Carl Valeri believes Victory’s fortunes will improve this Friday night.
With Melbourne Victory looking for its first points of the season, captain Carl Valeri believes his side’s fortunes will improve this Friday night.
Victory travels to face an Adelaide side flying high after its last-gasp win over Brisbane in Round 2.
“We can say what we want, our performances were good but obviously we need to do something better and we’re prepared to do that,” Valeri told media on Thursday.
“We know we have to lift that little bit extra and what better way to do it than against Adelaide?”
Victory has had plenty of possession in the games against Sydney and City, but has only been able to translate it into one goal.
“We can’t afford to have any lapse and we need to be clinical in front,” Valeri said.
“If we get three chances we have to take them all.
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“It’s two games in, and our performances have been good. The team spirit is fantastic, we’ve got a great bunch of guys in here and we’re going to keep working away.”
In addition to Adelaide’s four points from two games in the A-League, the Reds have also progressed to the FFA Cup semi-finals, set to face Western Sydney next week.
While the game being played at Adelaide Oval takes both sides away from the usual surroundings of Coopers Stadium, it won’t change much according to Valeri.
“They’ve started very well, impressed with Adelaide. It’s a big game and it’ll be a good test for us.
“We’ve played (at Adelaide Oval) before, it’s actually a similar pitch to Etihad so surface wise we’re used to it, so to speak.
“It’s still a great atmosphere, Adelaide fans come out and they love a game against Victory.”
James Donachie is set to miss the foreseeable future after limping off in the Melbourne Derby, and Valeri says his absence will be felt.
“He’s a top person to have around, and he’s a real funny character. We’re going to miss him on the pitch obviously but also off the pitch and I’m sure he’ll be involved as much as he can.
“It’s unfortunate and we’re gutted for him but we’ve got a squad with a lot of depth and everyone’s ready to step up.”
