Melbourne Victory captain Ola Toivonen concedes top-two finish beyond struggling side
Captain Ola Toivonen has all but conceded a top-two spot is beyond a struggling Melbourne Victory after its 0-0 draw against Wellington Phoenix.
Football
Don't miss out on the headlines from Football. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Melbourne Victory have revised their season goals, with captain Ola Toivonen conceding a top two spot is out of reach as they prepare to face rampant Melbourne City in Saturday’s high stakes pre-Christmas derby.
Victory will be without suspended attacker Kristijan Dobras, who was red carded in the scoreless home draw with Wellington Phoenix on Saturday.
German Tim Hoogland is pushing to return for the derby, while Victory coach Marco Kurz was less confident of fellow defender Tommy Deng’s prospects.
Second-placed City’s 4-0 mauling of Newcastle Jets, setup by an Adrian Luna brace with in-form Jamie Maclaren also scoring, has opened up a significant 10-point gap on the A-League ladder from Victory, which is just two points above bottom place.
Toivonen admitted that they had to be realistic after a tough period.
“We’re not looking for top two or something like that, we’re realistic. Most important is to grab sixth place, that’s what we’re aiming for,” Toivonen said.
“Tommy and Hoogland are coming back (soon), it’s not their first time playing football. They know what it’s all about.
“If you look at what he did in the pre-season he was an x-factor for us. Hopefully he will get back in the shape of pre-season.”
Kurz conceded he was under pressure, having secured just two wins and nine points from 10 games, and playing very deep and defensive in the Phoenix game.
He said the City derby at AAMI Park could be season defining, but said their best was ahead of them with Robbie Kruse and Adama Traore both coming back from long term absences.
“I have full energy,” Kurz said.
“All I can say is that we believe. We will work hard during the week to be ready for the derby.
MORE FOOTBALL NEWS:
A-League to investigate Robbie Fowler-Mark Rudan spat
Class of 2019 out to prove they are the best Sydney FC team in the club’s history
A-League preview Round 10: Melbourne Victory can ignite season on back of Asia performances
Liverpool 10 points clear on Premier League table after victory over Watford
Mark Milligan says return to Melbourne Victory was the springboard to Socceroos success
“It is a big game, not only three points, (but) with a good result we can fight back in a good way. That’s our clear goal.
“We are hungry for the game.
“We believe we will work hard during the week for the derby.”
Toivonen said results were now key, as Victory tried to work its way into the six.
“Confidence comes from results. You get good results, the confidence goes up. If you don’t get result, the confidence goes down a little bit,” Toivonen said.
“We’re lacking confidence, but we know it. We knew it was going to be a struggle. As you saw, the attitude was spot on from all of us, so that was positive.”