News

Caravella sounds Victory warning

Caravella sounds Victory warning

MIDFIELD dynamo Zenon Caravella believes Melbourne Victory are still one of the teams to beat in the Hyundai A-League despite their indifferent start to the new campaign.

Victory are without a win in their opening three matches, but Caravella says recent results will count for nothing when the two sides go head to head this Sunday at Skilled Park (3.00pm kick off).

“We all know how Melbourne Victory can play; they’re a very good footballing team,” Caravella said.

“They haven’t had a win so far but they’ve still played well and created lots of chances, so we have to be on our guard and be ready for them.

“Like us, they have a lot of key players, dangerous players, and a few very good youngsters coming through who have really stepped up this season. We just have to be ready for everything they could throw at us and be on top of our game from the first minute to the last.”

The teams met twice at Skilled Park last season and both were memorable matches for a variety of reasons. In round eight Victory prevailed 3-2 thanks to a controversial twice-taken Kevin Muscat penalty late in the game which secured all three points for Ernie Merrick’s side.

In round 25 it was United’s turn to claim the win and Caravella’s spectacular 25-metre drive proved the difference between the two teams. It was a strike worthy of winning any match and a fitting way for the Gold Coast midfielder to register his first Hyundai A-League goal after a string of near misses.

Caravella said of the goal: “I would love to score one like that every week but it doesn’t happen like that for me,” he joked.

“But it was a great game for us, I think that win put us on top of the table at the time so we’re confident going into this match because we know we can do well against the Victory; it’s just a matter of putting it together on the day.”

After a series of incidents and plenty of action in each of the three encounters between the two teams, a spirited rivalry has developed and Caravella says anticipation is rising in the United camp as a result.

“There’s definitely a good rivalry between us, most definitely. I wouldn’t say there’s any bad blood, but we’ve got a few players who have played there - Steve Pantelidis, Daniel Piorkowski, Michael Thwaite and now Glen Moss - and it’s always a really good battle out there between us and Melbourne.

“I think it’s good for the game and adds to the excitement for the supporters who always want to get a win over their rivals,” he said.

Finding the net will be on Caravella’s mind again this weekend with United deprived of striker Shane Smeltz’s services. But the key to covering Smeltz’s absence, he says, is to share the goals around the team.

“You have to shoot to score and we’ll be doing plenty of that on the weekend,” he declared.

“Shane’s a loss for us, but we’ve got a lot of promising youngsters here who can be very dangerous. We feel we have players who are able to step up and they’re going to be hungry for it as well. They’ll be ready to perform.

“We all have to take responsibility for scoring goals and if we can start on that this weekend I’m sure we can get the right result.”