It was a relieved Tom Glover who “had the last laugh” as Melbourne City hung on to record an emphatic derby win against arch-rivals Melbourne Victory.
Though ask the 22-year-old what he was feeling with 12 minutes to play and it would have been the furthest thing from relief after a lapse in concentration saw an Ola Toivonen set-piece slip through his hands, which left the door ajar for the Victory to stage a late comeback.
“It was just a lack of concentration,” he said.
“It was one of things where I probably took it too easily and was thinking about the next pass, but you learn from it put it aside now and at the end of the day we got the three points which is the main thing.
“[The coaches] looked at the whole game. It’s one mistake I’ll learn from it, it’s a mistake that will probably never happen again and I’ve moved on. Other than that, the coaches were quite happy with me and how I played but it’s just one of those things.
“You’ve got to block that out…we still had 12 minutes to play and they were attacking our end quite often. As a goalkeeper you can’t hide if you mistake you get found out from it, so its about how you move on and your mindset.”
Holding down the fort in front of a hostile wall of Victory supporters, Glover – who was booed and jeered every time he retrieved the ball in the second half – experienced firsthand how tough life can be for a goalkeeper in a derby.
“You block all that stuff out your main focus is what’s happening ahead of you,” he said.
“But they’re the games you want to play in they’re the crowds you play in front of its why you play footy for it’s for those moments and these games.
“At the end of the day we got the last laugh and the three points.”
Meanwhile head coach Erick Mombaerts was impressed with his side’s ability to remain composed in a frantic final ten minutes.
While the win ensures City remains in second, it will give the side a psychological boost after its performances or lack or thereof in big games was questioned.
As expected, City played a far more defensive game, with Mombaerts pleased with his side’s ability to execute the plan and adapt to the several changes made.
“We had good defensive control that is good news,” he said.
“We have an offensive style of play but you need to be strong defensively and today we showed this. It’s also a good reaction from our players after the last game.
“It was our plan because we’ve had experience with Victory, when we lose the ball they have fast players to counter attack and we didn’t want to expose us in the his phase which is why we adapted a different game plan as usual.”
Featured Image: AAP
