the pace as it first appears.

The Devils are back in action from this weekend, taking on Melrose FC on Sunday at South Wangaratta, returning from the league-wide Easter break with a harsh record from the first block of matches.

Wangaratta City sit ninth on the 11-team senior men’s table, with a draw and two losses to their name.

Their most recent match was a 2-1 loss to Boomers, conceding goals in the 86th and 88th minutes after having the game under control for the duration.

The Devils’ only points have come from a 1-1 draw with Albury United.

Senior men’s coach Vitaly Leschen said despite the winless start to the season, it isn’t all doom and gloom.

“It didn’t go to the plan we wanted, but that’s alright,” he said.

“The last couple of weeks I’ve been very happy with how we’ve been defending as a unit.

“Our back four, back six, and the fight among the team has been very good.

“In the last two weeks we progressed going forward a lot better, we created a lot of chances against both [Albury] United and Boomers.

“There are plenty of positives, and we could easily be here sitting on six points and it would be a different conversation.

“There’s a lot of quality, a lot of positives, the team is building - and we just need to get over that first hurdle and go from there.”

Leschen said the talent was absolutely there, and all it would take is a drop of belief to start the avalanche of positive results he knows his young team is capable of.

“Football’s a game of moments at the end of the day, it’s a low-scoring game so if we do not take our chances in senior football, other teams are going to have the chances and the quality to punish us, and that’s what’s happened in the first three weeks, and against Boomers,” he said.

“Going forward, we just need to put the ball in the back of the net – it sounds simple, but that’s all we need to do.

“We need to take those half-chances, and when we start converting those half-chances, or start getting those goals which don’t seem like chances at all, that will build momentum.

“I just think the boys need to regroup on the weekend back home, get a result under their belt that they’re proud of and demonstrates the quality we have, and we can build from there.”

It will be a tough challenge for the Devils, with Melrose in fine form with a 2-1 record early.

The match starts from 3pm on Sunday, 12 April at South Wangaratta Recreation Reserve.

Meanwhile, the division two women’s team is set for a top-four showdown with Melrose as they look to maintain their undefeated start to the season.

The Lady Devils take to the pitch at South Wangaratta from 9.30am.