John van ‘t Schip expects the Premiership race to go down to the wire but believes Melbourne City has the momentum at the right time of the season.
City went to the top of the Hyundai A-League ladder on Friday night with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Brisbane Roar at AAMI Park.
MATCH REPORT: City go top after comeback win over 10-man Roar
Trailing 1-0 at the break, City finished over the top of a 10-man Roar with goals to Aaron Mooy, Anthony Caceres and Nick Fitzgerald sealing the win.
“The belief is definitely there, it’s just very tight at the top,” van ‘t Schip told Fox Sports.
“It’s about momentum now. We have the momentum now but there’s still three more games to go.
“It’s still very tight, tomorrow (Sat night) it’s Western Sydney against Adelaide and next week is a difficult game for us against Wellington, who has been having strange results. They can pull out a win so we have to be prepared for that game.
“Those are the games that look on paper are easier but they are not. We’ve shown in the past we’ve had trouble dealing with those games and we have to make a statement in those games as well.”
While he wasn’t able to add to his 20 goals for the season, City striker Bruno Fornaroli was instrumental in City’s fightback.
He won the penalty for the equaliser – which resulted in Roar defender Jack Hingert seeing red – before playing a role in Fitzgerald’s match-sealer when his free-kick smashed onto the crossbar,
“He’s been outstanding. You see he fights himself into the game,” van ‘t Schip said of the Uruguayan.
“The first half was difficult but you can see he waits for his moments. He’s strong on the ball and he starts to really threaten the opponents.
“That’s when the other players around him start moving. Bruno is really important for us, the first goal, the penalty, was all starting with him. He was a great player on the pitch today again.”
