Adelaide United were unable to capitalise on being a man up for over an hour last night, eventually losing to the Melbourne Victory 1-0.
It was a solid, tenacious performance by Melbourne, who deserved the win.
Ney Fabiano picked up a straight red card for spitting at Robert Cornthwaite, a suspension that could well be lengthened by the FFA. The Perth Glory’s Dino Djulbic spat at a referee two weeks ago and has received a five-match ban.
Oddly, the red card, given just before the half hour mark, did little to upset the balance of the game. If anything, Melbourne rose to the occasion, applying heavy pressure on Adelaide and matching them physically.
Adelaide had their moments, mostly with balls from the flank sent in to the box, but their finishing was quite atrocious – particularly in the air. Maybe it was an off day for the Reds.
Melbourne got the goal it deserved in the 63rd minute, when Sasa Ognenovski held back Archie Thompson in the box. Kevin Muscat lined up to take the shot, and then we saw something we’ve never seen before in the A-League: he missed. Or, rather, Eugene Galekovic saved it.
Thankfully, the rebound fell nicely for Muscat to tap the ball in on his second attempt.
But still. Muscat missed a penalty. A new day dawns.
…
I thought it was an excellent, gritty performance by Melbourne. While the blockbuster win over Newcastle Jets showed a Victory side capable of destroying the opposition, last night showed that this is a Melbourne side that has the fitness and determination to grind out a result.
Anyway, here’s the goal:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybadkXjUpQo[/youtube]
4 comments ↓
Good gutsy win, a sign that we are going to go all the way this year. I hope Fabiano escapes a big suspension. I’ve heard he is a little dirty behind play, lets hope he can keep it in check from now on.
Ernies great experment with a 3 man forward line stuffed up by the stupidity of one of the players. Looks like we might be back to the Archie and Danny show for the next 3 or 4 weeks if he cops a ban. Why are players so f..king stupid!
At least Lopez to come back in next week so maybe it will be the Hernandez, Lopez, Celiski three man mid-field that baffles the other teams.
Like Astri said, a good gutsy win. Fantastic work by Berger and Kemp out wide. Berger just needs to be more on the mark with the final cross but showing great confidence charging forward.
A great start to the year.
i don’t really blam fabiano for what he did, if you see it from the front angle you can see that he was speaking the whole time, it’s normal to accidentally spit when you talk to someone, i am convinced it was purely accidental… share you’re thoughts but it really did seem like it. Overall a good game, wasn’t a real fan of the 5 man defence in the back line in the second half and the subsequent lack of midfield, but it does show that we have great character and determination which is a huge turnaround from last year!
Melbourne for premiers! yeah!
Christian, i think the tv replays were quite conclusive… and he did pucker up to spit…but hopefully that footage goes missing on the day of his hearing
Leave a Comment