Victory ready for A-League after Cup fail
Oct 5, 2017 - 3:51 AM Melbourne Victory's failure to make a dent in the FFA Cup was a "kick up the backside" that ignited their preparations for the A-League, according to new recruit Rhys Williams.Ahead of Saturday night's grand final re-match and season-opener against Sydney FC at Etihad Stadium, Williams said Victory bombing out in the round of 16 in late August had jolted the powerhouse club.
Victory lost 3-0 to Adelaide United, who then won their quarter-final to advance to the final four games later this month.
"It was a little disappointing but it was probably the kick up the backside that we needed," Williams said on Thursday .
"We'd rather it happened in the FFA Cup than in the league, with all due respect to it and it was the wake-up call we needed.
"We've rectified what went wrong and what we need to improve on and I feel like we're in a really good position now."
Victory will take on Sydney FC, who won the decider in a penalty shoot-out, without three of their stars with Mark Milligan and James Troisi away with the Socceroos while Kiwi Kosta Barbarouses is also on international duty.
Williams said the club had planned for their absence and he felt the upside was an opportunity for the lesser lights at the club to take their chance to impress.
The versatile defender said he was relishing a fresh start with Victory after his ill-fated return from Middlesbrough to his home town club Perth Glory, hinting at a fall-out with coach Kenny Lowe.
"Things happen for a reason, I just put it down to that it just didn't work for a lot of reasons but I wouldn't take anything back," the 29-year-old said.
"Things don't always go to plan but we're men, we shake hands and we move on."
Looking fit, he said he'd hardly missed a session since relocating from Perth almost three months ago and played every game.
Injuries wrecked his chances of playing in the 2010 World Cup while two torn Achilles' then also ruled him out of Brazil 2014 and the 2015 Asian Cup.
"First things first I need to keep fit here, I need to perform here and I need to keep my spot here before I think about anything else," he said.
Source: AAP
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