Fresh off a plane and challenged to go 90, Nishan Velupillay delivers.
Arthur Diles had one demand for Nishan Velupillay ahead of Saturday's 5-3 win over Adelaide. If he wanted to start fresh off international duty, he better be able to go 90. And Velupillay delivered.
After starting and scoring in both of the Socceroos’ recent World Cup qualifiers, Melbourne Victory attacker Nishan Velupillay was eager to keep things going against Adelaide United on Saturday and Arthur Diles was happy to accommodate. There was just one condition, one commitment, the coach demanded: he better be able to run out the full game. 90 minutes, two goals, an assist, and perhaps the most complete performance of the 23-year-old’s career later, and it’s safe to say Velupillay held up his end of the bargain in a 5-3 win.
Both Victory and the Reds entering Saturday evening’s contest at AAMI Park in urgent need of a win to solidify their place in the top six, the hosts bounced back from falling into a deficit, twice, to emerge triumphant; Daniel Arazani and substitute Nikos Vergos grabbing braces in addition to Velupillay’s effort. Only having landed back in Australia on Thursday after playing 72 and 82 minutes in the Socceroos 5-1 win over Indonesia and 2-0 win over China, netting his nation’s second in both games, Velupillay also set up one his teammate’s goals each.
His most notable moment, however, came in the lead-in to Vergos’ first, surging towards the top of a box with a driving run before laying a pass off to Josh Rawlins, who in turn squared it for the Greek striker to send home and give Victory a 4-3 lead. It wasn’t recorded as a goal involvement, but it was a level of individual brilliance without which the goal doesn’t happen.
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“It's one of those things with the players that come back [from international duty], they come back full of confidence after a great two weeks,” Diles said of Velupillay’s performance.
“You always look at it and say 'Will they be tired? Can they get through?' He was up for it. He was also told that I expect him to play 90 minutes and he said he'd be fine for that.
“He was excellent, and so were a lot of other boys. He had a big impact on that match and was a massive influence.”
Brought on as a late substitute in both of the Socceroos’ recent fixtures, Arzani also had the type of game that has many, led by national team boss Tony Popovic, still believing in his talent.
In addition to his requisite game-leading six dribbles and drawing a game-high four fouls – including a controversial penalty he converted to make it 3-3 – he won more duals than any other player on the ground (13) and, most importantly of all, proved clinical in dispatching both of his shots on the evening beyond former Melbourne City academy teammate James Delianov.
“That's someone that a lot of people talk about all the time and he needs to back up a performance like that all that week after week,” said Diles.
“And once he does that, we know that you get the best head of Daniel Arzani and he'll show his true colours and his true ability.
“Tonight was a glimpse but we don't want that just to be tonight.”
After collapsing against Western Sydney in the last game before the international break, going from holding a 2-0 lead to a 4-2 defeat, Saturday evening’s win represented an important stabiliser for Diles and his side.
While it needs to be noted they’ve played one game more than any other side in the top six, they moved back into fourth place on the A-League Men's table with their win over the Reds, six points clear of seventh-placed Sydney FC and just two back of second-placed Western United. Further, of their four games remaining just one, at home to league leaders Auckland FC, is against a side inside the playoff places, meaning that any collapse from here would be well and truly of their own creation.
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Having spoken of the need to deliver a greater will to kill against their opponents on Friday, Diles said that the Original Rivalry win represented a glimpse of what would be needed in the weeks, something to build upon. At the same time, however, the three goals conceded – the sixth time Victory has conceded three or more goals in a game in the 15 games Diles has served as head coach – was also something that needed fixing.
“There was a glimpse of [killer instinct], for sure,” said the coach. “We probably could have had another couple.
“That’s a killer instinct, that you go up towards the end of the game and you don't stop. You can't afford to stop. You always have to take the next step forward, not backwards. Even if you stand still, for me, that's going backwards. To score that fifth and then have another one cleared off the line. That's the killing instinct that I want to see in this team. That's what represents this club. It's a big club, and we expect that.
"Definitely not happy with conceding three goals. You know, if there's one black mark on this night and this performance, it's definitely that. We'll review everything in the coming days and then get ready for the next opponent.”
Absent from the team sheet after also jetting back from China on Thursday, Diles said that Teague had returned with a knock he picked up against Team Dragon that, full of adrenaline, he was able to play through in Hangzhou but which prevented his presence on Saturday. No indications were given that it was serious. Lachlan Jackson, meanwhile, picked up a minor niggle before halftime, leading to his replacement with Brendan Hamill.