Melbourne Victory are determined to start turning dominant performances into wins when they take on reigning A-League Men champions Central Coast.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Victory are among four unbeaten teams but have had to settle for draws in their past three matches due to poor finishing and will head to Central Coast Stadium desperate for three points.
But coach Tony Popovic isn't getting unsettled yet.
"The dominance and control and playing good football - we just want that to continue," he said.
"We can't get frustrated or agitated by missing opportunities - we want that to continue, that we keep creating, we keep looking dangerous.
"We've had some adversity as well in games and we've come through that very well. So it's just about building.
"We're not now going to worry about, 'Did we score a chance or not?'.
"Just play our football, keep building on it, keep defending well as a team. I'm sure we've got the quality.
"We've shown in a few games this year how prolific we can be and take our chances. We've done it, so I know we can do it again."
Attacker Ben Folami could return along with midfielder Ryan Teague, who was rested after the international break, while Nishan Velupillay is also in the mix to regain a starting spot.
The Mariners claimed their first win of the season by beating Newcastle in last weekend's F3 derby, capped by a powerful late strike from youngster Jing Reec, and Popovic is wary of what Mark Jackson's side can deliver.
"They've had the second most shots in the league, so they are arriving in the box," he said.
"They're a dangerous team and we'll certainly go there with full respect for our opponent.
"They've remained dangerous throughout the year without getting the results.
"That's clear and I'm sure they gained confidence from last week, where they performed very well against Newcastle. We expect a very difficult game."
Victory have struggled to maintain a consistent defence and will be without left-back Adama Traore on Sunday through suspension.
Like teammate Roderick Miranda against Adelaide United earlier in the season, Traore picked up a careless second yellow card in last week's 1-1 draw with Macarthur FC.
"We know that these mistakes can happen. We've got to try and control that a little better," Popovic said.
"Unfortunately, in five games, it's only the first two games that we were able to keep a settled backline. We've had a couple of injuries as well.
"It's given a few players an opportunity.
"A few players have come on and made a difference and been very impressive. We're confident in the squad."
Australian Associated Press
