Melbourne Victory went back-to-back after securing a 2-1 win against Newcastle Jets as they begin to show promising signs they are contenders this season.
The win, whilst reassuring to the success of Victory’s season, still shows room for improvement within the side which coach Jeff Hopkins agreed with.
“Encouraging performance, obviously we got the three points and we’re up in the top four now, but still a work in progress,” Hopkins said.
The three points were secured with goals from Natasha Dowie and Darian Jenkins in the first half, but a slower second half saw the side concede one goal and fail to increase their lead.
Victory have been struggling to score for the duration of the season but with their recent form, are proving their attacking front are able to assist and convert.
However even just a minor slip of this form, such as a goalless game or large goal difference could see them drop out of the top four as Brisbane Roar and Canberra United only sit a point below them.
That is the opposite plan for Victory now.
Hopkins admits his team is focusing each week on fixing a different part of the side’s game and said there had been an improvement.
“I think we’ve been working on just improving things week to week and a lot of things we did today were better than last week which is good,” he said.
With a bye this week, Victory will prepare to play Adelaide United the following week who sit bottom of the ladder.
As long as Victory are able to maintain their form with their week off, they should cement the win against United and continue their uphill battle to make the finals.
Feature Image Credit: Ngau Kai Yan
