(Reuters) – Melbourne City coach Aurelio Vidmar is optimistic that the 0-0 draw against Melbourne Victory will help turn around the team’s recent poor form, which has put their place in the A-League finals in jeopardy. City, the current A-League Premiers, have been a dominant force in the competition, finishing on top of the regular season standings for the last three years and making four consecutive Grand Finals. However, having won only one of their last six games, including a 5-1 loss to Brisbane Roar, they have dropped to seventh place and are currently outside of the qualifying spots for the finals.
“It’s been a tough month or five weeks for us, but I believe this was a positive sign,” said Vidmar, who took over as head coach in November. He also added, “We’ve had a couple of rough weeks lately and you can really tell from the players’ intent that they were up for it. If you’re not ready for a derby, then you have a problem. We need to maintain this momentum and intensity as a team. I think tonight was a much better sign.”
The draw brought City to 22 points from 17 games, 11 points behind league leaders Wellington Phoenix and three points behind sixth-placed Western Sydney Wanderers, who hold the final spot for the championship playoffs. Vidmar expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance following last week’s defeat, stating, “I’m really pleased with our guys, especially considering what happened last week. I’m delighted with their commitment, intensity, and teamwork. I have to give a lot of credit to the team for that. They really dug deep. It was a huge improvement from last week.”
(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
