Melbourne City captain Patrick Kisnorbo has dismissed talk of Melbourne City being too reliant on their star men ahead of this weekend’s Melbourne Derby, stressing every team mate has played a role in their strong form.
City’s last three outings have seen them claim back-to-back 5-1 wins against Perth Glory and Central Coast Mariners as well as a 4-0 thrashing of Newcastle Jets.
Aaron Mooy and Bruno Fornaroli were both in prolific form against the Jets, netting a brace each to add to their six and nine-goal season tallies respectively.
“At the end of the day, he (Aaron Mooy) has 10 other players behind him,” Kisnorbo said.
“He’s doing very well, but same as the players next to him.
“We’ve got Bruno scoring, Harry (Novillo), Ivan Franjic had two assists on the weekend. So everyone’s playing their part. Obviously Aaron is too.”
To add to his half-dozen goals haul, Mooy boasts a league-high seven assists.
Kisnorbo added that losing Connor Chapman to an MCL injury is a big blow, but hinted at a City debut for ex-Fulham and England veteran Aaron Hughes.
Kisnorbo praised Hughes’ workman-like attitude.
“It’s a big blow with Connor, we’ve been hit by injuries a lot this season. I just hope Connor gets back soon.
“Aaron (Hughes) has been great … hopefully he’s available.
“He’s a great pro. You always see him in the gym working. He’s a modern professional.
“Someone that the younger boys look up to because they seem him do his work, so he’s great to have around.”
City are riding a wave of momentum after netting 14 times in three appearances, but Kisnorbo remained reluctant to play up the significance of the second Melbourne Derby of the season, labelling it “another game”.
“For us, it is another game. Doesn’t matter if it’s a derby or not.
“At the end of the day it’s 90 minutes of two teams that go on the pitch and want to win.
“It is a derby game but we treat it as any other game … we’ll pay our respects to them (Victory), they’re a good team. But we just want to worry about ourselves.”
Tickets are still available for Saturday night’s derby at AAMI Park with Melbourne City currently sitting one point ahead of their geographic neighbours.
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