(Reuters) – Melbourne Victory coach Tony Popovic has assured fans that there is “a lot more to come” from his team after they started the A-League season with a 2-0 victory over Sydney FC, their “Big Blue” rivals. Both Bruno Fornaroli and Zinedine Machach scored in the second half to secure the win for Victory, who are aiming to bounce back from a disappointing previous season and challenge for their first title since 2018.
“We put (last season) behind us after the last game that we lost, to Brisbane at home,” said Popovic. “Literally three days later we signed off on that.
“Of course we reviewed and reflected, but it was from that moment (that) we trained for an extra three weeks and it was about the new season, new mindset.
“We’ve seen everyone seeing what they could do better, including myself and the staff, to make sure we put everything behind us.”
Last year, there were high hopes for Victory after Popovic led the team to a second-place finish in the regular season and victory in the FFA Cup in his first season in charge. However, they struggled and ended up finishing 11th out of 12 teams in the competition, 27 points behind their city rivals, Melbourne City. As a result, they missed out on a place in the end-of-season finals series.
However, after an extensive preseason with his team, Popovic is confident that they will improve on last season’s performance.
“Today was more about the performance, the result is a bonus,” he said.
“I think the performance showed that we’re not the same team as last year. Getting an away win against Sydney in the Big Blue, the fans going home happy, that’s the icing on the cake.
“But I thought the performance showed where we’re heading and there’s a lot more to come.”
(Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by William Mallard)
