Depth is usually a commodity in rare supply, but Head Coach John van ‘t Schip admitted he has no such concerns following Melbourne Heart FC’s 2-1 win over Gold Coast United at Skilled Park.
Depth is usually a commodity in rare supply, but Head Coach John van ‘t Schip admitted he has no such concerns following Melbourne Heart FC-s 2-1 win over Gold Coast United at Skilled Park.
Despite missing top scorer Mate Dugandzic, Aziz Behich and Jason Hoffman through international duty, Heart managed to produce a stirring away win and even more impressive performance to leap frog into the Hyundai A-League-s top six for the first time this season.
With former Dutch youth international Rutger Worm and ex-Socceroo Adrian Madaschi making their first starting appearances this season, the wealth of talent at van ‘t Schip-s disposal became immediately apparent.
Van ‘t Schip was also able to call upon the services of Eli Babalj, David Williams and Simon Colosimo off the bench, highlighting the sheer embarrassment of riches the Dutchman has compiled over the last 12 months.
However, the Ajax legend is want to rest on his laurels, stating he expects his side to demonstrate further growth and improvement over the coming weeks.
“We are building towards where we hope to be, but there are still many things we can do better, and of course, today we had to bring in a few more players after missing four from last week,” he said.
“Rutger Worm played for the first time this season and did well. We knew he couldn-t play 90 minutes, but the 55 minutes he played, he performed strongly.
“Adrian Madaschi played his first game and went off with cramp, Fred is still building his fitness and getting into his rhythm as well. I think there were big pluses that the squad showed depth, and we now have to prepare for a difficult match away to Central Coast next week.”
The Gold Coast match marked the commencement of a five week road trip for Heart, with the side set to head to Gosford, Morwell, Brisbane and Perth before returning to Melbourne for the Derby at AAMI Park on December 23.
With an imposing run of matches ahead, van ‘t Schip said claiming all three points on the glitter strip was crucial to consolidating Heart-s finals ambitions.
“Our program isn-t the easiest, we have a lot of travel to do; first we have to head to the Central Coast, then Morwell before playing another two away matches before returning to Melbourne against Victory,” he said.
“It-s going to be a tough month which is why this victory is so important.”
