EXCLUSIVE: Melbourne City star Mat Leckie reveals why his side is the A-League team everyone is chasing – and who they fear from Central Coast Mariners ahead of the grand final
- Melbourne City are chasing more A-League silverware
- They will face Central Coast Mariners in the 2023 Grand Final
- Winger Mat Leckie is wary of the underdogs in form
- He praised City’s relentless desire to improve as a team
Melbourne City star Mat Leckie is surrounded by quality players, but their huge success in the A-League this season isn’t just down to the team sheet.
A collective desire to get better, a sustained culture of success and enjoying each other’s company are just a few of the reasons why the guys from AAMI Park won the title this season by 11 points.
By doing so, Melbourne City created their own piece of history and became the first A-League team to win three consecutive Premiers Plates.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia ahead of the grand final on June 3 in Sydney, the Socceroos hero at last year’s Qatar World Cup explained what it’s like to be part of a sporting dynasty.
“Every day is fun, we come to training and the demands are clearly visible,” said the winger.
Melbourne City star Mat Leckie (left) has revealed a collective desire to get better and a winning culture are just two of the reasons his team is the benchmark in the A-League
On June 3, Melbourne City will take on Central Coast Mariners in the A-League Grand Final, which will be led by talisman Marco Tulio (pictured)
“Standards must be met, and we make no apologies for that.
“Everyone has agreed with what we are trying to achieve, and we pride ourselves on playing a style of football that our fans enjoy.”
Leckie also pointed out that his City teammates will not underestimate their opponents in the decider, the Central Coast Mariners.
“They have been impressive, they play attacking football and are very dangerous in the last third,” he said.
‘[Socceroos teammate] Jason Cummings holds the ball well and is a quality finisher, Samuel Silvera’s pace is something we need to look at and [Marco] Tulio has been on a different level in recent weeks.
‘Then you have too [Christian] Theoharous from the bench, we know we will have to produce our best football to beat them.’
Melbourne City are blessed with attacking players, including Golden Boot winner Jamie Maclaren (pictured, with teammate Andrew Nabbout)
The former player of Germany’s Borussia Mönchengladbach II, FSV Frankfurt and Hertha BSC is also unconcerned about the decision-maker being staged at a neutral venue for the first time in A-League history.
“Obviously it would have been nice to play for our fans at AAMI Park, we have a good track record there, but it is what it is, we’ve known it for a while,” added Leckie.
“We will train hard next week and then go to Sydney to do everything we can to win the double.”
Tickets for the A-League 2023 Grand finale at Commbank Stadium are still available, with kick-off at 7.45pm.