Melbourne Victory defender Matthew Kemp has described the feeling after last Friday’s epic 3-3 draw with Brisbane as equivalent to losing a Grand Final.
Kemp, who was playing his first match in ten months following his knee reconstruction, said there was a feeling of devastation in the rooms after the match, where Melbourne trailed 2-0, then led 3-2 before Matthew McKay’s 93rd minute goal.
“It was probably one of the biggest disappointments of my whole career. It was huge, we felt as though we had lost the Grand Final. To come back, the emotion of it being my first game back and we thought we had it in the bag, to throw it away was massive,” he said.
“It felt like a loss at the end. That goal just killed us. At the start of the game, maybe 3-3 was not a bad result, but the way it unfolded. It felt like a loss.”
“Hopefully we can learn from that and in future be a bit more disciplined and shut up shot when we do get in front.”
Kemp, who became the third Melbourne player to score an own goal in five matches, said it was clear that fortune wasn’t favouring his side’s at the moment.
“We do feel a little bit like luck is not going our way. That’s up to us to make our own luck. We’ll try and turn it around this week,” he said.
He said the circumstances of that result combined with the fact Heart had won the only other clash between the two team sin October, meant that his side were more determined than ever to get the three points on Saturday.
“It-s been a big rollercoaster and hopefully this weekend the rollercoaster will reach a pinnacle,” he said.
Meanwhile, Melbourne skipper Kevin Muscat has been issued a please explain over his post-match confrontation with Brisbane goalkeeping coach Fernando vaz Alves on Friday.
Muscat will reply by Wednesday and Victory expect the situation to be resolved by Saturday’s derby between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart at AAMI Park.
