Solid is the word that would best describe Melbourne City’s performance on Friday night and Head Coach Warren Joyce believes keeping that tag will be an important step in his side’s successes this season.
City defeated Brisbane Roar 2-0 in the season opening match of the A-League and looked comfortable in the performance, restricting Brisbane to three shots on goal.
With a clean sheet in hand, Bruce Kamau’s double secured all three points for the home side and the Head Coach believes his side will only get better as they become closer as a team.
“We are just looking to get consistency. I think the last three games [including pre-season matches] we’ve been consistent in things we’ve done,” Joyce said.
“We’ve kept three clean sheets and I don’t really think any of our opposition sides have had a real shot at goal in our last three games, and you need that platform to build off.
“It was widely reported about our poor performance against Sydney and you just have to bounce back and be consistent every day in training if you do that it gives you every chance of winning on game day so we will be looking to do that each week.
“It is widely documented as well that we have many different [players] at different stages of fitness and your actually throwing them together to try and prepare for a game on the weekend when some of them haven’t really played much football together.”
One of those players who will look to continue his familiarisation with the squad is Ross McCormack and despite not finding the back of the net on his debut, Joyce is confident the Scotsman will find his groove.
“This week Ross arrived and has only had three training session with the players so again we are moulding a side that really hasn’t [played together],” He said.
“I’m pleased with his contribution and pleased for his contribution to the second goal, he’s a good lad around the dressing room, a good pro, good with some of the younger players, or even the older players.
“He wants to come to play football, he wants to win and I think he’ll only get better from here on in.”
Although the focus was on all of his new starters, Joyce was also pleased to experience his first league match in charge.
“It’s obviously a new experience. Life is about experiences and testing yourself and challenging yourself and going into uncertainty and [I tried] to bring that consistency that maybe you’ve had in your own life and see if that can work in another country,” he said.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the night; it’s a big football club with a good fan base in a proper stadium, it’s just normal football for me, really.”
City and Joyce now prepare for a blockbuster Melbourne Derby at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, kick-off 7.50pm.
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