Adelaide United skipper Travis Dodd admits it is a massive relief for the Reds to have broken the hold Melbourne Victory have had over his side over the past three years.
The Reds thrashed Victory 4-1 at AAMI Park on Sunday, bringing to an end a 10-match losing streak against their bitter rivals and recording their first Hyundai A-League win against the Victory since October 2007.
Melbourne had built a formidable record against the Reds, beating them on six occasions in the 2008/09 season, including the Grand Final of that season, three times last season and once earlier this campaign.
Dodd has had to front up to the press after each of those losses and his joy at finally toppling Melbourne was palpable after Sunday’s game.
“It’s a bloody good feeling to come into a press conference and have a smile on my face after three years of losses,” he said.
“We had a great mindset when we went out there today. We wanted to go out and just keep fighting.”
While it was impossible for the Reds to put the A-League’s most famous hoodoo out of their minds ahead of this match, Dodd said the focus was about regaining momentum and keeping clear of the third-placed Mariners, who are four points behind with three games in hand.
“It was a great team performance by the boys. There was a lot on the line. We were playing for a spot in the finals as high as we can get top two,” he said. “We knew we had to get three points and put the pressure on the teams below us.”
Coach Rini Coolen felt the performances over the past three matches had shown that Reds were rediscovering their best form.
“We have started playing well the past couple of weeks. This was a very important game for us to win. It was about the way we did it too. We can be very happy with that,” he said.
Coolen said his team was looking forward to having next week off to rest and recuperate after a busy period of six games in 23 days.
He said Matthew Leckie, who has not played since suffering a knee injury against Melbourne in October, would join full training ahead of the game against North Queensland on Friday week.
It is doubtful that the Young Socceroos striker would start at Hindmarsh Stadium, but Coolen said an assessment would be made later in the week.
He also confirmed that first choice goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic will be back between the sticks for the match against the Fury after Mark Birighitti had done a fine job deputising over the past three games.
“Mark has been very good and it-s good to know we have him there should anything happen to Eugene,” Coolen said.
