Melbourne Victory star striker Archie Thompson has promised to be on his best behaviour for the rest of the season as he prepares for his return to the pitch against Queensland Roar on Saturday night.
Thompson was suspended for two matches for swearing at a referee during the Victory’s loss to Newcastle – missing the club’s 2-0 defeat by Sydney FC at Telstra Dome and its stunning come-from-behind 3-2 win over Adelaide last round.
His return coincides with that of fellow attacker Ney Fabiano, who is also making his comeback from suspension after copping a six-match ban for spitting.
The pair has spent little more than 90 minutes on the field together at the one time this season, with Thompson having missed the opening two rounds through injury.
Their combination proved effective alongside Melbourne’s other striker Danny Allsopp in a 5-0 thrashing of Newcastle in Round 3, before Brazilian Fabiano was shown a red card in the early stages of the following match.
Asked if he felt he owed his team-mates a few goals for his suspension, Thompson joked: “Nah, I’ve pulled them out of trouble so many times!”
“It was disappointing, a lack of discipline from my side of things,” he continued. “I would love to score a winner but they know that’s not my character.”
“My mum’s washed my mouth out with soap and I won’t be abusing referees anymore.”
Assistant coach Aaron Healey said it had been a long time coming since the star trio had played together but wasn’t willing to reveal whether they would all start against the Roar on Saturday night.
“I think we’ll keep our cards close to our chest for the time being. There’s a highly likely chance that will occur but we’ll have to wait and see,” he said.
The loss of winger Evan Berger to a hamstring injury during the week means just one player from last week’s winning side needs to be replaced but Healey said there wouldn’t be too much shuffling of the deck chairs.
“It’s a nice situation to be in when you’ve got Ney Fabiano and Archie Thompson coming back into your squad. The players that played against Adelaide were just outstanding, there was great character displayed to come back from 2-1 down,” he said.
“Taking nothing away from those guys, but the hard decisions have to be made. The starting 11 that go out there at Suncorp Stadium will do a great job for us.”
Thompson and Fabiano had been doing extra training sessions to keep them fit during their suspensions and although the former has been hampered by a virus this week, he is confident his body can stand up to the rigours of a full 90 minutes against the fourth-placed Roar.
“Obviously my lungs are going to be working overtime but I’m feeling good and looking forward to being back on the pitch,” Thompson said following a spirited training session on Friday morning.
The 30-year-old will come up against his Socceroos team-mate Craig Moore on Saturday night, with the match-up likely to be crucial to the outcome.
“I hate him,” Thompson laughed. “He’s a good defender. He gets inside your head. I remember playing on him and he said ‘Archie you’ve put on a few kilos’ and I tell you I started breathing a bit heavier.”
Melbourne will be keen to reverse the result of their Round 6 clash at Telstra Dome (a 2-0 loss) against a side that has just one draw and three losses at home this season.
“They’re probably due for one and I’m hoping it’s not against us,” Thompson said.
“It’s going to be a tough match and I know there’ll be good support from our supporters because they love to travel and love to support our team. So hopefully we can do something special up there.”
