After his man of the match performance on Saturday night, City custodian Thomas Sorensen believes that the Melbourne Derby win will prepare his side for a tilt at the Hyundai A-League top spot.
The pressure cooker that was AAMI Park on Saturday night saw City prevail 2-1 over cross-town rivals Victory and with eleven saves to his name, the former Danish international felt the Derby proved his side are real contenders.
“It was a big step for us to win the Derby and to continue the good form,” Sorensen said.
“The way it panned out, we were under the pump for a long time and to get over the line, I think that brought a lot of emotion out of all of us because we knew how big the game was.
“No matter what the result would have been yesterday, we still would have fancied ourselves as the season progressed but it’s a big step. It’s tight at the top of the able, we’re second or third depending on results this week, and that’s where we want to be.”
Sorensen’s save in the 48th minute kept City in the contest as he brilliantly palmed Kosta Barbarouses’ header onto the post from close range and ‘The Great Dane’ says the players on the pitch felt the magnitude of the moment.
“It’s always good to make a save. As it happens in the game, you just act instinctively and most of the time you get a hand to it but you can’t get it quite around the post,” he said.
“Afterwards I had a look at the screen and I was surprised because you just react to the situation. It was important because it was just after the break and if they scored, it would have been really difficult for us.”
Sitting three points from the table-topping Wanderers, the keeper was quick to turn to next week’s clash against Brisbane with City facing three of the of the top four sides during the new year period.
“It’s just one step but it’s an important step,” he said.
“We know we can’t get too carried away with this, it was a big win and we’re going to enjoy it but its back to business in 6-7 days time and we have to go out and do it all again. We’re going to enjoy the win and everyone has a smile on their face so that’s good.
City face Brisbane this Sunday at Suncorp Stadium, kick-off 7:00pm AEDT. John van’t Schip’s men are back at AAMI Park on Saturday 2 January as they take on Sydney FC, kick-off 7:30pm. See all of Melbourne City’s home matches in January with our 3 Match Holiday Pack! Give the gift of football this Christmas and sign up now!
