Nishan Velupillay, Victory seek to maintain "constant threat" against Auckland
The attacker having scored six goals in his last six games, Arthur Diles sees Nishan Velupillay's form and development as sending a powerful message - one he hopes to share with Auckland FC this week.
With six goals in his last six games for club and country, it’d be difficult to find anyone playing as well as Melbourne Victory attacker Nishan Velupillay right now. And as he seeks to solidify his side’s place in the A-League Men’s top six as finals approach, keeping that momentum going is one of the major focuses of his coach Arthur Diles. Yet as fine as the attacker’s form is, his gaffer believes he still has more potential to unlock.
Scoring just four minutes into Victory’s 3-2 win over Wellington last week, Velupillay continued a run of goals that began in his side’s win over Central Coast last March, featured strikes against Indonesia and China in World Cup qualifying, and has taken him to a career-best seven goals this season.
The 23-year-old’s form has helped Victory win three of their last four games and put their playoff destiny well and truly in their own hands with three weeks remaining on the season: five points clear of seventh-placed Sydney ahead of a meeting with table-toppers Auckland FC this Saturday.
“Everyone plays their part in [helping Velupillay find this form],” said Diles. “It's not just me as a coach, it's all the staff and it's the players around him as well – they've got to help him and maintain that momentum.
“Nish is playing really well at the moment, but Nish wouldn't be able to do that if he didn't have ten players around him, helping him every game and he's aware of that, he's not silly.
“But yes, he's playing really, really well, and we want him to get even better. I definitely don't believe that's his ceiling. His ceiling is much higher than that, and we've got to get him there.”
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Fortunately for Victory, and potentially promisingly for their coffers, Velupillay is under contract for next season, ensuring that if his breakout at both a domestic and international level did attract overseas interest, his current employers would demand a transfer fee for his services.
Making his debut during the 2020-21 season, the former Glen Eira junior brought up his 100th senior A-League Men appearance in last week’s win over Victory – his 42nd start – and Diles believes this experience bodes well for his prospects.
“He's definitely got the level to be overseas,” Diles said of Velupillay. “At what level overseas? Only time will tell.
“But he's someone who's done the right thing. He's been here now for a few years, playing in the A-League as a young player and developing nicely. And that's also a really good message for others: being patient, racking up 100 games at a young age, which is really important.
“That means he's been playing consistent, regular first team football, and that makes him a better proposition for others because he's not had just one year and now he's out of here – he's already been playing three, four years.”
In a rare case where the two rivals would be forgiven for rooting for the other, a Victory win over Auckland would give Melbourne City scope to close to within a point of Auckland if they’re able to continue their late-season premiership push with a win over Western Sydney, a result which, in turn, would allow Victory to vault up into third-place on the table.
Downing Steve Corica’s outfit, however, is far easier said than done. The Kiwi outfit hasn’t lost in their last 12 games (admittedly, they’ve also only won once in their last six) and their 23 goals conceded is the second fewest in the entire competition.
“We've got to keep playing our football,” said the Victory boss. “And the message is clear, it has been clear for a very long time: that we really have to focus on our football and our style of play.
“When we do that, we're fluent, we're dangerous, and we love to attack. We've got players that thrive on that, and it's important for us to get those players on the ball as often as possible, and we know when we do that, we're a constant threat.”
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Indeed, with 13 goals across their last four games – Daniel Arzani’s surge in form somewhat overshadowed by Velupillay but playing a big role here, too – Victory has been a constant threat around the goals as of late.
Unfortunately for the heart rates of their supporters, however, this hasn’t been paired with clean sheets up the other end: Melbourne’s navy blue contingent shipping multiple goals in five games across the past two months – including their last three straight games – compared to just the two clean sheets.
The underlying numbers don’t portend disaster, their 29.4 expected goals against (xGA) this season, compared to 32 actual, bettered only by Auckland and City, but it’s still an area that is better addressed now than in the finals.
“That's a continued work in progress,” said Diles. “You look at last week, we conceded two. One, for me, is a world-class goal, you know. Full credit to Paulo Retre there. That's a fantastic finish. If you're going to concede goals like that, not that you like conceding goals, but you put your hand up and say, 'Okay, I'll wear that one'.
“When you look back, from a defensive point of view [against Wellington], we showed some resilience because in the last 15,20 we had the weather a bit of a storm. We were forced into some changes due to injuries, which can kill a bit of momentum. And in the end, we got through it. That's one part of defending. It's the resilience and the mentality.
“There have been many times before when maybe those games that have gone against us end up not taking maximum points. That's for us, a step in the right direction, and we'll take that and move forward.”
Questioned on the health and fitness of his squad heading into Saturday, Diles confirmed that Brazilian winger Santos remained sidelined with an ankle injury and that he would be joined on the sideline this week by Reno Piscopo, who picked up a calf problem against Wellington.