Popovic: Victory's starters starting to click with starting.
Victory was largely devoid of players used to regularly starting at the season's commencement. But now unbeaten in 12 and preparing for a top-of-the-table clash with Wellington, they're getting there
Three months into the A-League Men season, undefeated in 12 games, and with the chance to go top of the table once again when they travel to face Wellington on Friday evening, things are going well for Melbourne Victory. And for coach Tony Popovic, a lot of this sustained run of form is down to his players being able to string a run of starts together.
A week in from grabbing a late winner against Perth Glory, Victory found themselves on the other side of the late coin on Saturday, forced to share a point with the Central Coast Mariners after Jing Reec grabbed an 89th-minute equaliser to make it 1-1 in their Unite Round clash.
Nonetheless, with six wins and six draws to their name, the side from AAMI Park remains the only side in the competition yet to taste defeat in 2023-24 and is only kept off its summit by the change in league regulations that see wins prioritised over goal difference – a shift that has sent Friday evening opponents the Phoenix top instead.
As their coach observed on Wednesday, they’ve accomplished this with a side that entered this season without the pedigree of consistent starts: Daniel Arzani, Ryan Teague, Zinédine Machach, Nishan Velupillay, and Fabian Monge amongst those that have little recent history as being consistent starters for their clubs, or none to speak of at all.
“[There’s been growth in] consistency in terms of team but also consistency in terms of performance for the individuals,” said Popovic.
“We've had a midfield and wingers that are all players that haven't played regular football or been starters at their previous clubs. So that's new for them.
“And we're seeing growth in that area, that the players are backing up week in and week out, going through different challenges, whether it's the conditions, the travel, the expectation of repeating a good performance.
“The growth individually has helped the team grow as a unit and I feel that that's been shown, particularly in the last few weeks, where we've had a lot of obstacles to overcome.
“This week we've got another challenge in front of us, another hurdle to overcome and a team that's in great form, playing very well, and it's a game that we should all embrace and look forward to the opportunity to get another three points.”
Despite several players struggling with Sydney’s sweltering conditions during the draw with the Mariners and Teague and Monge both being forced off with knocks, Popovic said that barring long-term absences, he expected to have a full squad to choose from for the Nix trip.
Giancarlo Italiano’s side enters Friday’s contest having emerged victorious from a helter-skelter clash with Perth during Unite Round, Kosta Barbarouses’ brace leading them to a 4-3 win over the Glory.
The two sides last met in round three of the campaign at AAMI Park, a curious contest wherein Victory hammered on the Phoenix’s door but were only able to come away with a single goal and, ultimately, were forced to share the spoils after an own-goal Damien Da Silva secured the visitors a 1-1 draw despite not officially registering a shot.
In perhaps the biggest shift since then, Bruno Fornaroli has now departed Melbourne on Asian Cup duty and Barbarouses, who was still searching for his first goal of the season back, now looms as the competition’s most in-form attacker, having scored eight goals in his last five games.
“They showed a lot of resilience [in the first meeting],” Popovic said. “We can talk about them not having an attempt but they went home with a point and since then they sit on top for a reason.
“They deserve to be there, as we do. So two teams that deserve to be in the position we are up against each other. We're anticipating an opponent full of confidence and they will receive one also that's full of confidence.
“That's always a challenge, stopping top players [such as Barbarouses]. But we feel that if we can limit the good service that he gets and try to get him to receive balls in areas that are less damaging for us [Victory will do well].
“But we ultimately know that the form that he's in, that he's confident and that we have to be aware. But if we can control the game with and without the ball, we'll make his opportunities far less dangerous for us.”
Image Credit: Melbourne Victory