Anticipation is rising for Queanbeyan City’s long-awaited promotion back to the top tier, with fans expecting another push for the Capital Premier League title after a promising start to 2023.

Coach Goran Josifovski is at the helm for a second consecutive season, having worked with City for around 20 years, as both the Head Coach and as a player.

Josifovski has vocalised how his connection to the club is undeniably an emotive one.

“I have a soft spot for Queanbeyan City Football Club, obviously there are ties from an ethnic perspective, my background,” he said. “It’s a privilege for me to lead the charge and try and get them promoted.”

His 2022 campaign certainly took City close to achieving that goal, having made an electric start to the season which saw them win six of their first six outings. However, Queanbeyan’s lack of consistency, as opposed to the League Winners, Tuggeranong United, proved to be the difference between the two challengers.

“They [Tuggeranong] were going through a really positive patch as a club, and as a result we couldn’t match it, and therefore we ended up as runners up and not quite good enough.” commented Josifovski.

All in all, the coach chooses to emphasise Queanbeyan’s upward trajectory as the key takeaway, rather than focusing on the disappointments of the past campaign.

“I think the club has made substantial progress, not just on the field but off the field as well over the past couple of years, and that process is a positive one.” Josifovski stated.

“Rather than looking backwards, we’re looking forwards and hopefully we can be there and thereabouts when the title’s up for grabs.”

The key contrast between the last campaign and the current one for Josifovski, is a greater show of character from City, who haven’t ascended to near the top of the standings the easy way.

“I think we respond to adversity a little better,” he said. “Last year, even if we were ahead in games, as soon as obstacles were presented, we found it difficult to overcome that hurdle…whereas this year we’ve shown that even with ten men, nine men, we’re still willing to fight through and try and obtain a result.

“Irrespective of the results of the games, seeing the team has some resilience is very positive.”

Having fallen short of the title in 2022, recruitment has proven to be a key feature of City’s bright start, and potentially a contributor to a closer title challenge.

While Queanbeyan lost quality in the likes of Toni Angelkoski, Tom Olson in defence and goalkeeper, Mahmoud Halawani, they have managed to retain most of the players that contributed to a second-placed finish.

Ryan Gulevski’s retention has coincided with a much-improved 2023 season, whilst keeping the pace up front in Abderrahim Dellahi has proven to present a difficult task for opposition defences.

The return of mid-season signings, Nikola Trajkovski and Michael Piccolo ensures that Queanbeyan City have not lost any quality, and coupled with some new additions, have certainly added depth to the side’s attacking third.

Gabriel Ayuel arrived from O’Connor Knights off the back of a role in their promotion, alongside Christian Junna from Brindabella Blues, with both being off the mark already in 2023, although Junna has since moved to Brisbane.                                                                    

Josifovski alternatively emphasises the off-field impact of these new arrivals.

“For the new players that we’ve brought in, their most important contribution hasn’t been on the football field, it’s been off the football field, in terms of their professionalism, their approach, they come to training with a smile on their face.” he said.

One player certain to add to the dressing room is key signing, Nico Abot, the NPL journeyman having bagged five goals in seven games this season, whilst still recovering from an Achilles tear from last campaign.

“It’s fantastic to have him [Abot] I think he’s at about 60% at the moment if I’m honest.” Josifovski said.

“If he was any less professional, I don’t believe he would have played at all but it’s a testament to him, his commitment, his work ethic and his professionalism that he was able to recover from a very serious injury, and still come back and help our club out, so hopefully five [goals] turns to fifty-five very quickly.”

The squad altogether have achieved significant results early, and while most of the season is still yet to be played, fans will be encouraged by the performances early on, and will be gathering anticipation for a promotion back to the top tier. Josifovski is alternatively focusing on the here and now, rather than making targets that are still a great distance away.

“Incremental improvement is what’s the most important for us at the moment and we just want to win the next game,” Josifovski commented.

“We just want to be putting ourselves in a position where we can win the next game and that just generally comes down to application and training and improving as a squad as the season progresses.”

WORDS: Sam Watson