Star pair standing in way of Victory

IN-FORM Western United pair Leo Lacroix and Jamie Young loom as Melbourne Victory’s biggest stumbling blocks to an A-League grand final appearance.

The Victory’s remarkable turnaround following last season’s wooden-spoon effort is poised to continue on Tuesday night at AAMI Park, with the first leg of their two-legged semi-final against United.

“This is where we want to be,” Victory coach Tony Popovic said. “The stakes are higher, the pressure is higher, and that’s what we all want.

“We don’t want to just make up the numbers; we want to perform and get through to the grand final.”

However, so do United, who, after leading the competition for a lengthy period this season, had to settle for third spot on ladder and a weekend elimination final date with Wellington Phoenix.

With the help of heroics from veteran goalkeeper Young, United beat the Phoenix 1-0 to earn a semi-final shot at the Victory.

“This is the sort of occasion you do want to be involved in,” Young told reporters after the win. “The way to look at this game against Victory is can we perform in the moment? We’re looking for the best performances.”

To get to Young, the Victory will also need to penetrate the imposing barrier set by United’s Swiss central defender Lacroix.

Having been confronted by some of the world’s best forwards in a club career that has included stints with Sion (Switzerland), Saint-Étienne (France) and Hamburg (Germany), 30-year-old Lacroix is anything but fazed about the threat of Victory attackers Nick D’Agostino, Ben Folami and Marco Rojas.

“If we want to talk about strikers, I have played against many strikers – (Sergio) Aguero, (Kylian) Mbappe, Neymar – so I know how (to play) an important game,” the United centre-back said.

“I don’t focus on who I’m playing against, I focus on me … I just enjoy the moment.

“I love playing these games because you can feel the atmosphere.”