United Ready For Statement Game

Melbourne United have classified tonight's open air clash against the Cairns Taipans as a "statement game" as they look to continue their push into the top six.

A near sell-out crowd is expected for the annual opening of the roof at John Cain Arena, and Chris Goulding says the team is ready for the excitement the occasion inevitably brings.

It will be the first time the team has played under the open roof in two years.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">? Ahead of tomorrow night&#39;s Open Air Game against the Taipans and during the testing of the roof opening, Dean Vickerman and Chris Goulding spoke with the media.<br><br>Tickets for the game are very close to being sold out. Get yours here: <a href="https://t.co/RnIFF37tcJ">https://t.co/RnIFF37tcJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/Otnh4AkXX2">pic.twitter.com/Otnh4AkXX2</a></p>&mdash; Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1605884254654582784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“It’s a statement game, you look back at the photos of the previous years that we’ve been able to do it they're some of the most memorable photos from this club and this league,” Goulding said.

“[It's] a great opportunity to be able to do it - hopefully the weather holds of for us.

“To be honest once the game gets going I don’t think we’ll think about it too much, we’re pretty dialled in on needing the tick over these wins.”

Melbourne head coach Dean Vickerman echoed Goulding’s sentiments on the anticipation surrounding the contest.

“[We're] excited about what we’ve got ahead of us right now, open air game then roll into a big game on Christmas,” Vickerman said.

United currently sit eighth on the ladder with an 8-11 record, but will be hoping to continue their upward swing in momentum after collecting two wins on the bounce.

Goulding says his side is excited to come up against one of the form teams of the competition in the Cairns Taipans.

“Now we come up against teams right at the top of the ladder and we get to test how we’ve been going and where we think we are,” Goulding said.

“There will be a lot of detail about how we attack certain areas of their defence and then flip it over, our defence has to be really solid [because] they shoot the ball really well.

“Keanu Pinder is having a breakout year, a career year so he’s one guy amongst others that we’ve got to really look to limit.”

Vickerman believes the Taipans are “the best team in the league right now at forcing you into turnovers” but is hopeful his side will be able to withstand the defensive pressure that's become a hallmark of Cairns' exciting style of play.

“There’s been good momentum with our group getting together, there’s been a number of people step up in their performances over the last few weeks. It hasn’t been the same guys every nigh,t it’s been different guys and we like the depth of our roster right now,” Vickerman said.

“Statistically we’ve been 10% better.”

The open-air game will be United’s last home game at John Cain Arena until the final round of the regular season/

“The last few wins on home soil have been really good to be able to say thank you. [It's] not one last hurrah tomorrow night but a sold-out crowd - hopefully we can put on a performance that they (United fans) deserve with the open air,” Goulding said.

The open-air game will tip off at 7:30pm AEDT tonight at John Cain Arena.