Victory defender Deng repays Muscat's faith

Teenage defender Thomas Deng said he was fully aware that he could go back to the bench after winning the hearts of Melbourne Victory's fans with a memorable maiden A-League start for the club in the Round 2 derby win.

Deng and Muscat celebrate Victory's latest derby success Source: Getty Images

Kenya-born Deng, 18, played a starring role in Victory's dramatic 3-2 win over crosstown rival Melbourne City at Etihad Stadium.

The match had all the hallmarks of the uncompromising confrontation that Melbourne's derby has become.

Kevin Muscat's Victory was two goals up after 57 minutes but was pegged back by City and when it looked like the game would end in a draw goal poacher extraordinaire Besart Berisha - who else! - came up with the late winning goal.

Amid the helter-skelter nature of the game, young Deng stood out for his composure and assurance at the back of Victory's defence.

The young man who signed on as a contracted National Youth League player just two months ago hardly put a foot wrong all night and was later named man of the match by Victory's fans.

Deng was still visibly on a high almost an hour after the final whistle but he was quick to point out that a strong game will not guarantee him a start in such a star-studded and experienced team as Victory.

"I thought I did quite well, considering it was my second game, so I look forward to playing more games to show what I can do," Deng said.

"It was a bit nerve-wracking at the start but as the game eased in I forgot about everything else and just focussed on the match.

"I don't know if I'll play next week. That's football for you, I guess. As a young player it is going to take a while to get into the team on a regular basis.

"If I don't play next week it doesn't matter because I'm sure more opportunities will come later."

Deng learned of his promotion to the starting line-up on Friday after coming on as a substitute in the club's opening match of the season against Adelaide United

"I found out I was starting yesterday morning," he said.

"Kevin came up to me and just told me 'Tommy, you'll be starting tomorrow and I want you to be nice and relaxed and play your game'."

Muscat, who is renowned in Melbourne for not being afraid to give young players a chance, said he never had any doubts about Deng's abilty to handle the situation that was forced upon the coach by the suspended Leigh Broxham and the injured Nick Ansell.

"They tested Thomas by playing lots of balls down his side and he was up against a very experienced player and I thought the young man was outstanding," Muscat said later.

"His young age never came into it. Thomas was in the best possible condition to play today so it was quite a simple decision to pick him. Thomas has done very well for himself."

So will he play against Newcastle Jets on matchday three?

"That's another situation," Muscat said. "We have to reassess and see how he recovers. There's some serious competition for places now."

Whether he plays or not Deng will never forget the night he made his first start for Victory in front of a passionate 40,000 crowd although he admitted he could not remember what exactly Muscat told him when he returned to the dressing room.

"It's such a privilege to play with such great players and train with them every day," Deng said.

"My lasting memory of my first start for Victory will be the great team performance in front of a wonderful crowd and getting the win right at the end.

"I can't remember what Kevin said to me after the game. Basically he seemed pretty happy with my performance and he told me to keep it up."

Captain Carl Valeri was also fulsome in his praise for Deng.

"Thomas was strong and reliable like we knew he would be," Valeri said.

"He showed maturity and composure beyond his years.

"Victory are breeding and, more importantly, giving opportunities to a lot of good young players.

"I look forward to seeing Thomas and the others improve over the coming season."