Even when his side trailed by two goals early against Sydney FC on Saturday night, Melbourne Victory skipper Kevin Muscat always knew his side could pull off a miracle win.
Melbourne conceded two goals to Sydney FC in the first four minutes of its blockbuster Hyundai A-League clash at Telstra Dome, but produced a remarkable comeback to clinch a 3-2 victory in front of 25,398 people.
Stunning strikes from Shannon Cole and Brendan Gan allowed Sydney FC to skip out to the lead, but goals to Archie Thompson, Nick Ward and Ney Fabiano ensured the home side collected all three points.
It was the second time this season that Melbourne has trailed early but come back to win 3-2 and Muscat said there is a strong sense of belief among the side.
“We were down 2-0 after three or four minutes and you get those games sometimes,” Muscat said.
“But I could just tell we were going to get back into the game. The noise that I could hear and the belief that was going around the place.”
“In fact we were disappointed not to come in at half-time even. But as soon as we got that second goal there was only going to be one winner.”
It was a timely win for Melbourne as they entered the clash on a three-game losing streak and could have found themselves battling for a finals position if they had failed to pick up any points.
But the win sees Melbourne rise to second place on the A-League ladder and with four of its last five games at home, the side is well placed for a top two finish at the end of the season.
But Muscat refused to discuss what would happen down the track and said he just wanted to sit back and enjoy the team-s success.
“I’m not going to stand here and say what’s going to happen from here on in,” Muscat said.
“It’s important that we take stock and enjoy that tonight, because football is too short.”
“You’re only in it for a short period of time so I want to enjoy that result however it may be and get back on the training track.”
“Our mentality wont change, we’ll be back on the track working just as hard as we did last week.”
