Melbourne Heart know the next few weeks are essential in determining whether they will compete in the 2012/2013 Hyundai A-League finals. Their 2-0 win over Perth Glory on Saturday afternoon was just a stepping stone to what they wish to achieve, and coach John Aloisi is determined to put their lacklustre away performances behind them.
Goals from man-of-the-match Nicholas Kalmar and Eli Babalj helped Heart jump into 5th place on the table after contenders Newcastle Jets failed to achieve any points in their 2-1 loss to Western Sydney Wanderers. All games from now on for the red team in Melbourne are essential in their quest for finals.
"I said to the boys after the last game against Victory that these next three games are important for us because they're virtually 6 pointers, as you would say, and starting today we needed the win, and we did, so now on to Newcastle," Aloisi said.
Looking at Heart's draw in the final part of the season may put concern in the minds of the faithful - Adelaide and Western Sydney at home before two away trips to Brisbane and Central Coast to play out the season. Aloisi is determined to get the mindset of the players right before their crucial "six point" games.
"With the wingers that we've got we should still be able to hurt teams very easily away. We are going to make sure we put [away performances] right, especially now at the last end of the season, because if we play finals we want to pick up a few points away from home. Normally in the finals we would play away from home if we do make it."
There were many positives to take out of the clash against Perth, none more so than the goal which gave Eli Bablj a huge confidence boost in only his third game since his return from his stint in Europe.
"When Eli first arrived two weeks ago you could see he was a bit down on confidence, he hadn't played a lot of football in the last 6 months and he virtually didn't train with a ball for the last month over there. You could see when he missed that first chance he was a little bit down on himself but that goal is going to give him a huge boost. He's going to cause defenders all sorts of trouble so he will keep on improving and we'll keep on working on his game."
The new faces in David Vrankovic, Jeremy Walke and Jamie Coyne also received praise from the head coach. All three had minimal game time before being thrown into the deep end after injuries to key players.
"Vrankovic hasn't played a lot of first team football, I thought he did well again today. Walker, a youth team player, we've had to throw him in and he's done well for us and also Coyne who hasn't played a lot of football recently - we had to play him 90 mins today. I thought his experience showed and helped the back 4 aswell."
The remaining seven games will be a great test for Melbourne Heart to prove they can be contenders come finals. For now, they can take a clean sheet, notable performances from their youngsters and players getting themselves back into form and build on the positives.
Westfield W-League
Hyundai A-League
A-League Webcomic
State Leagues
Away performances crucial in Heart's finals quest
Sunday, February 10, 2013
by Unknown
Tweet
Hyundai A-League,
Jasmine Ceni,
Melbourne Heart