Marco Kurz wants to see Melbourne Victory become more consistent after a 1-1 draw with the Wellington Phoenix in the Hyundai A-League on Sunday.
Victory produced a dominant second half at AAMI Park and Ola Toivonen cancelled out Ulises Davila’s early penalty.
The host had numerous chances to find a winner but fell short after a strong finish.
Speaking at his post-match news conference, Kurz discussed Victory’s performance and Toivonen’s latest stellar display.
on the penalty…
“I think the handball rule is always hard and different interpretations. We learned during the pre-season, we had an appointment with referees, we learned in this moment like Ola was, it isn’t a penalty, but the referee decided to give the penalty and then we have to respect it, I cannot change it. I think it was not an active movement with Ola’s arm to the ball, it’s a corner, a lot of players are in front. I was a defender as well, what can you do better? I think the hand is close to the body, but we have to respect the situation, but I’m not happy about it.”
on approach…
“In the second (half) the idea was to have two players in the (number) 10 position. Our analysis was that we can find there some gaps, between the lines, also to bring Ola in a good position. In the first half it was really hard after we conceded a goal, it was not a good performance, but in the second half we did it much better, we played with a lot of pressure and that was what we expected from the first minute and that we have to learn.”
on injured players and fans…
“I will be fair because it makes no sense to speak about players that are not available, that’s fact. We miss three high-quality players (Tim Hoogland, Robbie Kruse and Andrew Nabbout). When they will be back I’m not sure, but at the moment my job is to work with the players that are ready to start and to find a good solution for our line-up and that’s my job. Hopefully it looks good, the rehab is good for them, but then they need also time to come on a good level and to come in a good game fitness. It’s not when they are available they can play 90 minutes. At the moment it’s a big challenge for all of us and I think we expected a lot more. Also, our supporters, I will say at the moment, it’s a good point to say, thank you very much for the fantastic support today from the fans’ side. They pushed us and that was really helpful and it’s not normal because the performance wasn’t really good in the first half.”
on upcoming game against Sydney…
“Kenny (Athiu) is away (with South Sudan), Elvis (Kamsoba) is away (with Burundi), Storm Roux is away (with New Zealand) and Thomas Deng is away (with the Olyroos).”
on Toivonen…
“He’s good, he’s our captain, he’s the face. Also, a big compliment because he trained only twice with the team. He (hurt his ankle) in the game against Western United and it was not 100 per cent sure if he could start or not, but he’s a good player, fantastic.”
