Melbourne City Head Coach John van’t Schip says his side is ready for whatever Wednesday throws at them as they came out with three points and a clean bill of health from Sunday’s encounter against Wellington.
The win ensured Wednesday’s contest would be a first vs. second battle for the first piece of silverware in the 2016/17 calendar and the Dutchman believes his players are in a good position to claim the trophy on Wednesday night.
“It would mean a lot to us, it’s very clear. It’s been something we have been working hard towards. Now you’re there and you can play the final, you want to win it as well,” van’t Schip said.
“We tried to look at putting a very strong team on the pitch and we did. We put a team on the pitch that we knew could win and they showed it as well, especially in the first half.
“Now it’s looking forward to Wednesday and we’ll discuss and look at what will be the best team to start.”
Goals to Nick Fizgerald and Bruno Fornaroli secured the result at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon as City dominated the majority of the contest despite a few heart-flutters towards the end of the match.
With the likes of Tim Cahill, Nicolas Colazo and Bruce Kamau on the bench against Wellington, van’t Schip was confident that his player’s loads during a busy week would be managed accordingly.
“We knew we didn’t have players for the week coming that could play 90 minutes every game. You have to look and see what the best combination is,” he said.
“Winning is always important. It makes it easier but still we have to change things up sometimes. Injuries or someone getting a yellow card and this week is a bit different. Normally you have a week between the games and you have a longer turnover to recover. “
“We’re looking at every possibility. I think Bruce needed a rest. He’s played a lot of games but Fitzy (Nick Fitzgerald) did very good today.
“Every game is an opportunity for you. You have to show yourself to make it difficult for the coaches.”
With the cup final looming, the focus squarely shifts to the contest against Sydney at AAMI Park and the Head Coach has no doubt that City will have their eyes on the prize.
“We want to play good football and we want to win the Cup, but we are playing against a very strong opponent who are still unbeaten. They’ve scored a lot of goals so it’s not going to be easy,” he said.
“We’re confident in our own team; we’re confident in the way we play, so it’s going to be a massive game with two teams that are on top of the table in the league at this moment. We’re really looking forward to it.
“It’s going to be a very tough and interesting game between two teams that are in good form and are confident that they both can win, but again we will see on Wednesday.”
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