Head Coach Jeff Hopkins spoke to the media after Victory’s impressive 5-3 win over Wellington Phoenix at the Home of the Matildas.
On whether the first half performance was the best of the season:
“I think so.”
“With the ball and without the ball.”
“Real good defensive display, real high intensity pressure and pressing and a lot of it done in their half.”
“We won the ball in good areas and we were pretty clinical going forward.”
On performance generally:
“I was really pleased with the whole game.”
“For 80 minutes I thought we did really well.”
“To give them credit, they changed a few things at half-time, they came at us a bit more and made the game more difficult for us in the second half.”
“But even then I think we handled it quite well.”
“I thought it was a great performance.”
On Emily Gielnik’s performance:
“She’s a little bit disappointed that she didn’t score.”
“But I think she’s quite pleased with her performance in general.”
“When Emily’s in [the team], when Rachel’s in there, that little bit of rotation that we’re getting from them, it gives us a lot of variety and makes us a little bit more unpredictable as well.”
On Beattie Goad’s impressive return:
“Nothing Beattie does surprises me.”
“She’s a pretty special player, pretty special person.”
“Great to have her back in. I think all of the players just love having her around the place and in the team.”
On Paige Zois’ inclusion:
“You saw Paige Zois (today) – Paige has been training the house down over the last month or six weeks. She’s been unlucky not to play.”
“Her attitude has been A1 over the last four to six weeks.”
“She hasn’t been in the side, for some players it could be demoralising but she’s not let it affect her.”
“That’s what we’ve spoken about, that even when you’re feeling pretty down about not playing, that you’ve still got to roll your sleeves up and play through it.”
“Really pleased for her because it’s a reward for all the hard work over the last six weeks.”
