A-League: Coach Patrick Kisnorbo applauds depleted Melbourne City

Defending champions Melbourne City might not have gotten the win on Saturday night but that hasn’t fazed coach Patrick Kisnorbo.

Kisnorbo has applauded City’s efforts (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

Melbourne City felt the absence of its six Socceroos but coach Patrick Kisnorbo believes Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Western United was one of the best performances he has seen from his side.

City struggled without Socceroos Jamie Maclaren, Marco Tilio, Mathew Leckie and Connor Metcalfe and was also missing fringe national-team players Andrew Nabbout and Curtis Good due to fitness-related issues.

Although they weren’t able to beat their Victorian counterparts for the first time in three attempts, Kisnorbo was full of praise for his side’s effort and character.

“You talk about performance but you’ve got six Socceroos missing then let’s talk about it,” Kisnorbo said.

“For me and I said it to the players, it’s the best performance I’ve seen by a group. You know, you take six players out of any team and you see what they deal with.

“But for me it was the best, for me I was really proud of the players. They adapted really well under every circumstance.”

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Kisnorbo said he was unsure whether his national-team tied quartet would be ready to play against Perth Glory next weekend after they returned from international duty.

After succumbing to a niggle in training and not being risked by Kisnorbo, Nabbout is also in with a chance to return while Good continues his recovery from Covid.

“They arrive next week at some time and we will see how they pull up,” Kisnorbo said.

“Unfortunately, it was during training so there was no need to risk (Nabbout). Obviously, he had to come out and Curtis (Good) is still trying to get fit through this corona and he’s improving which is great.”

Melbourne City put up a fight despite being undermanned. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Western United is closing in on the top of the league, with its 1-0 win meaning it is only behind table-toppers Melbourne Victory on goal difference.

Despite City’s absences, United coach John Aloisi was wary of the threat the champions posed and was pleased with how his side battled on, even after it had a penalty saved seconds before Steven Lustica’s decisive goal.

“Very proud of the boys because we knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Aloisi said.

“I know everyone talks about how many players they had out on national team duty but they’re a side with players that come in and know their structure really well. They’ve been together for a long period now.

“We thought that in the second half, we were starting to get the game in our favour … what I loved about the play was yes, (Alessandro) Diamanti missed the penalty but he didn’t put his head down. He ran over and got the corner and he was still up.

“That helps the teammates who see that he’s up and they don’t drop their heads. It was a great reaction from him and the rest of the group followed.”

Topor-Stanley has won the admiration of his coach. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

Aloisi also praised milestone man Nikolai Topor-Stanley, who became the second player to notch up 350 A-League Men’s games played.

“He deserved all three points, he deserved to celebrate with the players and it was great that Melbourne City also gave him a guard of honour,” Aloisi said.

“I thought that was really respectful and just goes to show what type of person he is and how he’s thought about throughout the league.”

Originally published as A-League: Coach Patrick Kisnorbo applauds depleted Melbourne City