Antonis plays smart
MELBOURNE Victory coach Kevin Muscat has praised midfielder Terry Antonis for being in the best shape of his career.
Antonis paced the 4-0 rout of Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday night with an assist and goal at Marvel Stadium.
The 25-year-old was damaging throughout, helped by Keisuke Honda, Ola Toivonen and Kosta Barbarouses.
“I think Terry will be the first to admit it, if you look at him now, he just looks different in his physicality,’’ Muscat said.
“He came back in very good condition, his body shape, everything about his physical data, is at a level now where it’s elite.”
Antonis has worked closely with Victory highperformance chief Anthony Crea to find another gear.
The knock on Antonis, who burst on the scene at Sydney FC before stints overseas in Greece and the Netherlands, was his speed.
But Muscat said he had the smarts to offset any deficiency in that area.
“Fortunately, there’s no gun that starts a race in our game because if there was we’d all be looking for different players,” he said.
“The first five yards are upstairs and Terry is an intelligent footballer.
“It’s about decisions and about understanding where things are going to happen and where the ball is going.
“If you understand that, you’re good at that, you’ll beat anyone to the ball.”
Antonis set up the opening goal with a nice looping pass, which allowed Honda to find the net for his fourth goal in six games.
He then rifled in his own in the 83rd minute with an outstanding strike.
Western Sydney coach Markus Babbel was scathing of his side.
“Like a rabbit in front of a snake,” Babbel said. “Today was men against boys. It wasn’t good for us. If you go with fear into a game, you’ve no chance.”