Melbourne Victory’s 1-1 draw with Melbourne City was the worst result Ola Toivonen has experienced in Australia but he doesn’t think their derby rivals have been their toughest opponents.
The Swedish striker was on target once again when he put Victory ahead in the Melbourne derby with a simple volleyed finish from a superb Kosta Barbarouses cross.
City pegged Victory back with a late Dario Vidosic equaliser to end Victory’s six-game winning streak and Toivonen’s perfect A-League record.
The 32-year-old said the result felt like a loss “for sure.”
“One minute to go, We had the ball in their half and we lost it, they counter and they score,” he said.
Toivonen has featured in wins over Central Coast and Western Sydney and scored in victories over Sydney FC, Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar before Saturday night’s draw.
While City were the only team to take points off Victory with Toivonen in the line-up, he answered with a firm “no” when asked if they were the best side he’d played against this season.
“Sydney away maybe,” he said. “We were chasing a lot of ball. Today we didn’t chase so much.”
League marquee Keisuke Honda was a late withdrawal from the match with back tightness but Toivonen said the Japanese star’s absence wasn’t a decisive factor.
“We know Keisuke is important but we were good for 93 minutes. It’s just one minute [we fell down],” he said.
“They were tight on us the first half but we knew if we keep patient there was going to come more space.
“That’s football. Let’s start a new [winning streak].”