Melbourne Victory skipper Leigh Broxham praised his side’s ability to “scrap” helped the club to a crucial AFC Champions League draw away to Suwon Bluewings on Wednesday night.
Victory maintained their unbeaten record in Group G with a fighting 1-1 draw in Korea thanks to Kosta Barbarouses’ equaliser.
Victory pick up precious ACL point against Suwon
The Hyundai A-League champions spent much of the contest trying to repel the home side, holding firm to stay three points clear of Suwon in second spot in the group.
“They were putting a lot of pressure [on us], they were the home team, a lot of long balls and we had to scrap,” Broxham told Fox Sports afterwards.
“We defended very well… We wanted to secure the win but it’s always very difficult away from home. They are a very good team so we’ll take a 1-1 draw definitely.”
Key points:
*Victory has never progressed out of the group stage in the ACL.
*Keeper Lawrence Thomas starred for the visitors, making seven saves in a man-of-the-match performance.
*Barbarouses’ equalising goal came barely two minutes after rising star Kwon Chang-hoon’s opener.
Victory now needs one win from their final two matches to ensure progression to the last 16.
It starts with a tricky trip to group leaders Shanghai SIPG in a fortnight followed by a potentially winner-takes-all clash against Gamba Osaka in Melbourne next month.
