Kevin Muscat says it was a pleasure to watch Keisuke Honda in last Sunday’s Big Blue.
Honda and Ola Toivonen stole the show for Melbourne Victory, scoring a goal each either side of Sydney FC’s controversial penalty.
The Victory manager put the result down to Honda, who despite being quieter than usual in the first half still had a massive impact on the match.
“He had a huge influence in the game, and if he keeps influencing the game as he is I’ll be pretty happy… he was excellent,” Muscat said.
Honda’s 70th minute penalty kick after drawing the foul from Jop van der Linden gave Victory a 2-1 advantage, winning them the game. Muscat was impressed with the dedication from the Japanese midfielder which shines through his performance on the pitch.
“He arrived back (from Cambodia) Thursday morning, he was in the training ground by Thursday one o’clock… he’s the upmost professional in the way he carries himself and the way he looks after himself.”
Muscat was also full of praise for debutant Toivonen, who put the Victory in front initially with his 24th minute shot. The manager was glad to get some playing time into the Swede to familiarise himself with the team and increase his match fitness.
“Ola has play limited minutes with his team mates… he’s an intelligent footballer, he makes some really clever runs… I’m very pleased that we could get 60 minutes into him.
“He’s clever the way he draws people… he was bringing the two central defenders short leaving space in behind.”
Muscat said that his side will be able to better utilise Toivonen going forward once the team has a clearer understanding of one another.
“They’re still getting to know each other, the understanding isn’t as fluent as it has been in the last two or three weeks.”
Despite a majority of possession in Sydney FC’s favour, manager Kevin Muscat said his side deserved the win.
“It was an outstanding performance away from home… I think all in all we deserved the 3 points.”
Sydney FC’s 2-1 defeat sees Melbourne jump into second place on the ladder, with the Sky Blues falling behind them to third.
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