After the dust settled from Saturday night’s clash with Sydney FC, there was plenty said from all sides of the story.
Melbourne City FC came back from 1-nil down in the second half to secure a deserved point against Sydney FC on Saturday night.
The world saw David Villa debut and score for the Club but there was plenty of post match reaction from the main players.
Sydney FC Head Coach Graham Arnold felt Melbourne City FC had his side on the back-foot early as his team worked hard to get back into the game.
“I felt that first half we were a little bit tense, a little bit nervous and I felt first half that Melbourne moved the ball around quite well,” Arnold said.
“(They) made us do a lot of running and they only hurt us only once or twice in the first half but second half, I thought we had more control over the second half.”
Arnold also felt that Melbourne City FC has a squad that could go far this year.
“John van’t schip is building a good side there,” he said.
“He’s recruited well…and when Koren gets back, they are going to be a very powerful team.”
But the Sydney FC coach had nothing but praise for David Villa and his impact on the game, saying the World Cup winner was “quality”.
“Villa is in his prime still, it’s such a joy to see him on Allianz Stadium and playing but it was a great finish.” Arnold said.
“It’s a great lesson for all the young kids watching a superstar play. It’s on edge of the box, you don’t have to smash it, just place it with the inside of your foot and that’s what he did.”
The man who had to mark Villa, Sebastian Ryall, also expressed his disappointment in his side’s sluggish start but felt the game evened thereafter.
“We started off slow and let them into the game a little bit, the second half was quite an improvement, we kept the ball well and unluckily we’ll take that and move onto next week.” Ryall said.
Patrick Kisnorbo lead the side out on Saturday night and said the result was something to pleased about.
“I think it was a good point away, especially for the first game. We showed a lot of character that we will build on next week.” Kisnorbo said.
“We created a lot of chances and we could have had a few goals but at the end of the day, we got a point and with Villa coming on, it added an extra dimension for us.”
