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Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick says tomorrow’s Telstra Dome A-League clash with Perth Glory will not be the straightforward task their opposing ladder positions suggests.
Top-placed Melbourne have suffered just one defeat so far, while the bottom-placed Glory have had four losses in their six games.
Perth have also conceded three or more goals on four occasions, including a 4-1 defeat to Central Coast last week.
But while the Victory have been a force in attack this season, Merrick was mindful of the struggle his sides have faced to score against the Glory defence in previous encounters.
“On form, that’s the way it looks. We’re near the top of the league and they’re near the bottom. But I’ve always found Perth to be a very tough team to break down,” Merrick said.
“They defend well, they catch you on the counterattack and I don’t think there’s any team in this league, whether top or bottom, that couldn’t knock off any other team and that was evident when (Wellington) beat Sydney at home last week.
“So we’re certainly wary of them and sometimes when a team’s down and out, that’s when they’re at their most dangerous.
“We’ll focus on how we’ll play and we’ll play a very attacking line-up. We’ll have three strikers again up front and we’re hoping to take all three points from the match.”
Merrick conceded his attack, which started the season in superb touch, faced some work to adjust to the loss of striker Ney Fabiano and attacking midfielder Carlos Hernandez, both out suspended.
But he said with Tom Pondeljak slotting in for Fabiano up front and experienced midfielder Grant Brebner to take over Hernandez’s role, they would not lose too much potency.
“This is what you have to do as a coach. You can’t rely on your best 11 players and your best three strikers week in, week out,” Merrick said.
“That’s why you’ve got a squad of 22 plus your youth league team. Our depth will be tested.”
Despite the Glory’s defensive failings so far this season, he did not expect Perth to take an overly defensive approach.
“They certainly did that last year, but this year they’ve persisted with always two players up front and it’s usually been (Eugene) Dadi and (Adrian) Trinidad or Dadi and (Nikita) Rukavytsya.
“Because they’ve played that way for the last five games or so, I can’t see them playing anything other than two guys up front … as I said they’re as dangerous as any other team.”
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