Kevin Muscat said he was proud of the way Melbourne Victory rebounded from their 5-1 thrashing against Gamba Osaka in March to hold the Japanese side to a 1-1 draw in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday night.
Kevin Muscat said he was proud of the way Melbourne Victory rebounded from their 5-1 thrashing against Gamba Osaka in March to hold the Japanese side to a 1-1 draw in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday night.
Victory were a touch unlucky not to come away with all three points from the match at Docklands, a massive turnaround from their listless performance in Osaka earlier in the tournament.
And Muscat, who captained the side in his farewell match on Australian soil, said it was pleasing to see the side identify and improve the facets of their game that had let them down last time.
“The way we implemented what (Mehmet Durakovic) wanted us to do was first class today,” Muscat said.
“It’s pleasing to come out of game, having worked on it as individuals to then come in collectively and do it.”
“It’s okay having ideas and working on them on the training track but it’s up to 11 individuals over time to go out there and actually implement it.”
Adrian Leijer scored the opener for Victory on 12 minutes, only for Sota Nazakawa to equalise just before half-time.
However, Melbourne had a decent penalty shout turned down in the first half when Akira Kaji looked to have handled the ball and the hosts created plenty of good chances in the second half, but to no avail.
But Muscat said he was content with the result against a team he regards as the best in Group E.
“There were times we surrendered possession a bit too easily but we were compact and organised so I get a great deal of satisfaction from that,” Muscat said.
“We’re playing against a very good team, in Gamba, for me the best team in the group.”
“We conceded from a set piece, a little bit of a lucky break, and we should have had penalty as well. I thought ref had a good game but he did miss one there.”
The draw keeps Victory’s slim hopes of reaching the last 16 of the tournament alive, but they must now win their final group match against Jeju United in Korea next week, while also hope Gamba loses at home to Tianjin Teda.
And coach Mehmet Durakovic said they would leave no stone unturned to ensure they got the win against Jeju on Wednesday.
“We want to be one of the biggest clubs in Asia and that’s what we’re aiming for,” Durakovic said.
“We need three points and we’re gonna go (to Korea) and attack. We’ll look at the video and see how they play, what their weaknesses are and their strengths, and work that on the pitch.”
“We’ve only got a week to turn around so hopefully these guys get a bit of rest and work on what we need to do to win the game.”
