Melbourne City coach John van’t Schip has defended his side’s ultra-attacking system after Perth Glory exposed the hosts’ defence in snatching victory on Friday night.
City fielded three natural defenders for the third straight round but came unstuck at AAMI Park as Andy Keogh led a fired-up Perth to a 3-2 win.
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However, van’t Schip pointed to his side’s wastefulness in possession as causing their downfall.
“I think they opened us up because we lost the ball too early,” the City coach told Fox Sports.
“If we don’t keep enough possession, if we’re not playing the way we should play then you get exposed. But that’s with every system.”
City were enjoying a fast start to the season until Friday night’s defeat, which sees Perth leapfrog the glamour club into top spot.
Van’t Schip warned there is still plenty of work ahead for his star-studded squad.
“We’re still learning. Obviously this evening was a hard learning process,” he said.
“We saw good glimpses in the game against Victory but today we saw glimpses that were not there.
“We can play very good football but if we’re not connected, if we’re not doing the things we have to do then it becomes average.”
