MVFC Blog

Matthew Trott must be the unluckiest goalkeeper in the country. When Danny Vukovic was sent off against Sydney FC, Trott came on to defend the Mariners 2 - 0 lead.

By the end of the game, he’d let through five.

And then it happened again. Four Melbourne Victory goals in the first half and a fifth in the second. After spending 16 rounds at the top of the league this season, the Central Coast Mariners have relinquished first place in spectacular fashion.

To be fair to Trott, it wasn’t his fault. The Mariners defense was woeful on Monday night. All but one of Melbourne’s goals can be attributed in large part to poor defending:

• Adrian Caceres in the 4th minute: Damien Brown tries - unsuccessfully - to head the ball back to Trott. Instead, it lands perfectly for Caceres, who puts it away with poise.
• Danny Allsopp in the 23rd minute: Alex Wilkinson is easily beaten by Allsopp as he heads home a beautiful pass from Caceres.
• Kevin Muscat’s penalty in the 43rd minute: Archie Thompson beat Tony Vidmar with a ball through the legs. Vidmar never looked like getting the ball after that, and the penalty was well-deserved. Muscat, of course, makes no mistakes from the penalty spot.
• Danny Allsopp in the 61st minute: Kevin Muscat set this goal up with perfect vision, finding the gap between two CCM defenders and threading the ball through to Archie, who sent it across to Allsopp for an easy tap-in.

I haven’t mentioned Archie’s goal, which was more down to Thompson’s brilliance than poor defending. How he managed to slice that ball into the goal with his left boot is beyond me - pure class.

The Mariners may have defended poorly, but Melbourne also played a much better game than we’ve seen them produce in a while - especially in the final third. Throughout this season, the Victory have produced chance after chance, but wasted far too many. On Monday, at last, Allsopp and Archie converted chances with the kind of clinical finishing they were delivering in season 2.

Consider this: Melbourne only had 10 attempts, and scored five. The Mariners, on the other hand, had 23 attempts. Conversion, not chances, was what set the two teams apart on Monday.

I asked yesterday what readers thought was the reason for the Victory’s win. The lack of pressure seems to be the most popular explanation, and I’d certainly agree that this seems to be one of the key reasons. With very little chance of reaching the finals, the Victory (in particular Allsopp and Archie) suddenly picked up where they left off last season.

Makes you wonder to what extent Melbourne’s poor season has simply been a case of choking under pressure.

Nick Ward’s addition to the squad is another popular explanation, although Ward did not play a direct part in any of Melbourne’s five goals. But he certainly combined well with Leigh Broxham, which helped solidify the midfield. Broxham and Ward, of course, have played together for the Olyroos, so their understanding of each other’s game is a great asset for the Victory.

At the end of the day, Monday’s win will probably be too little too late. Chances remain very slim of making the finals. But as preparation for the Asian Champions League, there’s nothing like a runaway victory to instill confidence in the squad. Let’s hope Ernie Merrick can build on the momentum over the next couple of months.