It was the performance that Head Coach Michael Valkanis warned the league about and City delivered on Saturday as they put five past the hapless Wellington Phoenix.
It was a nervy opening to the match for City as a missed penalty and a wonderful low, reflex save from Thomas Sorensen denied the home side an early lead but City moved into the next gear soon after.
The resolute attitude by the squad to bounce back and continue with their momentum is what pleased Valkanis the most, as he felt the convincing result was a culmination of the positive performances over the past weeks.
“We had to win. We knew what our goal is and where we want to be at the end of the year so it was a must-win,” Valkanis said.
“I think we were well organised, especially after the first ten minutes because in the first ten minutes we weathered the storm and they had a couple of good opportunities.
“Today I thought, with probably less opportunities than we’ve had in the past, we were clinical and could have had some more goals. I was pleased with the performance and very happy with the three points.”
Valkanis admits that City’s luck may have “changed a little bit” after not only the early scare but the clinical nature of the side’s performance and feels last week’s ‘line-in-the-sand’ match against Brisbane had a lot to do with this.
“I think last week (against Brisbane Roar) was the springboard with the performance the younger boys had. A lot of the players that haven’t had much game time had a fantastic performance,” Valkanis said.
“To bring back a 2-2 result and it just showed the spirit of the team and the culture of our club. It’s actually very good people keep talking about it, it makes us feel stronger, and it’s great.
“We created some very good chances so it was pleasing to score goals because this team can score and in the past five or six games, the team has created that much that we haven’t been able to show for that.
City now prepare for a blockbuster clash with Sydney FC on Friday night as the home side look to inflict the Sky Blues’ second loss of the season.
Make sure you don’t miss a minute of the action at AAMI Park this Friday night in this massive clash in the lead up to the Finals Series. Click here to sign up for our 3 Match Membership or get your tickets for the clash below.
