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Aug 17, 2010   |  11:39PM AET

Berger tips Victory bounce

Berger tips Victory bounce

Melbourne wing back Evan Berger is anticipating Victory will hit back hard against North Queensland Fury at AAMI Park on Sunday as the club bids to secure its first win of the year.

Melbourne wing back Evan Berger is anticipating Victory will hit back hard against North Queensland Fury at AAMI Park on Sunday as the club bids to secure its first win of the year.

After a draw against Sydney and a loss to Perth, Melbourne sit bottom of the Hyundai A-League table but Berger said there is still plenty of energy among the playing group and he expects there to be a strong rebound factor against the Fury.

“It-s not too bad after the first couple of rounds of the season. Obviously, there’s still a long way to go. We do feel a little bit disappointed that we let so many fans down at our first home game at AAMI Park on the weekend,” he said.

“I feel that the team has played pretty well the last two weeks, obviously just getting numbers into the box to score a few goals is probably letting us down at the moment.”

“We’re working hard on the training track to try and rectify some of our problems to try and get a positive result against Fury.”

The team’s current spot on the table could not be any different to the way Berger feels about his own progress at the moment. He said he is in the best form and fitness of his short career and having been given an opportunity to secure a regular starting berth, is ready to take the next step.

“On a personal note, it-s been pleasing that I’ve been able to play two full 90-minute games in a row. All in all, the body is feeling really good, I’ve had a really good pre-season and the first two games I’ve felt like I’ve made improvement from last year which is pleasing,” he said.

“From season to season I have noticed a big difference in the workload and being able to get through the workload a lot easier. Your fitness base and strength base improves on top of that. I’m feeling really good at the moment because of that and I think I can still improve and it can become a big asset for me.”

Berger is wary of the Fury, who have proved their pre-season doubters wrong in the opening two rounds to record a 3-3 draw away to Perth and a 2-1 home win over Sydney.

“They are sitting joint top of the league, so they are up and about. They’ve got two good results, we are expecting a tough game, obviously a new coach has come in, a lot of new players have gone up there and they-ve got a lot to prove as individuals as a team on the back of last season,” he said.

“I’m not too sure how they-ll approach the game, but they’ll definitely be in a positive mood after the first two weeks.”

Berger said one of the major motivations for this weekend was to christen the new AAMI Park facility with a goal and a win after last week’s defeat to Perth.

“It-s a first class facility and the atmosphere the other night was fantastic. It-s only going to go up ten fold if we start scoring goals and start winning games and being able to get the fans into the match by our performances on the pitch,” he said.

“We are all striving and working hard to do that and we do feel disappointed that we weren’t able to do that in our first home game on the weekend. Hopefully we can turn that around.”