Broxham rues costly Cup defeat in Perth

Melbourne Victory midfielder Leigh Broxham refused to blame a horror injury toll for his side’s 4-2 Westfield FFA Cup quarter-final defeat to Perth Glory but questioned the two red cards given to his teammates.

It was a costly night for the Victory with Archie Thompson ruled out in the warm-up with a hamstring injury, while striker Besart Berisha (groin) and defender Mathieu Delpierre (hamstring) also forced off before the end of the match.

“Injuries are part of the game. We’re well-drilled in all sorts of positions,” Broxham told Fox Sports.

“We should be able to deal with it. We didn’t tonight and it’s Perth Glory’s night.

“The boys gave everything they had. It was a tough 120 minutes. There was a few dubious decisions in my opinion and it turns the game and it’s tough to come back from that.

“We showed some character getting back in the game. It’s a pity we couldn’t go on with it.”

The dubious calls Broxham was referring to were the two red cards shown to defenders Daniel Georgievski and Adrian Leijer in extra-time.

Both players were shown second yellow cards, Georgievski for a late tackle on Scott Jamieson, while Leijer was marched for dissent.

“I didn’t think either were send offs in my opinion,” Broxham said.

“But my opinion doesn’t really matter. It’s hard to go to 10 let alone nine and Perth took full advantage of it.”

Victory don’t have long to assess the damage and pick up the pieces with a clash against Wellington Phoenix on Monday night back in Melbourne.