Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John Van’t Schip has lauded the hard work and effort that saw his side beat Sydney FC 2-1 with ten men, saying his players showed great “fight” to secure the three points
Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John van-t Schip has lauded the hard work and effort that saw his side beat Sydney FC 2-1 with ten men, saying his players showed great “fight” to secure the three points.
Speaking after his team-s second home win, the Dutchman said despite going down to 10 men and then conceding a goal soon after, his players did not give up hope.
“We played well, we created not that many chances, but we played good football,” van-t Schip said.
“When Orlando [Engelaar] got sent off, of course it changes, but we kept on playing forward.
“Those moments gave the boys a lot of confidence and at half time I told them this game wasn-t over.
“Playing against 10 men when well organised is not easy; the boys broke out a few times very well, with Iain [Ramsay] and Mate [Dugandzic].”
David Williams- late winning goal sent the Melbourne Heart faithful into wild celebrations, a strike van-t Schip said was vitally important for a player who recently returned from injury.
“It was important for him…every player needs sometimes a good moment and for David it was a fantastic moment,” van’t Schip said.
“He showed in that moment he had a lot of quality.
“He was sharp, he was defending [well]…..he showed he was very switched on.”
Van-t Schip believes Friday night’s win should encourage Heart to continue to build their style of play and mentality into the rest of the season and beyond.
“We are working as a unit together, trying to create something,” van’t Schip said.
“We are concentrated on training everyday, with the game plan we want to execute for the next game; we want to focus on those kinds of things.
“Everybody knows that they have to do more and improve more and that is what they are doing now. It gives a lot of confidence.”
The coach singled out midfielder Jonaton Germano for praise with his equaliser and energetic display in the midfield earning him man of the match honors.
“Germano is a player who gives something different to the team,” van’t Schip said.
“He is energetic and he has aggression in a good way. Tonight he proved he could score a goal too. Overall he is a player that is fighting, running for 90 minutes.”
