Melbourne City FC coach Warren Joyce believes the tactic of pushing back Victory’s wide men is vital but admitted his side couldn’t execute after their 2-1 loss in the Melbourne Derby.
City recovered from a slow start to draw level early in the second half before Leroy George’s header won the derby for Victory inside the final 30 minutes of a pulsating encounter.
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“You know the way they [Victory] play, but you’ve got to really put them to the sword if you can get in the wide areas and get their wide lads chasing back.
“That’s how you dominate the possession and hurt them and cut through them. We weren’t able to do that,” Joyce told media after the game.
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He added: “I thought we had a lot of good opportunities, a lot of reasonable situations that didn’t end up with clear-cut chances, efforts at goal but not clear ones where you could say ‘he should have scored’ or ‘he should have scored’.
“I thought that’s the way the game was.”
City have now lost three on the spin. But one huge positive was the return to the starting XI of talismanic striker Bruno Fornaroli.
The Uruguayan slammed home City’s second-half spot-kick after he started for the first time since an ankle injury in the FFA Cup in August 2017.
Fornaroli made two substitute appearances in the A-League prior to the Melbourne Derby.
“With Bruno, it was just about seeing how he did really,” said Joyce.
“He’s not really trained three days on the trot with the group since he’s been back [to full fitness].
“So he’s done a lot of work with the medical staff and the rehab staff.
“So you know he’s got a good base fitness, it’s the sharpness he needs from games and football work and that’s the bit we’re trying to accelerate.”
