Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John van ‘t Schip revealed a tactical switch midway through the first half was the catalyst for his side’s comprehensive 4-0 win over Sydney FC.
Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John van ‘t Schip revealed a tactical switch midway through the first half was the catalyst for his side-s comprehensive 4-0 win over Sydney FC.
Following a cagey opening half hour, van ‘t Schip-s decision to switch to a four-man midfield immediately paid dividends as Eli Babalj opened the scoring before Mate Dugandzic doubled Heart-s advantage just before half time.
The rout was completed in the second half as Jason Hoffman, who netted his first goal in red and white, and Alex Terra added their names to the scoresheet as Heart jumped four points clear of Brisbane Roar in second place.
However, despite the scoreboard, van ‘t Schip said his side encountered difficulties during the opening exchanges of the contest, as Sydney FC sought to forge ahead early in front of a parochial home crowd.
“If you look at the first 20-30 minutes it didn’t look like that at all,” van ‘t Schip said. “But games always have different parts and after we struggled in the first part, we changed the formation and got more control of the midfield and scored soon after.
“Once we got control over the game, we made second goal just before halftime which was very important.”
Returning to Melbourne today, the side will resume training on Sunday ahead of Wednesday afternoon-s match-up against Adelaide United at AAMI Park, kicking off at 3:15pm.
