Town Warden Glover is in the derby spotlight

Melbourne City manager Rado Vidosic has praised Tom Glover’s handling of an intense spotlight after the goalkeeper was targeted by a group of Melbourne Victory fans in the A-League derby.

Glover excelled in Saturday night’s competition at AAMI Park, scoring a series of brilliant saves.

But he couldn’t prevent leaders City from suffering a surprise 3-2 defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals.

Glover had been at the center of the drama during the previous derby in December, when a violent invasion on the pitch resulted in the game being abandoned.

The 25-year-old suffered lacerations to his head when he was hit with a metal bucket by a fan.

The incident came after Glover tossed one of the fans’ flares back into the stands, infuriating some of Victory’s active supporters.

Glover later escaped sanction for his role in one of the darkest days in Australian football history.

Desperate to show they hadn’t moved on, a segment of Victory fans taunted Glover during Saturday night’s clash with songs that referenced City’s steward being “smashed by a bucket”.

“He handled it perfectly,” said Vidosic.

“We didn’t talk about it (during setup).

“We knew he was a big boy, he could handle himself.

“I think he was excellent.”

City were caught in the surprise loss by a set piece, a counterattack and a deflection, with Glover not at fault for any of Victory’s goals.

The atmosphere at AAMI Park was electric, although no official attendance figures were released because a “system error” at the stadium meant fans’ tickets were not scanned upon entry.

There were no obvious signs of trouble in the stands and Vidosic praised the “brilliant” fans.

“We need every game to be like this,” said Vidosic.

“We need more people to come and support us, especially us, we’re playing really good football (this season).

“We score freely, we control the game, we create chances, so we’d like to have more fans coming and enjoying our game.”

Despite the derby defeat, City remain clear at the top of the table ahead of Saturday’s home game against Sydney FC.

“There is no need to panic,” said Vidosic.