The Wolves' season has been full of inconsistencies but one thing they are doing is making it very hard for teams to travel down the coast to play in Wollongong.
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Following their 2-0 win against Bulls Academy on Friday night, it marked their sixth consecutive game unbeaten at home. Perhaps even more impressively, David Carney's men have not conceded a goal in those six home games.
Left-back Walter Scott spoke to the Mercury before the Bulls victory and said the team were looking to make Wollongong a fortress. As they head into the back end of the season, a decent home run will be crucial to the side climbing up the ladder.
There have been draws that Carney would have preferred to have been wins, such as consecutive 0-0 games at home against Blacktown and Mt Druitt, but since their 3-1 loss to Rockdale on March 10, the team have beaten CCM, rivals Sutherland and most recently, the Bulls.
All of these games were held at WIN Stadium, whilst they did play out another stalemate against Sydney United at Albert Butler Memorial Park.
Marcus Beattie said that the team had been and would put a lot of focus and determination into their home games for the remainder of the season as ones they must not lose.
"I think we've got to make it tough to come down here," he said.
![Marcus Beattie has been key at right-back for the Wolves this season. Picture by Adam McLean Marcus Beattie has been key at right-back for the Wolves this season. Picture by Adam McLean](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/181794477/4b5df03d-c16b-49c6-9a5f-94636919af90.jpg/r0_176_3435_2115_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We make them come on a Friday night, a big drive after work or whatever they've got on. It's our home.
We want to make it tough for them to come.
- Marcus Beattie
Beattie said after the team had a number of problems conceding goals at the beginning of the season that they had worked out how to prevent them.
"I just think [it comes down to] extra focus," he said.
"Defending is all about 11 men, not just the back four or the back six. So it's just really focusing on the full 90 minutes. And I think it's a habit sort of thing.
"If you get one clean sheet, it feels like you can do it again. It's a good foundation for the team," Beattie said.
It's been a slightly different role for the former IPL product with Carney deploying him at right-back.
Being an attacker at heart, Beattie added that it was something out of the ordinary but a job he was relishing.
"[It's] something slightly different," he said.
"But I guess with modern football it allows me to get up and back. But I'm more than happy as long as we're winning games, it really doesn't matter."
![Captain Lachlan Scott scored his eighth goal of the season against Bulls FC. Picture by Anna Warr Captain Lachlan Scott scored his eighth goal of the season against Bulls FC. Picture by Anna Warr](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/181794477/a823c973-5781-40a3-8057-d3c84438805c.jpg/r0_265_5184_3191_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Wolves will be on the road next week against the relegation-threatened WSW.
With no finals and little chance of relegation, the Wolves' main aim is to finish as high on the table as they can with 11 games remaining.
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