A response to a first-half Big Blue penalty call underscores Melbourne Victory’s recent improvement, according to Lawrence Thomas.
Kevin Muscat’s side were frustrated when Adam Le Fondre struck home a penalty rebound to restore parity in a tense opening half on Sunday.
Having crumbled after suffering a similar fate from the penalty spot in Round 1’s Melbourne Derby, Thomas believes their ultimate 2-1 triumph over the Sky Blues is indicative of Victory’s resilience.
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“I think the biggest thing was our response to their penalty,” Thomas told Victory’s official website.
“Earlier in the season against [Melbourne] City we probably had a call go against us and we sort of fell away in the second half.
“Whereas this time we turned that around and in the second half we were a lot stronger.”
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We're building character which helps us through tough moments #MVFC #OurVictory pic.twitter.com/67RlTrbdQF
— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) November 26, 2018
After beginning their title defence with two defeats, Victory have now won three matches in a row and sit in second position on the Hyundai A-League ladder.
Thomas believes defensive improvement has been key difference from a tricky opening fortnight.
“I think that a big difference between now and our first two weeks is we aren’t giving away too many chances,” he continued.
“Newcastle away we were very solid, Central Coast Mariners likewise and [on Sunday] we were again really tight defensively.
“We’ve got so much quality going forward that if we can be ruthless at the back and clinical in attack we’ll give ourselves every chance to win.”
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