Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick has revealed he is disappointed at comments made by Gold Coast United boss Miron Bleiberg.
Following the Victory's 2-0 win over United at AAMI Park on Sunday, Bleiberg labeled the opposition as 'dirty' and 'intimidatory' for the way they took to his players.
But Merrick hit back at the suggestion that the Victory made the contest a battle of attrition whilst referee Peter Green turned a blind eye.
"It's very disappointing that someone has a cheap shot like that every now and again, I thought he was better than that to be honest," Merrick said today.
"I think Miron's comments were a surprise because they didn't reflect the game whatsoever, it was either an attempt at deflection or some sort of mind games - either way he failed miserably.
"It's just disappointing that a coach has really said the referee was totally incompetent, he allowed a war of brutal tackles to occur.
"It's a huge disappointment he would say that about what was a very exciting game where we played some football and scored a couple of great goals."