He was doing his best to play down its significance, but you can be sure Melbourne Victory boss Kevin Muscat was privately beaming after his side’s gritty 2-0 win over Perth Glory.
Saturday night was supposed to be all about the home side, playing in front of a record crowd and taking another significant step towards that elusive first piece of Hyundai A-League silverware.
But Muscat’s men obviously forgot to read the script.
Showing the type of resilience and determination that is the mark of champions, Victory repelled 55 balls into their penalty area to leave with their defence unbowed and three precious points.
Considering they had lost both previous matches against the Glory this season, the triumph is sure to give Victory a nice little mental boost should the sides meet again in the finals.
“We knew we would have to earn anything we get from here and I thought we played with some real courage and real heart and were good for our three points,” Muscat said post-match.
“From our perspective, the team that’s wanting to attack, that’s wanting to press high, never gets labelled as organised or disciplined.
“A team that sits as we were in the second half, they were throwing a lot of men forward and we had to react.
“Maybe it’ll be one of the first times we get described with the adjectives of organised and disciplined, so I’m very happy to be organised and disciplined tonight.”
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What Victory’s win in Perth has also done is set up a mouth-watering Big Blue against Sydney FC on Saturday night.
Fixtures between the interstate rivals are always fierce but this one at the SCG has plenty on the line to whet the appetite.
While the pair are still mathematically able to chase down Glory for the Premiers’ Plate – Sydney FC are six points behind and Victory seven – it looms as a shootout for the all-important second spot.
Both sides will have every right to feel confident having posted impressive away wins on the weekend.
And perhaps ominously for the opposing defences it was their star imports who excelled, with Adam Le Fondre and Siem de Jong on the scoresheet for the Sky Blues against Brisbane Roar, while Ola Toivonen and Keisuke Honda got Victory’s goals against Glory.
“One thing it has done is it’s certainly opened it up in terms of excitement,” Muscat said.
“With Sydney winning and obviously [our] result and therefore Perth losing, it’s set up nicely for a run-in.”
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6020731321001
Plenty of attacking options for Corica
Still on the Big Blue and Sydney FC boss Steve Corica has some tough – but pleasant – options to consider with his attack for the remainder of the season.
Both de Jong and youngster Daniel De Silva were on the bench over the weekend after lengthy injury absences.
They joined Iranian star Reza Ghoochannejhad as substitutes against Brisbane Roar on Friday night, behind a starting attack which featured Adam Le Fondre, Alex Brosque, Milos Ninkovic and Anthony Caceres.
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With emerging youngster Luke Ivanovic and speedster Mitch Austin also in reserve, the Sky Blues suddenly have a number of possibilities in the front third as the competition reaches the business end.
The key for Corica will be finding the right combination and balance, but if he does it could spell trouble for Sydney FC’s title rivals come the Finals Series.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6019898400001
Free-scoring Phoenix set Hyundai A-League record
Wellington Phoenix boss Mark Rudan has often tried to deflect the limelight from his high-flying side, pointing to the fact they are still very much a work-in-progress under his stewardship.
But the numbers don’t lie, and with the club on track for a top-four finish, Phoenix are also setting records with their goal-scoring prowess.
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The team from across the ditch is playing with supreme confidence and a desire to go forward at will, with the likes of Roy Krishna, David Williams and Sarpreet Singh reaping the benefits.
Saturday night’s 4-1 demolition of Newcastle Jets – achieved without the services of top scorer Krishna, who was suspended – means the Kiwi outfit have become the first club in Hyundai A-League history to score 15 goals in the space of three successive matches.
#WELvNEW 4-1 at 83'. WEL have scored 15 in last three games. only once in Aus national league has a team scored more in three games – Adelaide City scored 16 in three straight games in 1977
— andrew howe (@AndyHowe_statto) March 30, 2019
Phoenix’s four goals against the Jets came after a 3-1 win over the Wanderers and the 8-2 thrashing of Central Coast earlier this month.
The impressive feat has taken Rudan’s troops past the Melbourne City side from 2015/16, who scored 14 goals between Rounds eight and 10.
Glory sets new attendance record
The catchcry ahead of Perth Glory’s home clash against Melbourne Victory on Saturday night was #FillthePark and the people of the west certainly did that.
A crowd of 17,856 packed into HBF Park on Saturday night to watch the top-of-the-table clash, setting a Hyundai A-League home record for the league’s pacesetters.
Biggest @PerthGloryFC non-finals league home crowds:
18,067 v South Melb 15-Nov-98
17,856 #PERvMVC*
17,764 v Sydney Utd 28-Dec-97
17,673 v Adelaide City 12-Oct-97
17,588 v Marconi 13-Dec-98
* biggest @aleague crowd— andrew howe (@AndyHowe_statto) March 30, 2019
It was also Glory’s biggest non-finals attendance in any competition in more than two decades.
While the majority went home disappointed with the result, they saw their team play some brilliant football and there is still plenty for Glory fans to get excited about for the remainder of the campaign.
