AAMI Park’s gates were opened to the public as coach Ange Postecoglou cast a watchful eye over Melbourne Victory’s annual intra-club match on Saturday morning.
The game, played under training conditions, ended in a 7-7 draw as a home and away Victory side fought to work their way into the coaches plans for Saturday night’s curtain raiser against Melbourne Heart.
Postecoglou didn’t get drawn into commenting on team selection suggesting there was plenty of time for him to make a call on his squad in the coming week.
“We’ve got a good week of training, we’ll make all those decisions closer to the game,” Postecoglou said.
The supporter day, which served as a final ‘competitive’ hit-out ahead of round one of competition, was well backed, with a sizeable crowd on hand to watch the 30-minute scratch match.
The turnout came as little surprise following the announcement that the Victory had reached a milestone 20,000 members as of this morning.
That announcement was made pre-match, along with the official presentation of the clubs new signings, including Kiwi international Kosta Barbarouses, Atalanta loan signing James Troisi and youngster Rashid Mahazi.
Other new signings Mitch Nichols and marquee man Pablo Contreras played a role alongside established first-team members Archie Thompson, Leigh Broxham and Adrian Leijer, with Postecoglou providing the strongest indication so far of his likely starting XI for the clash with Melbourne Heart.
Newly appointed captain Mark Milligan sat out after picking up a knee injury in Victory’s pre-season loss to Adelaide United, whilst Nathan Coe was another noticeable absentee, as he trained separately from the main group.
Coe is expected to line-up for Victory next week but Milligan will miss regardless due to Socceroos commitments.
Brazilian playmaker Gui Finkler got through the match unscathed as he waltzes towards a welcome return to competitive football.
He was understandably excited about the prospect of playing a full game against the Heart, but was wary of whether his body will be 100% prepared.
“I’m still working pretty hard. I had 90 minutes in Tasmania, and I pulled up very good from that game,” he said.
“I don’t know, it’s hard to say [how ready I am] because it’s been a long time for me without playing 90 minutes.”
There was plenty more for the Victory supporters as crowd favourites Broxham and Thompson stayed on to answer some fan questions, whilst other first-team members did the rounds signing autographs.
Melbourne Victory open their season at the Etihad Stadium against Melbourne Heart. The derby clash is scheduled for 7:30 pm on Saturday, October 12th.