The Melbourne Victory have secured a place in the final of the Australian Cup finals after beating Adelaide United 4-2 in extra time on Sunday.
Key points:The Victory will clinch a spot in the quarter-finals of the AFL finalsThe win also brings the club into the finals with the Sydney FC in the preliminary roundThe win puts the Victory on a roll as it heads into the semi-finals for the first time in their historyThe Victory have taken a huge step towards the finals after a tough final loss against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday to fall just short of the title.
The win gives the Victory a strong start to the competition, and it has brought the club one step closer to the finals.
The Victory’s first win in the competition came on Saturday, with the Dogs beating the Swans in a hard-fought clash in Adelaide.
“We were disappointed but I think we have to look back and think that we were a bit unlucky on that one,” coach Ken Hinkley said.
“But we didn’t give up too many opportunities, it was a great effort from our guys.”
It’s a great opportunity for us to clinch a place, and that’s the way we want to play.
“The win comes after a difficult season in which the team was beaten on the final day of the season.
They were beaten by Collingwood by 13 points in Round 12 and were beaten on a Thursday night by Richmond, the first loss in Melbourne since 1992.
The victory came after a three-game losing streak, with three losses in their last four matches.
The next match is against the Sydney Swans on Sunday night.”
I think it’s a big step forward for us,” Hinkly said.”(But) the season hasn’t been the way it should have been.
It’s going to be a big test for us.
“It was the Victory’s third consecutive victory after beating Geelong in the last round.
Victory captain Sam Mitchell is delighted with his side’s performance.”
There’s always the hope that we can go to the next round, and we know that it’s not a given, but we’re all going to do our best to keep pushing and keep pushing,” Mitchell said.
Victorian captain Jake Carlisle, who was part of the team that beat Geelong, is pleased with the result.”
The win is huge, we didn: we did well against Geelong on Sunday, and I think that showed that we’ve got a good squad.
“And we’ve just got to keep working hard for that.”AAP