Defender Sasa Ognenovski says Melbourne Victory can expect stiffer competition from Adelaide United when the two teams clash in Saturday’s Hyundai A-League Grand Final.
The Reds imploded once Victory scored a goal in the second game of the Semi-Final and eventually went on to lose 4-0.
But Ognenovski, who will be playing his last game in the A-League before heading to South Korea, said the South Australian side would be putting in a more spirited performance in the season decider.
“Once they got that early goal we pretty much dropped in a heap and just let them do whatever they wanted to do to us,” he said of the last Telstra Dome clash.
“Because it’s a one-off game I don’t think any heads will drop if they score early. That goal early was pretty much like the Gamba goal (in the ACL final) it sort of put us out of the tie.”
“In a grand final if you go a goal down; you’ve still got all that time to get back into the game.”
Ognenovski is sure to give everything during the final given it’ll be his last game for United.
The 29-year-old is known for being a physical enforcer in defence and said he won’t be holding back against his Victory opponents.
“If somebody is in my way they might get hurt or something like that. If the referee sees it as a yellow card he sees it as a yellow card but I won’t be stepping on anyone though,” he said.
The former Queensland Roar player, who joined Adelaide during the off-season and was initially signed on to play for the Reds in 2009-10, has been lured by a more financial deal overseas.
However he said he wouldn’t have made the progression without the help of his A-League clubs.
“It’s been a great year, everything that has happened this year with the club and with myself has been very positive, Asia, the Club World Cup this (A-League) season,” he said.
“We are in the grand final, we’ve got a chance to be the champions of Australia – it’s been fantastic, I’ve really enjoyed my time.”
“I think that having that experience in Asia, playing better players obviously improves players. When you play against better players you obviously lift.”
“I learnt a lot off Craig Moore up in Queensland and Ang Costanzo here so in that sense I’ve probably had a better season because of all the stuff in Asia.”
