Midfielder Jordi Valadon hopes a gritty performance with 10 men can prove the spark that kickstarts Melbourne Victory’s season.
Victory are yet to win in the A-League Men and are delicately placed in their Asian Champions League Two (ACL2) campaign, sitting second in Group E behind Indonesian leaders Persib Bandung.
New coach Giovanni Savarese has been adamant the tide will turn for Victory, who came from behind, despite being down a man for close to 80 minutes, to draw with Central Coast at AAMI Park on Sunday.
“Obviously a tough day. We wanted to get all three points,” Valadon said.
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“It’s (the first league win) coming. Today is going to spark something for us – showing that sort of character and fight back with 10.”
Valadon certainly delivered a spark by scoring a terrific maiden ALM goal in his 75th game, ending the league’s longest active playing streak without a goal.
The midfielder received the ball from Charles Nduka, danced to the edge of the 18-yard box and ripped a scintillating, unbeatable strike into the opposite top corner.
“I didn’t want to wait that long, obviously, but it’s worth the wait in the end, I guess, and hopefully there’s more to come,” Valadon said.
“You’ve always got to try your luck. You knock enough times, they’ll let you in.”
Victory are in the thick of a congested fixture, backing up a Saturday derby draw with a midweek trip to Indonesia, where they lost to Persib 2-0, before facing the Mariners on Sunday.
“It’s obviously something different. I’ve not experienced it a lot,” the 23-year-old said.
“It’s always a privilege to play in Asia, as well as the league.
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“To have so many games – people always say you need more games in Australia and everything – to have that opportunity is something you’ve got to take with both hands and make the most of.
“It’s obviously challenging, but we do our best recovering, training and staying on top of things so we can keep performing and keep putting our best foot forward.”
Valadon has been a mainstay, relishing working alongside Denis Genreau, Louis D’Arrigo and Guillermo May,
He is ready for Wednesday’s return ACL2 leg against Persib at AAMI Park, then Sunday’s clash with Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium.
“It’s a massive week, obviously,” Valadon said.
“First, we’ve got Persib. We’ll take it a game at a time, as we always have. We’ll focus on that.
“After that, we’ve got a massive original rivalry. It’s a big game away from home.
“I’m just looking forward to it. It’s always a great turnout. It’ll be a cracker game.”
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