By Lance Jenkinson
Western United midfielder Dario Jertec has been around the block long enough to know that losing is an inevitable part of football.
While United’s 2-1 loss to Melbourne City was a bitter pill to swallow, Jertec and his teammates will look forward to their chance for redemption when they face Melbourne Victory in a much-anticipated derby at Marvel Stadium this Saturday night.
“We’re playing for wins, but sometimes you lose, sometimes you’re not lucky, but this is football,” Jertec said.
“We have a new chance, we’ll try to win and we’ll give all the best of ourselves to win.”
Jertec, a 34-year-old Croatian with 17 years experience as a professional footballer, was encouraged by Western United’s second half performance against Melbourne City.
He believes his side did enough to claim points out of the contest, but they were ripped away by a striking master class from Melbourne City frontman Jamie Maclaren.
“I think they were better [in the] first half, second half we were better, but they scored this last five minutes and they take three points,” Jertec said.
Jertec has been a key cog in the Western United midfield, but he was critical of his own performance in the loss to Melbourne City.
Like a number of his teammates, Jertec struggled to make an impact in the first half, but he was beginning to feed his forwards some delightful passes in the second half before he was subbed off.
With a point to prove, Jertec could be one to watch for United in the derby against Victory.
“I’m a central midfielder and I have to create good passes for [Alessandro] Diamanti, for [Besart] Berisha, for Pana [Kone] if I’m behind him,” he said.
“This is my job.
“Today I didn’t be good, but next week I have a new chance.
“Every week is [a] new game and I hope we’ll be better next week.”
Western United will face Melbourne City at Marvel Stadium on Saturday at 7.30pm.
