Terry Antonis and James Troisi were the heroes for Kevin Muscat’s Melbourne Victory last night, their second half strikes securing a vital three points and keeping the pressure on ladder-leaders Perth Glory.
Antonis was named man of the match for his display, while Troisi produced the decisive moment of the contest when he found the net with little over five minutes to play.
Post-match, Antonis praised the attitude and resilience of the group, before casting an eye towards a mid-week encounter with Brisbane Roar.
“Yeah, our form is positive. Not just me, but the whole team,” Antonis said.
“We were unlucky to lose [to Adelaide] during the week, but thats football and we bounced back really well tonight.
“I think in the first half we created chances but didn’t finish them off… it’s always difficult against the Jets, they’re a good team, but tonight we did well to score our chances and fought well given the short turnaround.”
Another short turnaround beckons for the in-form midfielder and his teammates, who will fly out to Brisbane on Monday afternoon.
“Credit to our staff behind the scenes, they’re helping us. Our physios, Anth Crea, everyone is working hard to help us [prepare].
“We’ll come in tomorrow to do our recovery and be off on Monday. It’ll be another big one, [it’s] a tough game up there always and everyone is looking forward to it.”
Troisi’s rifled finish separated the sides come the final whistle and his celebration immediately following struck a personal chord for one special spectator.
“We’ve got a baby on the way in July and [wife Bronte] is always in the stands supporting me. For me thats what its all about – family.
“It’s an exciting time and good that [in my] personal life and professional life things are going quit well.”
Troisi said the win wasn’t only vital in bridging the gap to the top, but keeping those in pursuit at bay as the fixture list shows no sign of easing.
“It’s definitely important.
“We want to keep the pressure on [Perth] and, to be honest, there’s a couple behind us which we’ve got to look out for as well.
“It’s a difficult month and A-League squads don’t have a lot of numbers, so a lot of boys have to back up… it’s extremely difficult but we’ll recover and rest up and we’ve got another game in two-and-a-half days.”
Personally, the Melbourne Victory number 10 is taking the Summer of football in his stride.
“I felt good today, only played 60 minutes against Adelaide… [for the goal] I managed to have a little bit of power in the tank.
“At the end of the day we’re going to be tired, boys are going to be sore, but we have to back it up [and will].”
