Time-out call on Fornaroli

MELBOURNE City coach Warren Joyce has refused to inflame the saga of Bruno Fornaroli after his side drifted to seven points behind A-League leader Perth Glory.

Instead, Joyce said he was happy with his team’s 1-0 losing effort against Glory in Perth on Saturday night after controlling play for much of the match.

Fornaroli has been overlooked for the past three matches because of what his coach has labelled a lack of commitment to training.

“I’ve answered every single question I possibly can about Bruno,” Joyce said. “I’d rather talk about the players … driving the game, showing commitment to the cause.”

Curtis Good will miss Sunday’s away clash with Adelaide United after being red-carded against Glory.

Joyce expects Florin Berenguer to miss several more weeks after the Frenchman injured a calf at training, while Belgian defender Ritchie de Laet, who missed the Perth clash through injury, will be assessed during the week.

Glory coach Tony Popovic said he was surprised by how consistent his team had been this season, but refused to get carried away too early.

Glory continued its unbeaten start under Popovic’s reign after a Chris Ikonomidis strike on 43 minutes.

The result maintained Perth’s two-point lead over second-placed Melbourne Victory, and it is now six points ahead of Sydney FC and Adelaide United.

“The results, probably in some respects, are a little bit surprising early on in that they’ve been so consistent form,” he said.

“But I think it’s still too early to say that we’ve fixed the so-called away issues, or that we’re very strong at home.

“There’s certainly a lot of work to do. There always was regardless of the results.”

Glory hasn’t been at its best in recent weeks, but Popovic said the fact it had still been able to grind out results was a good sign.

Perth is waiting on a fitness report on former Socceroos defender Matthew Spiranovic, who was replaced in the first half in his first A-League match this campaign.

He missed almost a year with a hip injury.