Striker Mate Dugandzic believes Melbourne Heart FC’s fluid, attacking game will be well suited to the cut throat nature of playoff football ahead of the side’s Hyundai A-League Elimination Final against Perth Glory on Sunday.
Striker Mate Dugandzic believes Melbourne Heart FC-s fluid, attacking game will be well suited to the cut throat nature of playoff football ahead of the side-s Hyundai A-League Elimination Final against Perth Glory on Sunday.
Having achieved its primary goal of reaching the top six this season, Dugandzic believes Heart will thrive under finals conditions as the side is freed of its shackles and able to play its natural game.
“To a certain extent, you want to play without fear,” he said.
“You want to do as well as you possibly can, I feel when we do play without anything on our back, we-ve got a lot to show, and we feel that we-re a very, very capable team and can string together a number of good results.
“Obviously, it-s going to be difficult playing in Perth, with the travel, but I know there-s confidence in the team that we can do it.”
While Heart will enter the Finals Series on the back of a six-match unbeaten streak, the side has let opportunities slip in recent weeks, conceding winning positions against the likes of Wellington Phoenix and Sydney FC.
This hasn-t dampened the playing groups enthusiasm however, with Dugandzic articulating the clear buzz emanating from Heart HQ ahead of the Club-s debut finals appearance.
“Everyone-s pretty excited with the fact we-re in the finals,” he said.
“Anything can happen I suppose, if you get on a bit of a run. We probably didn-t get the result we wanted against Adelaide.
“We would have love to have entered the finals with a win, but after the game, finals is secured, and we were happy about that. We just need to keep on going now, get a couple of results and make our way through the finals.”
