With a few players missing for the Big Blue through international duty, Leroy George had the opportunity to show his true credentials for Melbourne Victory.
George got the chance to start and did a good job filling the void left by the key personnel including Mark Milligan, Kosta Barbarouses and James Troisi.
Despite not playing the full 90 minutes, Victory fans would have to be pleased with George’s attacking nous, who demonstrated he can be a very handy contributor in the final third with a high skill set.
His cheeky nutmeg after just three minutes of game time indicates that he has the flair to trouble A-League defences.
Another aspect of George that the Victory can get excited about is the versatility. Despite coming to the club renowned as a winger, he occupied the central attacking midfield spot, giving Mitchell Austin and Jai Ingham the licence to be in their familiar positions.
Post-match, Kevin Muscat was full of praise for the debut of George, despite being thrown into the deep end with Muscat revealing a lack of match fitness but he backed the Dutchman in with big names out.
“We knew that we’d get somewhere close to 60 minutes out of him,” he said.
“There were glimpses that were very, very good and there were times especially in the first half I think we could’ve utilised him more a lot earlier and he’d cause a lot more damage, but a pleasing debut for him.”
With regards to the versatility George brings to the Victory team, Muscat didn’t rule out the possibility of keeping George in an attacking midfield position.
“It depends on the opposition, as we’ve seen you isolate him one on one with someone and more times than not he’s going to come out on top,” he said.
“It’s just his link up play in there as well, he showed us what we’re expecting.
“We won’t see the best of him for another two or three weeks, maybe even four weeks but I was pleased for him.
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Muscat’s words would have to be a scary proposition for A-League opposition, given George is only going to get better from here to prove this signing will be worth it.
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