Melbourne Victory has options to replace Bruno Fornaroli, says coach
A young gun was sent off at the end of a chaotic 1-1 draw last time these two A-League sides met, but a coach says tensions have eased.
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Melbourne Victory coach Tony Popovic does not expect a repeat of last month’s spiteful clash with Adelaide United when the ‘Original Rivalry’ sides meet at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
Popovic wants his team to be more dynamic in attack than in last week’s scoreless draw against Melbourne City as they prepare for up to six games without league top-scorer Bruno Fornaroli, who will play his last game before departing for Australia’s Asian Cup campaign.
In the wake of City’s 8-1 demolition of Brisbane Roar on Thursday night, Popovic said he thought Victory had “acquitted themselves particularly well” in the Melbourne Derby but needed to regain the attacking spark from their previous wins.
He said he was confident there was sufficient depth in the squad to replace Fornaroli after Saturday’s game.
“We’ll worry about that (after), we’ve obviously got some ideas on what we will do, which we need to have regardless because there are always injuries that happen, suspensions … you need to have some plans to fit in when those situations occur,” Popovic said.
“We feel we have a squad here (with) enough talent to cover that place.
“The way we approach the front third will be a bit different, because the attributes will be different, but we believe we have the quality here.”
The unbeaten Victory were forced to scrap out a 1-1 draw in round 3 after playing with 10 men for the final half-hour in a clash which ended in controversy as young Adelaide star Nestory Irankunda was sent off in the dying seconds after exploding at the referee over his treatment by the opposition.
Irankunda, who will join powerhouse Bayern Munich in July, could again tussle with Victory defender Connor Chapman – the instigator of the altercation which led to the teenager’s red card.
Popovic said Chapman was one of several options to take on the dynamic 17-year-old at left-back as Adama Traore recovers from a concussion sustained against City.
The coach did not think there would be extra tension between the sides on Saturday night despite the fiery last encounter.
“I don’t think (the red cards) will have any bearing on it … we played 30 minutes with 10 men, and they had a player sent off the last kick of the game,” Popovic said.
“If you put that to the side, we want to perform well, we want to play with the right intensity, but also the quality required to win this game.
“The intensity of (Adelaide United games), you feel the rivalry among the supporters, you feel it on the pitch, you feel it on the sideline, so we want to really play our part in adhering to all of that.”
Originally published as Melbourne Victory has options to replace Bruno Fornaroli, says coach
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