New Young Roar Head Coach Chris Grossman has praised striker Mirza Muratovic after his stellar hat-trick against Melbourne Victory in the Foxtel Y-League season opener.
Roar Youth ran away 7-0 winners against Victory over the weekend, putting on a clinical display which saw five different players hit the back of the net.
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Grossman believes Muratovic, whose hat-trick spearheaded the first-round win, has developed into an important figure within the squad.
“I’ve known Mirza for three years now and since he’s been in our program he’s grown every year,” Grossman said.
“Him now being a senior figure and leader within our group, the boys do look to him in times of need.
As a senior member of the young squad that won last year’s Foxtel Y-League, and with his ability to carve chances in front of goal, Grossman was pleased to see the young striker get his reward after a strong whole-squad performance.
“We put a lot of pressure on him being a striker getting the opportunities he gets,” the new Head Coach said.
“He’s had dry spells and I think it’s good to get the reward he deserves today.”
Grossman hopes the season-opening win is a sign of things to come as the Young Roar look to defend their title.
“I am excited – we did some really great things last year and the win is very pleasing.”
“The result is a credit to the boys and how quickly they have taken on our ideas and our philosophy.
“It’s good to have a bye coming up so we can really force that and look forward to Melbourne City in two weeks’ time,” Grossman concluded.
