John van ‘t Schip admits Melbourne Heart’s maiden finals campaign will come to nothing if they continue to dish up second-half fadeouts.
John van ‘t Schip admits Melbourne Heart’s maiden finals campaign will come to nothing if they continue to dish up second-half fadeouts.
The fifth-placed Heart secured their first ever finals spot with a 2-2 draw against Sydney FC on Saturday night.
“We have achieved that, but I’ve just told the players there was too much of a difference in the way we played last week from the first to second half and this week from the first to second half,” van ‘t Schip said.
“If you really want to be good in the finals then we have to be good in both halves.”
The Heart would have been in contention for a home final had they won against the Sky Blues, and that looked the likely result at half time after captain Fred set up goals for Mate Dugandzic and Eli Babalj just before the break.
However a lack of midfield intensity and sloppy defence allowed Sydney substitute Shannon Cole to score twice in the second half.
Mathematically, the Heart could still drop out of the top six, but it’s extremely improbable.
Sydney and Newcastle, who clash in the final round, could draw and both overtake the fifth-placed Heart, but only if the Heart lose to Adelaide United by eight goals on Friday night.
Van ‘t Schip said the likelihood his side would face all away matches during the finals had not dented his side’s title chances.
The red and white’s first assignment will be long trips to either Wellington or Perth where a loss would see them eliminated.
“We’ve showed when we play away we can play well – we’ve won in Perth, we’ve won in Brisbane, we’ve won in Sydney – so there’s not a big difference between a home game and an away game for us.
“I have a strong belief that if everything is good and you’re having the right day that we can really be a good team and go far,” van ‘t Schip said.
