Melbourne Victory are confident they can cover for the loss of swashbuckling playmaker Zinedine Machach and unlock Wellington's defence in their A-League Men semi-final.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Victory will be without the French dynamo for both legs after he received a two-match ban for kicking out at Melbourne City winger Leo Natel in their elimination final win.
After Machach was dismissed in the 37th minute, Tony Popovic's charges played more than 90 minutes with 10 men and delivered a comeback for the ages to take the game to extra time, before prevailing on penalties.
Machach has scored seven goals and notched five assists, along with creating 45 chances, this season and will be sorely missed in Sunday's home leg at AAMI Park.
"During the game, I think he was really nervous. After the game when we arrived in the changing room, his face was a little bit relieved that it was not his fault that we were knocked out," captain Roderick Miranda said.
"Now we just need to try to make everything go well to give him a chance to play again.
"He's in a really good mood as well. Of course he's upset he cannot play - that's part of football. Everybody's really focused on the game."
Fellow Frenchman Damien Da Silva added: "Of course he is disappointed and I am too for him.
"But football is like that. We will try to help him play another game - the final."
Miranda and Da Silva both pointed to their depth in attack and midfield as proof they can cover Machach.
"Of course he's been one of our best players in the season," Miranda said.
"But for sure, whoever steps in is going to do a really good job and (we're going to) try to forget a little bit 'Zizou' and focus on Melbourne Victory because it's 11 players in the end and hopefully everything goes well."
Miranda insisted Victory had mentally recovered and moved on from their pulsating win, but they were still recovering physically.
The chemistry between central defensive pairing Miranda and Da Silva will be crucial to earning a result against the Phoenix.
When asked about the secret to their defensive success Miranda laughed: "I think because we speak three languages during the game - we speak French, English and Portuguese.
"No, he's a tremendous player."
Da Silva added: "I love to play with him."
The Victory are yet to beat Wellington this season, with two draws and a loss to date.
"We have something to prove, I think," Miranda said.
"We don't need to overdo it. We just need to be really focused on what we need to do, because it's working."
Australian Associated Press
