Head coach Tony Popovic was proud of his side’s performance after their tenacious performance against the league-leaders Melbourne City.
On the game…
“It was a special game.”
“Great atmosphere. Two teams really going at it. Great intensity. A lot of desperation, resilience from both teams.”
“It was a great night.”
“We’re obviously delighted that we came out on top.”
On what the result means looking forward…
“It’s the old cliche, but it really is a game at a time for us.”
“We have to keep getting results.”
“We showed tonight that we’re a good team.”
“The new players are adapting, they’re getting better.”
“It’s the most senior team we’ve been able to field this year.”
“[Tonight] will go down as a fantastic Derby win. It’s three points. Come tomorrow, we get ready for Adelaide.”
On Bruno Fornaroli’s performance…
“He played well.”
“He looked dangerous…he was really involved in the game.”
“He’s an emotional character and he loves scoring goals.”
“The passion is there. I don’t want that to go. I want him to keep improving regardless of his age.”
“If he keeps improving his game, there will be more goals like he scored tonight.”
On Damien Da Silva…
“Top player.”
“Thankfully the club really supported me on bringing [him] in.”
“He’ll get better. He’s still adapting.”
“But the more we can keep that continuity and stability at the back, of course that can only help us moving forward.”
On the fans…
“I think the fans embraced everyone tonight.”
“You win a fantastic game of football, it’s nice to see our fans and members back in the stadium.”
“We’ve been through a lot this year, on and off the field.”
“We were strong as a club tonight. Strong as a club in the stands. Strong as a club on the field. Strong as a club in terms of our leaders at the football club, from the Chairman all the way down.”
“A very good night for football and a good night for Melbourne Victory.”
On the belief of the players…
“I think that the belief was there prior to the game, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to perform that way (tonight).”
“It’s something to build on.”
“Of course tonight we’re all happy. You win a derby, regardless of where you are (on the table), of course it’s a special game.”
