One of the key questions hanging over this Sunday’s clash with the Newcastle Jets is whether Kaz Patafta will get another start.
When he first signed with the Melbourne Victory, he was hailed as the “next Harry Kewell” by one reader. But before last Saturday, Patafta had only 200 minutes of in-season game time to prove himself.
Kaz’s main competition for the attacking midfield role was, of course, Carlos Hernández. Despite many early complaints about the Costa Rican, Patafta has never been able to displace Hernández from the starting line-up. And with Leigh Broxham, Grant Brebner and Kevin Muscat absorbing the rest of the midfield spots for the majority of the season, there was simply no room for Kaz in Ernie Merrick’s calculations.
Until Saturday. A few things were key to bringing about Kaz’s first start of the season: Kevin Muscat’s shift into a central defensive capacity; Danny Allsopp’s injury; and Merrick’s overdue decision to bench Grant Brebner. It all paved the way for Patafta to start alongside Hernández, in a formation that was probably Melbourne’s best of the season.
Patafta certainly did enough to impress 22,000 fans on Saturday night, playing with creativity, vision and speed. Many of those fans boo-ed in the 60th minute when Merrick replaced Patafta with Leandro Love. In fairness, Patafta had done his most impressive work in the first half. Merrick’s decision to take him off, while unpopular, may have been the right move. Melbourne did, after all, score both its goals after Kaz went off. Fresh legs may have helped.
Whether it was necessary to replace him or not, most fans will agree that Kaz did enough in 60 minutes to warrant his inclusion in this Sunday’s starting line-up.
And yet, there’s a new contendor for the attacking midfield position: Nick Ward. Like Patafta, Ward has a bright, promising future. Currently an Olyroo, the latest talk is that new Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek will be at the game on Sunday night, assessing potential talent for the Socceroos squad. Ward may be dead-set on returning to Europe as soon as possible, but he has a very good reason to impress for the Victory this weekend.
With Ward pressing for a spot in the line-up, will Patafta once again be dropped to the bench? Or did his performance on Saturday night secure him another start?
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3 responses so far ↓
1 Astri // Dec 12, 2007 at 8:36 am
Merrick usually rewards good form so I think Kaz will start and Ward may start on the bench. Give Kaz the first half and if he is not up to it then bring on Ward in 2nd half.
2 Neil // Dec 12, 2007 at 3:48 pm
I hope he does get another start because I missed the last one. Hopefully with a bit of confidence under his belt he will show us some more of silky skills.
3 David // Dec 13, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Last year I used to wonder why Sarkies rarely appeared and this year it’s Kaz. I think he did enough last week to warrant a start, and agree with Astri, Ward needs match sharpness, and Kaz doesn’t have 90 mins of match fitness yet, but he should get another chance to show what he can bring to the team. Ernie Merrick must realise the ACL will be less physical than the A-League, so he should be looking at creating a midfield that is more technical than bulldog tough. Kaz is the type of player that could shine on that stage.
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