Alex Wilkinson says the first half of Melbourne City’s finals elimination of Perth Glory was the best he has seen the team play in his short stay at the Victorian club.
City bundled the Glory out of the finals on Sunday thanks to a 2-0 victory and a brilliant Bruno Fornaroli brace. His first, a stunning overhead kick at a corner in the 40th minute, ultimately proved the catalyst for City’s progression after an aggressive but ultimately fruitless opening stanza, until then.
Perth were unable to claw their way back into the contest before El Tuna made sure of the result via a stunning free kick with 14 minutes left to play.
And Perth’s inability to find a way to break through came as little surprise to Wilkinson, who believes City’s pressing in the first 45 left their opposition with little chance of a resurrection.
“The first half was probably the best I’ve seen us play,” Wilkinson said.
“The pressing was fantastic and the boys were up for it, we just didn’t give them (Glory) any chance to play out, have any time on the ball for the boys in midfield.
POPULAR ARTICLES
A-League – What We Learned – Melbourne City 2 Perth Glory 0
A-League – Player Ratings – Melbourne City 2 Perth Glory 0
How Twitter reacted to Melbourne City’s 2-0 win over Perth Glory
A-League – Best Three Performers – Melbourne City 2 Perth Glory 0
A-League – Worst Three Performers – Melbourne City 2 Perth Glory 0
“When we do that, it gives myself and Patrick (Kisnorbo) much more confidence to be tight and it worked brilliantly.
“You can’t keep that sort of pressing up for 90 minutes, so there was a bit of a period there early in the second half where they had a bit of possession, but they didn’t create too much and probably towards the end of the game, we could have scored a few more.
“All in all, it was a pretty positive performance.”
The win sets up a Friday night blockbuster at Coopers Stadium with red-hot premiers Adelaide United. Socceroo Wilkinson predicted his side would deploy similar tactics to upset the Reds, who took home the Premiers’ Plate at AAMI Park in the final round of the regular season against City.
“Obviously it’s a short turnaround, but we’ll be looking to play the same sort of way.
“They’ve got some dangerous players through the middle of the park, so we’ve got to restrict their space and restrict their time on the ball. If we give them space to turn and run at us, it could be a long night.
“This week will be a lot about recovery and getting everyone right for the game … looking forward to it.”
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
