It was a whirlwind trip for the Melbourne club, who arrived on a private plane two hours before kick-off and had to hurry to the airport after the game to make it back home.

“It’s interesting making the trip up for us, I think it would be better to look at having a fixture like this on the weekend and playing the championship game during the week,” he said.

“But we love it up here, we played at La Trobe a couple of years ago.

“There’s a vibrant football community up here.” 

Anastasiadis said Murray United could become a threat in the years to come after they proved to be a stubborn hurdle in Wednesday’s 3-0 win.

“They were well organised, disciplined, it was a challenge for us for sure,” he said.

“We hope Murray United progress and do well.

“They’re a very well organised club, with time I think they’ll become a force to be reckoned with.”