Melbourne City coach John van’t Schip praised his side’s determination in fighting through fatigue to earn a 1-1 draw with Brisbane Roar on Saturday night.
The newly-crowned Westfield FFA Cup champions backed up from their midweek assignment to earn a point at AAMI Park after falling behind before half-time.
City, Roar all square in fiery clash at AAMI Park
“I think they did a great job. After a schedule like this, playing three games in six days … I think they put in a great performance,” van’t Schip told Fox Sports.
“At the end it opened up and we were tired in certain areas but we kept on working hard and we even created some good opportunities to win the game.
“(Brisbane) had some good opportunities as well. I think in the end it’s a point we have to take.”
Left-winger Nicolas Colazo opened his City account by sliding home the second-half equaliser just three days after impressing in a more defensive role against Sydney FC.
While preferring to deploy the Argentine in midfield or attack, van’t Schip paid tribute to Colazo’s versatility as an important asset for his squad.
“We know he can play at the back as well because he played there in a lot of games when he was playing in Argentina for Boca,” the City boss said.
“That’s something we can think about if we have problems or we need a different type of player.
“We want to get a team on the pitch that gets used to each other but … we have depth in our squad and you have to put in fresh players.”
