Melbourne Victory’s winning mentality jolted after third straight defeat

MIDFIELDER Rashid Mahazi says a third straight defeat has shocked A-League favourite Melbourne Victory.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 16: Gui Finkler of the Victory walks from th eground after being defeated during the round five A-League match between the Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory at nib Stadium on December 16, 2015 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

MIDFIELDER Rashid Mahazi says a third straight defeat has shocked A-League favourite Melbourne Victory.

Victory will have a light session ton Friday after returning from Perth on Thursday night. Archie Thompson trained nd looks set to return to the squad.

Saturday night’s AAMI Park derby against City will be Victory’s third game in eight days and it won’t be helped by a 41C forecast.

Football Federation Australia will monitor the temperature before deciding whether a drinks break is needed.

Victory dominated possession against Glory but Diego Castro’s 74th-minute strike was the difference on Wednesday night, and Mahazi said the side had to improve.

“As a team we need to do better. It’s not normal to lose any game let alone three in a row, by our standards it’s not good enough,’’ Mahazi said.

“Especially for this club. I’ve been to other clubs that have lost more games, but here, especially, there is such a winning mentality, a bit of a shock, it’s really rare. We’re coming off a good season but with the squad we’ve got we expect to do better.

“We’re still confident, we’re playing good football and we’re not going to take a backward step. We felt fresh and recovered from the weekend. I don’t think the performance was too bad but we didn’t have enough chances.”

Gui Finkler is dejected after Victory’s loss to Glory on Wednesday night. Picture: Getty Images

Mahazi made his seventh start of the season in place of captain Carl Valeri and is growing into the role.

He admitted the job of the No.6 was unglamorous but if he can keep City star Aaron Mooy quiet tomorrow there will certainly be plaudits.

“I’m the more defensive midfielder at the moment and I need to play the role that Carl played,’’ Mahazi said.

“As I grew up I was a No.10 or right midfielder, when I went overseas they moved me into the No.6 role and I’ve stayed there ever since.

“It’s a position you need to be extremely mature, you have to make a lot of crucial decisions, it’s a position that goes a bit under the radar in terms of exciting stuff but you need to be smart, know when to break up play, positioning.’’

Mahazi said Victory must focus on itself.

“They’re in great form, and scoring lots of goals,’’ he said.

“We’ve never been a team that worried about the opponent, we’re worried about what we do.’’

Originally published as Melbourne Victory’s winning mentality jolted after third straight defeat