Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat was proud to see his players thwart Brisbane Roar’s Premiers Plate tilt after restricting them to a 0-0 draw at AAMI Park.
“I’m very pleased with not only with the team but the whole group, we left Melbourne last Thursday and Saturday night,” Muscat said.
“I’m not complaining (about midweek games) everyone else in the comp would love to be in the position we’re in, it is difficult.”
Victory skipper Carl Valeri made a start, following his first appearance off the bench against Wellington Phoenix last week after suffering a brain inflammation condition in December.
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The 31-year-old made way for Oliver Bozanic after an hour and had a significant impact on the team, according to Muscat.
“It was handy having Carl back in our team, after the meeting we had this morning the message I was hearing from the team was ‘the only team that celebrates trophies at AAMI Park is us’,” he said.
“That was their mentality, I think their actions reflected that tonight.
“When the meeting was finished, they didn’t want to watch another team celebrate and regardless of who was.
“It was tough for Carl (playing tonight), he got 60 minutes under his belt. Docs and medical staff will monitor him, it seems like he hasn’t missed a beat and he had a big smile on his face.
“He settles things down people gain confidence from him when he’s in the team, he’s got organisation skills.”
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Victory shot-stopper Lawrence Thomas was Man of the Match, keeping Brisbane’s attackers at bay all night with a string of impressive saves.
“He was outstanding, he’s been very patient and he was protected by a resilient back four,” he said.
“The team protected him really well, that last 10 minutes when Brisbane were throwing a lot balls into our box he stood up and earned his keep tonight, he was very good.”
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