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Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick has hailed it a significant win for the A-League, while skipper Kevin Muscat says it’s irrelevant for his side.
Either way, both expect a fired-up Fulham to come after the Victory after the English Premier League side was stunned by A-League newcomers Gold Coast United 2-1 on Wednesday night.
Fulham take on the Victory at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium on Saturday night in the second match of a three-game, pre-season camp in Australia.
But with the English press proclaiming Fulham as having “crashed and burned” and “lost their very own Ashes battle” against Gold Coast, the team which finished seventh in the Premiership last season will be out to make amends against A-League champions Melbourne.
Both Merrick and Muscat are wary of facing Fulham, which boasts Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and ex-Melbourne defender Adrian Leijer, on the rebound.
“Fulham was always going to be a tough side. They’re a quality outfit with some top-level players and the Gold Coast have done extremely well to beat them,” Merrick said.
“It’s good to see a new team coming into the A-League did so well against a team like Fulham. It’s a good result for everyone.”
How Melbourne perform against Fulham will be a more telling reflection of the A-League’s qualities against a top-tier English side bound for European football this season.
While Gold Coast come into the competition with high expectations, the Victory have consistently been the A-League’s benchmark.
Muscat, a decade-long veteran of English and Scottish football, said the west London side would be keen to prove a point – though he believed the Gold Coast result was irrelevant for the Victory.
He says competition for places for Melbourne’s A-League opener against Central Coast on August 6 was more on the minds of the Victory players.
“It (Fulham-Gold Coast result) doesn’t really matter and we have to take into consideration it’s the start of their (Fulham’s) pre-season,” Muscat said.
“Their pride will be a bit wounded and they’ll come down here and who knows what’s going to happen?
“It’s more about what we’re going to do, and the (Victory) boys are playing for places.”
The Victory will be without midfielder Grant Brebner and striker Ney Fabiano, though Merrick says he will play an otherwise full-strength team.
Brebner, a former Manchester United academy member, has a calf injury and ruled himself out of the match at Victory training on Thursday.
Fabiano has been battling an ankle injury throughout the pre-season.
Schwarzer is a certainty to play against the Victory, while ex-Melbourne centre-half Leijer is also set to play in his return to his home state.
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