Andrew Nabbout has hit an absolute stunner for Melbourne Victory in pre-season.
The 26-year-old forward scored a double as Marco Kurz’s men continued their pre-season preparations in Wednesday’s friendly against Port Melbourne Sharks.
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Nabbout’s second was truly one to savour, with the Caltex Socceroo pouncing on a loose ball on the edge of the box before bending an unstoppable hit into the top corner.
The definition of Top Bins from @andrewnabbout#topcorner #PMvMV #MVFC pic.twitter.com/J81hCCEWtz
— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) August 29, 2019
Kenny Athiu also clinched two goals for Victory, while Ola Toivonen put his name on the scoresheet.
Robbie Kruse did not feature as the Caltex Socceroos forward continues his recovery from a leg injury sustained at the start of the month.
Four-time Hyundai A-League Champions Victory kick off the 2019/20 campaign with a derby fixture against Melbourne City on Saturday, October 12.
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Popovic tips Newcastle Jets for improvement
Tony Popovic expects Newcastle Jets will be a much-improved force next Hyundai A-League season.
The difference between Perth and Newcastle, who finished in seventh place and 25 points behind Popovic’s Premiership-winners, was stark in 2018/19.
However, the former Caltex Socceroos defender says the Jets could be set to rise up the ladder next season.
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Pre-training shenanigans…@ALeague #SurfCityCup #OneGlory pic.twitter.com/5BCzq2dk3c
— Perth Glory FC (@PerthGloryFC) August 29, 2019
Popovic and his side will get a good marker of Newcastle’s stock, and their own pre-season progress, when they face off in next Tuesday evening’s Surf City Cup encounter.
“Newcastle are a very talented squad and with Ernie Merrick at the helm they’ll play some attractive football,” Popovic told the club website.
“They’re always dangerous and on their day, they can beat anyone. I expect them to be better this year.
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“It will be good to see where they’re at. But what is more important for us is that they give us a good test.”
Perth will play the Jets in game three of the Surf City Tri-Series on Tuesday, 3 September, at the Croatian Sports Centre on the Gold Coast.
Yeboah: Wanderers showed true colours in FFA Cup rout
Kwame Yeboah believes Western Sydney Wanderers issued a seven-goal statement of intent against Sydney United 58.
The Wanderers pummelled NPL NSW club United 58 7-1 in Wednesday night’s FFA Cup Round of 16 fixture to book their ticket to the competition Quarter Finals.
Although their second-tier opponents were playing their fourth match in 11 days and finished the game with 10 players following the dismissal of former Wanderer Yianni Perkatis, the Red and Black still produced one of their slickest performances yet under coach Markus Babbel.
"We wanted to show what we can do and who we are."
.@kwameAyeboah on our @FFACup demolition of Sydney United: https://t.co/ZiLDten4N5 #WSW pic.twitter.com/Bl5N0RvqLG
— WS Wanderers FC (@wswanderersfc) August 29, 2019
Yeboah, who scored his side’s third and also registered an assist on the night, says the Wanderers were out to underline their title credentials.
“The effort from the boys was very good. We didn’t just want to win, we wanted to win comfortably and that’s what we did,” he told the club’s official website.
“We wanted to show what we can do and who we are.”
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