Our boys in blue return to AAMI Park as they face Wellington Phoenix in Leg One of the Semi-Finals.
Match Details
Semi-Final Leg One: Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix
Date: Sun 12 May
Time: 4:00pm (AEST)
Location: AAMI Park
Tickets: http://mvf.club/almsf
Preview
Our boys in blue return to the Semi-Finals once again when they take on Wellington Phoenix. The two-legged Semi-Final will kick-off at AAMI Park on Sunday 12 May as Victory will look to take an early advantage at home before the second leg in Wellington a week later.
It was a 3-1 win the last time we faced the Nix in the Finals, with Ola Toivonen and Kosta Barbarouses the goalscorers.
Our record against the Nix so far this season has been mixed, with two draws and a loss the results over the previous three meetings.
Sunday will mark the 11th time Victory will feature in the Semi-Finals, with our boys having made the Grand Final on six occasions.
Speaking to the media ahead of Sunday’s clash, Head Coach Tony Popovic said that the team don’t want to lose the “great vibes” from last weeks win.
On riding the high of the Elimination Final win…
“We don’t want to lose those great positive thoughts that we got from that game (against City). And obviously, there’s a lot of emotion, it was a fantastic performance and result under difficult circumstances.”
“But you know we want to draw on that energy. We don’t want to just put it away. We want to use that emotion and the strength of that result and performance into this next challenge.”
On Wellington having an extra week off…
“You know, they earned the week off, so they deserve that week to refresh and get themselves ready for this game. Look, we know they’re a very good team. We’ve had three very tough matches against them thus far. We know they’ll come here full of confidence, but they’ll be playing the team that’s also full of confidence, full of belief and you know we want our fans to come out again.”
“They created an amazing atmosphere last week and they really did help us get over the line. And once we had the player sent off, we needed every ounce of support that we could get. And they certainly gave us that.”
On previous results against Wellington…
“I think, performance-wise, definitely in two of the games, we played very well. We didn’t get the results. So that’s something we have to have to manage this time. We’ve got to do even better this time. We’ve got to lift our performance from our last match against Melbourne City and also from what we’ve done previously against them. The players are obviously in great spirits. We’re very well aware of what we’re up against. It’s a semi-final, a very good opponent and you know we expect another tough game.”
On breaking down Wellington’s defence…
“It’s hard to predict how these games will go. But obviously, they’ve played very well all year and built a solid foundation at the back. Some outstanding performances consistently and when they go forward, they’re very efficient and very dangerous. So we know that. But you know, I believe we’ve also shown last week the resilience that we have in our character. And you know, we really showed that we can create some good opportunities.”
On the health and fitness of the squad…
“I think psychologically everyone’s in a good place. I think that type of game takes a lot out of you physically. So we’re happy that we’ve got the seven-day turnaround, obviously, no travel. Yesterday there were signs at training of us recovering physically. We’ve still got two more days, so come Sunday, I’ve got no doubt the boys will be ready.”
From Tony
From Roddy
Last Time
The Stats
Squad
2.Jason GERIA, 3.Adama TRAORE, 5.Damien DA SILVA, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Chris IKONOMIDIS, 10.Bruno FORNAROLI, 11.Ben FOLAMI, 14.Connor CHAPMAN, 17.Nishan VELUPILLAY, 18.Fabian MONGE, 19.Daniel ARZANI, 20.Paul IZZO, 21.Roderick MIRANDA, 22.Jake BRIMMER, 23.Salim KHELIFI, 25.Ryan TEAGUE, 27.Jordi VALADON, 28.Roly BONEVACIA, 37.Kasey BOS, 40.Christian SICILIANO
Ins: 14.Connor CHAPMAN, 18.Fabian MONGE, 28.Roly BONEVACIA
Out: 8.Zinedine MACHACH
Unavailable:
