Melbourne Victory is adamant it does not have a discipline problem and vowed to continue in its aggressive fashion.
Victory have been reduced to 10 men in each of their past three matches, and a combination of suspensions, injuries and international duty has left the side with only 16 players to choose from for Saturday’s night home clash with Perth Glory.
However, defender Rodrigo Vargas and midfielder Billy Celeski believe the recent send-offs have been as much a result of misfortune than anything more sinister.
For example, goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos’ ejection was his first since he was a 12-year-old, Vargas said, while Carlos Hernandez’s red card was the first of his career.
“We’re not going to change anything because we haven’t been malicious or (done things) behind the ball,” Vargas said.
“The red cards is not going to change the way we play. The discipline’s not a problem.”
Celeski agreed, saying the team would continue to play fairly and tackle hard.
However, the issue had been serious enough for the team to discuss behind closed, albeit briefly.
The flow-on effect from the recent spate of red cards has been the physical toll playing with 10 men has left on the team.
“I feel it down in the backline and I just think about the boys running in the midfield and up front. It’s very taxing on the legs and we’ve done it three weeks in a row,” Vargas said.
“And for not for 10, 15 minutes but for long parts of the game. It’s definitely taking its toll.”
The Victory paid a big price on Sunday night when second-half substitutes Tahj Minniecon and Michael Zullo scored twice in the dying minutes against a tiring Victory outfit.
“I think that speaks for itself,” Vargas said.
