Patrick Beach isn’t one to get caught up in the headlines, even when he’s at the centre of them.
After consecutive Player of the Match performance in the AFC Champions League Elite, the Melbourne City shot-stopper is simply staying focused, crediting consistency in training and a united team approach for his commanding form between the posts.
The 22-year-old goalkeeper was again at the heart of another historic night for the Club on Tuesday, helping secure a hard-fought 2-0 win over Johor Darul Ta’zim and a third straight AFC Champions League Elite win.
But for Beach, the clean sheet, the saves, and the accolades all come back to what happens well before kickoff.
“I think I put it down to all the work before these matches, during the week and training that no one sees with these coaches and with the rest of the team,” he said post-match.
“It’s these moments that you see in games – it’s a culmination of so many, you know, repetitions of actions and training that I do every single day.”
Beach was called upon multiple times throughout the night, producing sharp reflex saves, commanding his box, and once again helping City weather a difficult second-half spell against a dangerous opponent.
That consistency, he says, comes from a combination of preparation, belief, and a group-wide mentality that’s driving the squad forward.
“I think individually or as a team, when you’ve got momentum, you want to keep playing and performing,” he said.
“Of course, getting Man of the Match performances [is nice], but it’s the three points that matters.
They were a really good team tonight, and we’ve played some really strong teams, but we’ve stuck together as our group of players in which we’ve found the results and, you know, we found togetherness in this team.”
That sense of clarity and cohesion has been building under Head Coach Aurelio Vidmar, whose belief in Beach continues to be publicly reinforced.
“We know the quality that Patrick has,” Vidmar said post-match.
“He’s still young in his journey as a goalkeeper… but he knows how to make saves, he makes saves at important moments for us and that’s what you need.
Patrick’s been that for us last season, and he’s continued that already this season… these last couple of performances have been magnificent.”
Now a Socceroos debutant and a standout performer across the continental campaign so far, Beach is aware of the growing expectations, but remains focused on what comes next.
“Like I said before, when you’re in good form as a whole group, you want to keep playing games, like keep taking all the teams on in this group,” he said.
“It gives me a lot of positives to take on into every next game with these performances – not just tonight, but previously too.
“But again, that’s all down to the work I do in training with the other keepers and the keeper coach every day.”
Beach and his teammates now turn their attentions back to A-League Men’s action, with consecutive away trips to New South Wales to face Central Coast and the Newcastle Jets over the next two weekends.
Continental football then returns on Wednesday 10 December, when City travels to Seoul for Matchday 6 of the AFC Champions League Elite.
