Heat on, but Muscat proud of his charges
MISSED CHANCES FAIL TO DAMPEN MOOD
IT didn’t take a body language expert to ascertain that Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat was a very proud man after Saturday night’s ALeague clash with Central Coast Mariners.
In stifling heat and on a hard and fast GMHBA Stadium deck, his players put in a stirring performance that provided everything bar the three points at the end of the game.
There was the run of Leroy George down the left wing, the creativity of Kosta Barbarouses on the opposite side of the pitch, the sheer determination of debutant Dino Djulbic and keeper Lawrence Thomas, and the spark and willpower of talisman Besart Berisha.
So when asked after the match what he made of Melbourne Victory’s exploits, Muscat was happy to sing the praises of his charges.
“There was so much to like … it was an exceptional performance,” Muscat said.
“A lot has been said about the conditions, but the players, I didn’t hear them speak about it once. Right from the outset (we) were aggressive in our demeanour, we were aggressive in our attitude, aggressive when we didn’t have the ball and aggressive when we had the ball and were trying to score.
“Our play created an enormous number of chances through some good football, so it was very pleasing. It was as dominant a performance as we’ve had this year.”
That dominance on the pitch, of course, did not translate to the scoreboard.
The 1-1 result could, and should, have been different.
At halftime the 0-0 scoreline was in no way reflective of the number of opportunities set up by Melbourne, including a Berisha miss at the 16-minute mark, a flying shot from George after a dazzling burst that stared in Victory’s defensive box, and late misses from Barbarouses and Troisi.
When Berisha’s strike in the 49th minute — brought about thanks to some wonderful footwork and poise to find space when others simply couldn’t — found the back of the net, it felt like the moment the floodgates were about to burst wide open for the home team.
But several missed opportunities proved costly after the drinks break at the halfway point of the second half, when substitutes Lachlan Wales and Blake Powell combined to level the scores.
Ultimately, Powell’s conversion would be the difference, despite Jai Ingham missing what appeared to be a simple tap in with seconds left on the clock that would have given Victory a deserved win.
Mariners coach Paul Okon conceded as much, suggesting a fair result would have been three points to Melbourne, although those sentiments won’t hand Muscat the extra two points he so desperately wanted for his players.
“If anything I’m disappointed for them, not disappointed in the performance, because they deserved more,” Muscat said.
“They deserved more for their efforts and their performance, so I’m immensely proud.
“We had a decision to make as a group and they wanted to address the game in the same manner regardless of the weather and regardless of where it was and they did that.
“On another night it could have been rewarded a lot more.”
Today, Victory flies to New Zealand for a clash with cellar dweller Wellington Phoenix on Wednesday night, before returning to AAMI Park for a third match in eight days, against Perth Glory on Saturday.
There is room for improvement, but Muscat says he is only looking at the positives.
“We limited them to very little and created a hell of a lot ourselves, so to concede a goal is obviously an area we need to look at and we need to get better at,” he said.