Melbourne Victory are hoping to turn Brisbane’s attacking style to their own advantage during Saturday’s Hyundai A-League clash at Suncorp Stadium.
Victory boast an impressive recent record against the Roar having not lost to them in over two years in a period where they have won five of the six encounters between the two teams.
Melbourne defender Rody Vargas attributes that run of form, which includes a 3-0 win over Brisbane earlier this season, to the fact that Ange Postecoglou’s side like to attack and that suits the way Victory like to play.
“I think Brisbane play pretty similar to us, they like to attack. They are very good on the counter attack and they have got a lot of movement,” he said.
“I think against us earlier this year, they dominated the game in the first half. We held out and waited for our chance in the second half. Once the game opens up for us, it’s a game we like to play. Brisbane are a team that won’t sit back and that suits us.”
Melbourne coach Ernie Merrick is a firm believer that history belongs in the past and head-to-head records count for little. But Victory midfielder Billy Celeski feels you should take any advantage you can get against a side like the Roar.
“I think it’s important to get any little edge, especially against a team like Brisbane. They are a great team. We will take our last game into account and obviously our form against Brisbane and we are going to try and back up like we did the other night,” Celeski said.
Both players agreed that while Victory had gone some way to putting the recent loss to Melbourne Heart in the inaugural derby behind them with Saturday’s 3-0 win over Sydney, that disappointment was still driving the team.
“We were really hurt by that loss against the Heart. It was really important to get up against Sydney,” Celeski said. “They were looking for the win too. To get a 3-0 result against them, it’s really boosted our confidence.”
Vargas said the team feels that it had let down the entire Victory family with that defeat and that Saturday’s result has gone only some way to restoring the damage.
“It was very encouraging. The boys were still hurting from the first ever Melbourne derby. To go down to Melbourne Heart, the new team in the league in front of a massive crowd, it was very disappointing for the team, the fans and the members,” he said.
“We felt we let the fans down that night, we had to come back on Saturday and score three goals and not concede, it went a little way for us to pay them back. Hopefully we can continue to do that.”
