Leo Shin in action for the Melbourne Knights, who will take on Melbourne Heart on Saturday. 66477 Picture: SARAH MATRAY
By Michael Esposito
MELBOURNE Knights coach Paul Magdic said this Saturday’s clash against A-League side Melbourne Heart is an ideal opportunity for his up-and-coming stars to test themselves at the elite level.
The former NSL and now Premier League team will take on the Heart at Knights Stadium at 3pm on Saturday.
“It’s a great thing for all the players because at the end of the day everyone wants to play at the highest level and it will give them that good opportunity to see what it takes to play at the highest level,” Magdic said.
Magdic said it was difficult to predict how his chargers would fare against Heart, given the side’s patchy form and the fact that both sides were at opposite ends of their respective seasons.
“I’ve got a pretty young side. It’s just a matter if they turn up to play,” he said.
“We’ve been up and down lately and on our day we can play some real good football and we can be very competitive.
“We’re deep into our season while they’re in pre-season stage so you’d think it should be a fairly competitive game.
“We’ve come across the same sort of situation by playing Cobram in the Mirabella Cup. It’s a David and Goliath sort of situation and now the roles are reversed.”
The Knights have had a tumultuous season with the sacking of coach Ivan Duzel and the side staring down the barrel of relegation after 13 rounds, before winning five of its next seven games to steer clear of the drop zone.
“I think the side’s come along way. We’ve had a terrific second half of the season, and now we’re obviously safe from relegation the main focus is on the Mirabella Cup. To win something like that and to get to the finals will be a great achievement when you look back and see the situation the club was in mid-way through the season.
“I’m really pleased with the how the sides come along. We lost a lot of players in the mid-season transfer so a lot of our players have stepped up and they’ve done their job.”
Knights Stadium has proved fertile ground for A-League hopefuls, with former Knights players Adrian Zahra (currently injured) and Mate Dugandzic both on Heart’s roster.
Melbourne Knights will take on Hume City at Knights Stadium at 7pm tomorrow in the Mirabella Cup.
