Grant Brebner believes that the postponement of the game against Brisbane Roar that was scheduled to take place on Sunday could work in favour of Melbourne Victory.
Following a recent 3-1 defeat at home to Warren Moon’s men, the Melbourne-based outfit were meant to travel to play the Roar at the Dolphin Stadium over the weekend. But that fixture has now been postponed in light of the Queensland government imposing a three-day lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
That being said, the defeat to the Brisbane last week saw Victory showcase two contrasting performances in each half. Scott McDonald had opened the scoring for the Roar after defender Nick Ansell played him onside early on, but Brebner’s men put in a strong showing to take control of the game and get back into it when Callum McManaman scored a long range scorcher on his debut.
While tactical decisions did contribute to a part of their downfall in the second period, the boys in blue appeared to be lacking in fitness as goals from Macaulay Gillesphey and Dylan Wenzel-Halls meant that the campaign opener ended in a defeat. Brebner now believes that the extra time that his charges get in training could be a blessing in disguise.
“It’s an opportunity I think where we can look at it and try and make the best of the situation,” the Scot told the press.
“It’s the world we live in at the moment where things are changing every day, but from a footballing perspective we get an opportunity now to bring players a little bit closer to match fitness with that extended break and who knows it might even work in our favour.”
Victory attacker Robbie Kruse is back in training after a knee injury last july ruled him out of the remainder of a largely forgettable campaign last season, while fan favourite Marco Rojas sustained a hamstring injury in the recent home defeat to the Roar and was not scheduled to travel to Brisbane for the fixture that has now been postponed.
Meanwhile, new arrivals Rudy Gestede and Ryan Shotton will get a little more time in training with the squad given the postponement, as their next game is now an away day against Adelaide United in two weeks time.
The 43-year-old added: “Obviously Ryan and Rudy can get some more fitness into them, Robbie’s obviously back training and Marco has got that extra couple of days to see if he can get up.
“It’s not the end of the world that the game’s not going ahead, it’s just frustrating because we’ve prepared for it.”
