On the eve of an AFC Champions League campaign and with the race to the A-League finals in the home straight, Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat has issues.

Any realistic chance the defending champions had of taking top spot from Perth evaporated into the steamy Geelong night air on Saturday when Newcastle inflicted a 2-0 loss.

It was the fourth match in succession that the Victory failed to claim maximum points and the fifth in a row where they fell behind on the score sheet.

In addition to scoring concerns, Muscat is dealing with injuries and suspensions.china nike nfl jerseys cheap

Georg Niedermeier missed the GMHBA Stadium encounter after a red card in the Melbourne derby, while star Swedish striker Ola Toivonen (illness), skipper Carl Valeri (hamstring) and winger Elvis Kamsoba (knee) were also absent.

To rub salt into the wounds, James Donachie has a suspension coming after he was sent off in injury time for a second yellow card.

Muscat is taking a glass-half full approach ahead of Tuesday night’s opening Champions League clash with Korean side Daegu FC at AAMI Park.

“With the illness and injury, the players have done remarkably well considering all of the disruptions from week to week,” Muscat said.

“At this point in time is it starting to affect us? I don’t think so because the performance didn’t earn the result but there was a lot to like about it.nike nfl jerseys cheap paypal

“We’ll go into Tuesday night’s game with confidence, I’ll make that clear now.

“It’s exciting and we’ll use these extra games that we’ve got to get better and better for the run into the end of the [A-League] season.”