Melbourne Victory is looking to bounce back when it visits the Wellington Phoenix in the Hyundai A-League.
Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory
Sunday, December 3, Westpac Stadium
2.30pm AEDT
Live on Fox Sports 501
Don’t forget, The Duke is Victory’s official away game venue for the 2017/18 season.
Details: mvf.club/theduke
on Rhys Williams’ fitness…
“If there was any doubt, he wouldn’t have travelled, but he’s completed and done everything asked of him so if that’s the case, it’s a bit difficult for me to sit here and err on the side of caution when he’s trained and he’s done everything asked of him so we’re optimistic that he’ll be fine.”
on Lawrence Thomas’ fitness…
“He’s got a sore finger, he’ll be fine, I’m sure he will.”
on the team’s discipline…
“It’s something that’s got to be addressed and something that’s got to be spoken about because as I said last week, we’ve had some mitigating factors that have contributed to our season in terms of the selection and players being available, but at the same time, the things that we can control, we’ve got to do better. There’s no shying away from that, we’ve got to take responsibility like everything else and make sure we don’t make things any harder than they should be.”
on Matias Sanchez replacing Mark Milligan…
“Mati will come in. He’s obviously been waiting and come in in different games. He’s in the same boat, he’s got to take some responsibility and make sure his performance is at a level close to his best like everyone else.”
on the feeling in the squad…
“The boys are working hard on the training field. We’ve got a few things we need to get right, collectively as a team. I think we need to get better, the better we get, the more results that we’ll get.”
on how he improved on loan at PSV…
“My game got better, 100 per cent, I think tactically as well and also I matured as a player. You have to grow up as a young kid, but I think it’s a good experience for me, especially to do it while I’m young and hopefully in the future if I get another opportunity I’ll be ready.”
on his form…
“I think I’ve done all right stepping in (for James Donachie), doing the job I’ve been asked to do, but every week I’m trying to improve, trying to get better as a team, that’s the main thing.”
- Victory has won 17 of 30 matches against the Phoenix, its best record against any current Hyundai A-League club.
- Victory has a league-best shooting accuracy of 66 per cent when playing away from home.
- Jason Geria (29) and Rhys Williams (26) have made the most and third most tackles respectively this season.
Wellington Phoenix (two to be omitted): 1.Lewis ITALIANO (gk), 2.Daniel MULLEN, 3.Scott GALLOWAY, 4.Goran PARACKI, 7.Gui FINKLER, 8.Dario VIDOSIC, 9.Andrija KALUDEROVIC, 10.Michael MCGLINCHEY, 11.Hamish WATSON, 12.Adam PARKHOUSE, 13.Marco ROSSI, 14.Alex RUFER, 16.Ali ABBAS, 19.Tom DOYLE, 21.Roy KRISHNA, 22.Andrew DURANTE (c), 23.MATTHEW RIDENTON, 30.Keegan SMITH (gk)
Ins: 14.Alex RUFER (promoted), 19.Tom DOYLE (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 6.Dylan FOX (hamstring – 1week)
Melbourne Victory (two to be omitted): 1.Matt ACTON (gk), 2.Jason GERIA, 4.Rhys WILLIAMS, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Kenny ATHIU, 8.Besart BERISHA, 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10.James TROISI, 14.Thomas DENG, 16.Josh HOPE, 18.Matias SANCHEZ, 19. Pierce WARING, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Carl VALERI (c), 22.Stefan NIGRO, 23.Jai INGHAM, 31.Christian THEOHAROUS, 41.Leroy GEORGE
Ins: 7.Kenny ATHIU (promoted), 16.Josh HOPE (promoted), 19.Pierce WARING (promoted)
Outs: 5.Mark MILLIGAN (suspended – 1 week)
Unavailable: 11.Mitch AUSTIN (knee), 17.James DONACHIE (quad)
