Sheedy Gets A Life at the Dome this Saturday

Essendon AFL coach Kevin Sheedy has thrown his support behind Melbourne Victory ahead of its Hyundai A-League Round 2 clash against Sydney FC this Saturday night at Telstra Dome.

Sheedy, who suggested all football supporters should “get a life” before the AFL International Rules series last year, made an appearance at Victory’s Telstra Dome training session this morning, and will attend the match on Saturday night.

“I decided to make a formal apology now that they’re kicking a lot more goals,” Sheedy said.

“They’ve had a lot more wins than us this year.

“I better get back to winning quickly, that’s why I’ve come to watch Victory.”

Melbourne officials are hoping to break the record attendance for a A-League home and away fixture of 25,557, which was set by Sydney FC against Adelaide United in round 21, last season.

The blockbuster clash will be the first match in Australian domestic football history to be played under a roof.

Coach Ernie Merrick has made no changes to the 15-man squad that defeated Adelaide United 2-0 last Friday night at Olympic Park, although he will not decide on the starting 11 until the last minute.

Captain Kevin Muscat scored a penalty in the 29th minute, while Brazilian striker Claudinho sealed the result with his goal late in the match. Scottish midfielder Grant Brebner and Brazilian midfielder Fred we’re also impressive in their competitive debuts for Victory.

Merrick was confident that his side could secure the three points against Sydney; a team the coach believes will be amongst the finals action later in the season.

"We're out to attack them and we're going to aim to get the three points," Merrick said.

Merrick also paid tribute to the strength of the inaugural A-League champions.

"Their squad is getting better and better, same as every other team in the league."

"They're good in defence, they're good in the midfield, they're good up forward, and they’ve got a good keeper."

Sheedy, who has coached Essendon to four AFL/VFL premierships, will speak to the Melbourne squad before kick-off on Saturday night, and believes all sporting codes within Australia can benefit by sharing their knowledge and experiences amongst each other.

“From my point of view, in particular, of understanding where the ball games are in Australia, we’ve got rugby union, we’ve got rugby league, we’ve got soccer and obviously we’ve got AFL.

“They’re pretty exciting games, all of them; if you want to operate on an island as huge as Australia with 20 million people then I don’t have a problem with that.”

“It’s all about competitiveness, challenging your skill against their skill, your intelligence against their intelligence and the spirit of combat.”

Sydney FC have named captain Dwight Yorke in their squad, despite the fact the marquee signing missed his flight to Melbourne this morning, amid speculation he will sign for Sunderland in England.

Socceroo midfielder Alex Brosque will also miss the blockbuster match after he strained ankle ligaments in Sydney’s 1-0 win over Central Coast Mariners last week. New Zealand International Jeremy Brockie is expected to come into the side make his debut.

The most memorable clash between the two sides took place on October 16th, when Victory defeated Sydney 5-0 in front of 18,206 people at Olympic Park.

An Archie Thompson goal in Melbourne’s first ever A-League match sealed a draw at Aussie Stadium in August last year, while Sydney had their revenge for the Olympic Park annihilation with a 2-1 win over Melbourne later in the season.

Melbourne Victory Squad: 1. Michael Theoklitos (gk), 2. Kevin Muscat (capt), 3. Daniel Piorkowski, 6. Steve Pantelidis, 8. Fred, 9. Daniel Allsopp, 10. Archie Thompson, 12. Rodrigo Vargas, 14. Adrian Caceres, 15. Adrian Leijer, 16. Simon Storey, 17. Grant Brebner, 18. Alessandro, 19. Claudinho, 20. Eugene Galekovic (gk).

A-League Round 2

Melbourne Victory vs Sydney FC
Saturday September 2, 2006
Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Kick off: 7:00pm (local/AEST)

Tickets are currently available for the match from www.ticketmaster.com.au or by calling 136 100.

Melbourne Victory Memberships for the 2006/07 A-League season are still available by visiting the Victory Club Shop at 242 Lennox Street in Richmond. Supporters can also purchase their memberships by calling the membership hotline on 1300 783 013 or by visiting melbournevictory.com.au.

TV: Live and exclusive on Fox Sports 2 from 6:30pm AEST.
Radio: SEN 1116am or www.sen.com.au from 6:30pm.
Web: Live text commentary on www.melbournevictory.com.au from 6:30pm.