Melbourne Victory looks to build on a promising display when it faces the Whittlesea Ranges in the NPL2 West on Saturday.
Summary
Victory played out a 2-2 draw against Brunswick City at CB Smith Reserve in Round 4.
Yazid Said, 19, and Jack Morton, 17, were on the scoresheet for Victory, which held on with 10 men for the final 20 minutes after Thierry Iradukunda’s red card.
Said’s goal was his third of the season, while Morton’s was a tremendous 30-yard free-kick that found the top corner.
Victory again had periods of dominance, including taking the lead and pushing Brunswick back early in the second half.
It ended a two-match losing run for Victory ahead of the clash against Whittlesea at Epping Stadium.
Victory is fifth on the table heading into the encounter, while Whittlesea sits 10th.
Ranges and Victory last met in August, when Whittlesea recorded a 2-1 win.
Head coach Gareth Naven’s pre-match thoughts
“We always want to keep going forward. We need to keep doing the things that we’re doing well and working hard, a good attitude, and it’s on us to repeat that this week, like we did last week, especially when playing with 10 men. We understand every game is a challenge for us but it’s a good challenge and we’re just looking to get better in how we defend, attack and how we deal with transitions for us and against us. It’s a good challenge for our group, our players and the contribution everyone is making to get better towards that.”
This week
NPL2 West 2019 Round 5
Whittlesea Ranges v Melbourne Victory
Saturday, March 16, 3.00pm AEDT
Epping Stadium, Melbourne
U20 NPL2 West 2019 Round 5
Whittlesea Ranges v Melbourne Victory
Saturday, March 16, 12.30pm AEDT
Epping Stadium, Melbourne
U18 NPL West 2019 Round 4
North Geelong Warriors v Melbourne Victory
Sunday, March 17, 11.45am AEDT
Elcho Park, Lara
U15 NPL West 2019 Round 4
North Geelong Warriors v Melbourne Victory
Sunday, March 17, 9.45am AEDT
Elcho Park, Lara
Last week
NPL2 West: Brunswick City 2 Victory 2 (Said 22′, Morton 68′)
U20 NPL2 West: Brunswick City 1 Victory 2 (Deme 83′, Havales 89′)
U18 NPL West: Victory 7 (Cooper 13′ pen, Duratovic 34’/62’/82′, Dellidis 54′, Anastovski 84′, Latsis 89′) Moreland City 0
U15 NPL West: Victory 6 (Karlovic 20′, Krysinski 21′, Kapaklis 22′, Gust 34′, Minutoli 49’/52′) Moreland City 1
