Veteran Melbourne midfielder Grant Brebner is at a loss to explain the contrast between Victory’s form home and away this season but hopes the good run on the road continues in Saturday week’s game against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.
Veteran Melbourne midfielder Grant Brebner is at a loss to explain the contrast between Victory’s form home and away this season but hopes the good run on the road continues in Saturday week’s game against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.
Melbourne has an extraordinary record away from home this season having won five of six matches, including its past four. The one match it lost was its first clash in Perth, where it played some of its best football of the season, but was beaten 2-1.
It stands in sharp contrast to Melbourne’s record at Etihad Stadium, where it has won just two of eight, including Saturday’s 4-0 loss to Central Coast, the club’s worst ever defeat at home. For Brebner, it’s all a bit of a mystery, saying there is no discernable change of approach to games dependant on where they are.
“Are we a better team away from home? Evidence points that we probably are at the moment. Evidence points to the fact that we’ve won games away from home and we’ve dropped points at home,” he said.
“But it’s not something we’re conscious of. In the dressing room, it’s not something we talk about. It’s not something that’s mentioned.”
“We went into that match with high hopes of winning it, as we always do. It’s come as a shock to everyone at the club, the players and management, that we lost it in the manner we did. The fact it’s at home, highlights that we are struggling there.”
He believes the strong dressing room culture at the club is probably responsible for the good record away from home. He said in his 15 years in the game, Melbourne has been the tightest playing group and that has been crucial to the club’s success.
“I think it depends on the team you’re in. To win championships you have to have good squads and you have to have good players that get on well with each other. All my career, this is certainly the best dressing room I’ve played in,” he said.
“It’s no coincidence that we’re actually winning things as well. I think if we didn’t get on as well as we do, we’d probably be a mid-table team, maybe. The fact that we get on well, helps the dressing room. We’ve got clearly good players in there.”
“When we go on away trips, it’s good to get away, but when the referee blows the whistle, whether you are home and away it shouldn’t reflect on the performance you give. It comes down to the fact, we’ve not won at home.”
However, the experienced Scot is not going to get himself too concerned about one poor performance on the weekend.
“We’ll reflect on the game, but it won’t be something we’ll dwell on because we need to move on from it,” he said.
