Head Coach John van’t Schip says it’s rewarding to see the hard work his side have put in over the past month as City moved to the top of the Hyundai A-League ladder on Monday night.
The performance saw City make it a milestone night and the Dutchman admitted the the fixture could have been a tricky task for his side, but was proud of their professionalism and ruthlessness in attack and defence.
“I think we played a very disciplined game,” van’t Schip said.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game because Aaron (Mooy) and Alex (Wilkinson) weren’t there. We had to put in two different players and secondly, Wellington is a dangerous team outside the six where they can play freely to create difficulties.
“I think we did well because they had a half shot at goal all game. We maybe gave away possession more than what we wanted but I think we were very clinical and dangerous going forward and I think we scored two fantastic goals.
“It’s really a team in the defensive way that we are playing and going forward, we know we have players that can score and today Aaron (Mooy), who normally sets up and finishes, was not in today but then other players took over and Harry and Bruno were there to score goals.”
It was a record-breaking night for City with the Club breaking six records on the night. With Harry Novillo entering into double figures for the season and Bruno Fornaroli breaking the record for goals in a season, van’t Schip was full of praise for his striking duo.
“The understanding between the two is really good,” he said.
“They give and go so it’s not like they are looking for pleasure of their own. The first goal was a good example of Bruno seeing the space and flicking it on through the air and the finish from Harry was of course first class.
“Their feeling is great and their understanding is getting better and better and defensively, they are doing a great job for the team. That’s helping us a lot keeping clean sheets and not giving away many chances.
“The third goal was good work from Nick Fitzgerald, who had a few good moves on the right side, played it inside and the finish of Bruno in the top corner.
“I think people come to watch games for those things and the boys delivered. Even on the bench it’s nice to see that kind of quality of goal.”
Next week’s mouthwatering contest in Perth sees the two in-form teams of the competition go head to head and it will be back to business for City on Tuesday.
“Credit to the boys, they took that on board. We worked at training and it’s now working out on the pitch,” he said.
“That’s a good sign and that’s what you want as a coach, to see that happen. The players get confidence in that and start to believe and do the things we are working on.
“We made a good step in that but again, we have to do that every time. It’s not just now, but it’s the next game and the game after so it’s something that we have to keep working on and have to do better.”
