Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John Aloisi believes his side is capable of securing a finals berth after being buoyed by Friday night’s 2-0 win over Adelaide United.
Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John Aloisi believes his side is capable of securing a finals berth after being buoyed by Friday night-s 2-0 win over Adelaide United.
Heart has collected maximum points at AAMI Park in 2013 and the Red and White-s win against Adelaide on Friday night proved Heart can match it with the competition-s front runners.
“I felt quite comfortable for most of the game, to be honest,” Aloisi said on Friday.
“I think the boys showed against a team that-s second top [and] two points away from the leaders, that we can beat anyone in this league.”
With Perth Glory losing against Melbourne Victory at nib Stadium last night and the Newcastle Jets drawing 0-0 with Central Coast Mariners, Heart remain in fifth spot with 21 points.
Heart’s goal-difference was boosted as a result of the side’s clean sheet, with the central defensive partnership of Patrick Gerhardt and Simon Colosimo aided by Aziz Behich and Jeremy Walker.
“[Walker’s] a young boy who hasn-t had a lot of experience in the A-League,” Aloisi said.
“He-s a promising player for us and he-s comfortable on the ball, and most of the time, makes good decisions on the ball, which is important for us because a lot of the time, our outlet is our full-back so they-re important players.”
Aloisi was pleased with his team’s shape which helped it to maintain its 2-0 lead.
“Even though Adelaide had a bit of the ball in the second half, when we kept out shape, they weren-t going to really hurt us,” Aloisi said.
“They had their half chances but nothing too clear.
“Because we were compact on most occasions, we pinched the ball in good areas so we were always going to be dangerous.
“It was a good performance considering what happened last week.”
