After a week that included a trip to Osaka, Melbourne Victory’s Jai Ingham and Besart Berisha said it was all about the three points in Gosford on Sunday.
Speaking after Victory saw off a 10-man Mariners 2-0 at a warm Central Coast Stadium, man of the match Ingham said just getting result rather than the performance was the main priority.
“I think it was about the three [points],” he told Fox Sports.
“We knew we had to win to stay in the top six.
“This is a huge result and the boys put in a huge effort, especially because we travelled to Japan and back, then flew here, drove here, so we did well.”
MATCH REPORT: Victory defeat 10-man Mariners
Ingham was key to the win on Sunday with two assists for Berisha and Fahid Ben Khalfallah.
On the back of his eye-catching performances in the Champions League, Ingham’s garnering much attention.
But the 22-year-old winger deflected praise and put the focus back on the team rather than his incredible rise from PS4 NPL football to the Hyundai A-League and the ACL.
“I’m just happy to have set up the goals today,” the former Hume City winger said.
The scorer of the first Victory goal against the Mariners was equally happy to have come away with a precious three points after such a trying week of travel.
It was a week saw them play a Big Blue in Melbourne before jetting off to a chilly Osaka where they drew 1-1 with Gamba on Wednesday night before a dash back home then a flight to Sydney.
“After some really tough travels to Japan it’s not easy at all, but look we try to stay competitive in every competition,” Besart Berisha told ABC radio Central Coast.
“This is what we do. We want to be number one in Champions League and we try to compete in A-League.
“So it was a very important three points tonight.”
