Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat has lambasted the decision to play the match between Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne Victory at North Shore Oval, calling it a step backward for the code.
Speaking after his side’s 3-0 away defeat of the Mariners, Muscat said the conditions on the ground might have been a factor in the Victory’s slow first half start to the game.
After a goalless first half, the boys in navy blue piled on three goals in ten minutes to secure three valuable points and chalk up Melbourne’s sixth win of the season.
“It was a good first half and a bit of an arm wrestle I suppose with people getting used to the conditions – our biggest problem in the first half was not retaining the ball long enough, trying to score with the first pass,” the Victory coach said.
“A lot of things could have played a part in that, the conditions, getting used to the cricket pitch in the middle of a football pitch so just that final pass for us in that first half, retaining possession for long was why we didn’t score.
“As far as I’m concerned, football has gone back 20 years tonight.
“Playing on a cricket pitch – by the way the groundsman has done a remarkable job to get it in the condition it was in – but in this day and age, the steps we’ve taken forward as a code, tonight has taken it back.”
The Melbourne coach however, reserved praise for attackers Archie Thompson and Fahid Ben Khalfallah – the latter enjoying a spell of great form and giving the Victory an extra edge going forward.
The 32-year-old has emerged as a key figure in the Melbourne Victory line-up, creating a number of attacking opportunities with his pace and vision and may even be the key to finals success for Muscat’s men this season.
“Fahid [Ben Khalfallah] going out wide gives us a little bit more structure by staying there and Archie releasing the ball playing behind the strikers earlier helped us as well – we created a number of chances and scored some good goals,” said Muscat.
“Archie caused some problems and brining him inside in that second half gave them a different problem to look after – it allowed us to stay in their final third for longer periods and we created some good chances.
“[Fahid Ben Khalfallah] causes lots of problems – we asked him to play in a different position tonight and he done well for the team.
“He’s been here a period, it was evident from when I first saw him that he was a good footballer – he’s settled in with his teammates and he’s played some good stuff in recent weeks,” the Melbourne boss added.
The Victory are enjoying a brilliant start to their A-League campaign, remaining undefeated after nine rounds of action and are in the middle of a three-game winning streak.
Great off-season recruiting as well as a brilliant run of results have the Victory as prime candidates to take out the title this season but Muscat says it will be business as usual for his side as they shift their focus to next round’s blockbuster clash with Sydney FC.
“It’s a happy dressing room, we’ve come away form home and scored three goals and won a game but we’ll address the bodies as we normally do, recover tonight and see how everyone is.”