Entries Tagged 'Asian Champions League' ↓

For a game with nothing at stake, last night’s Melbourne Victory game was one of the most enjoyable Victory matches I’ve seen in a while.

Maybe it’s because there was nothing to play for (except pride of course). This was free-flowing football, with plenty of chances at both ends and nice saves from both ‘keepers. A pleasure to watch, all the more so because of the final score line.

But sadly, there weren’t many people there to enjoy the spectacle, the prospect of a meaningless Wednesday night clash a week not proving tantalising enough for many Victory fans.

Shame, cause there was plenty of drama in this game:

• Kevin Muscat, screwing up to give Ney Fabiano an easy chance to put Chonburi FC ahead, then redeeming himself by scoring the equaliser a couple minutes later.
• Ney Fabiano, scoring a goal and later picking up a yellow card, giving rise to a chorus of cheers and jeers from the crowd. If the rumours are true and he does sign for us, he’s certainly started off on the wrong foot with the local support.
• Archie Thompson, replacing Tom Pondeljak with half an hour left to go, promptly putting Melbourne ahead and then sealing the deal by laying up for Carlos Hernández’ goal.
• Rodrigo Vargas’ goal, disallowed. Why exactly?

For those of you who missed the game, here’s the highlights:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_-4BUxCAPw[/youtube]

Meanwhile, congratulations to Adelaide United who tonight managed to qualify for the next stage of the Asian Champions League.

The Melbourne Victory finishes off its first Asian Champions League campaign with nothing to play for but pride, up against an opponent with just as little to play for. Melbourne could finish second in the group if it beats Chonburi FC tomorrow – a small consolation to cap off a frustrating ACL debut.

But does anyone really care?

Ernie Merrick has been in Central America on a scouting mission, returning today to coach his team tomorrow. Gary Cole may argue that Merrick’s trip would have gone ahead if Melbourne had had anything at stake in its final ACL match, but I find that very hard to believe. Tomorrow is effectively a friendly, and the club is treating it as such.

Except, of course, that they weren’t keen to release Leigh Broxham, Billy Celeski and Nick Ward to play for Graham Arnold in the Olyroos’ Intercontinental Cup campaign. Michael Lynch wrote a rather condemning piece about that issue earlier this week. But before you string up Victory management, consider Arnold’s lack of effort at getting the trio. He could have had them if he’d wanted.

Anyway, all that aside…

Archie Thompson may return tomorrow, his first appearance since picking up an injury in the Socceroos’ World Cup qualifier against China in March. Thompson has plenty of motivation to accelerate his recovery, as he faces the prospect of lining up against Juventus next week, and the possibility of more World Cup qualifiers in a couple weeks.

Carlos Hernández shone in his short stint against the Chunnam Dragons, and this game gives him another chance to get up his match fitness. Leigh Broxham’s back after serving his one-match suspension. And Mitchell Langerak will have his second start in a competitive (sort of) match for the Victory.

This will be the last competitive (sort of) match in Victory colours for Adrian Caceres and Daniel Piorkowski. It may also be the final game for Chonburi’s Ney Fabiano, who is set to sign with Melbourne after the match, according to the latest reports from Thailand.

This dead rubber match on a Wednesday night in the middle of AFL season will be an interesting gauge of football’s popularity in Melbourne. A sizeable dip in crowd numbers is to be expected, and 20,000 would be tough to crack. But this will provide a good indication of the resilience of Victory supporters.

For what it’s worth, here’s my tip: Melbourne 3, Chonburi 2

Your tip?

I suggested yesterday that the Victory’s trip to Gwangyang, South Korea was little more than a friendly for both teams, with the Chunnam Dragons holding only the faintest hope of overtaking Gamba Osaka at the top of Group G.

The game reflected precisely how little was at stake, as both Melbourne and Chunnam churned out listless performances. There were stretches of pleasing play, but by the end I felt drained.

Perhaps I would have felt slightly more elated had I seen Tom Pondeljak’s goal. But the beauty of Viewers Choice meant that it took the pub until the 6th minute to figure out how to get the game showing.

Pondeljak’s strike was impressive, but I was also happy to note his excellent positioning behind Danny Allsopp. I remain convinced that long balls are ineffective as a means of attack, but they are all the more ineffective when the striker has no one behind him. Last night, Pondeljak was there to pick up the stray rebound, and he took his opportunity with finesse. Not bad, Tommy.

After the goal, Melbourne sat back and allowed the Dragons to attack. For 40 minutes. Painful stuff. A freakish goal from Ko Ki-Gu, from either a horrible pass or a devilish strike, brought Chunnam back on level terms. They deserved it.

Melbourne redeemed itself in the second half, while the Dragons deflated. Short, constructive passes in the midfield gave us humble spectators something to enjoy watching. Danny Allsopp had two fine chances to give Melbourne the lead, but narrowly missed on both occasions. Carlos Hernandez’ presence in the final 25 minutes gave some cause for optimism, as did Evan Berger’s short stint in the final five minutes (why Berger wasn’t brought on earlier instead of Caceres is beyond me).

In the end, it was a pointless affair for both teams, as Gamba Osaka’s 2-0 win over Chonburi FC ensures that Group G is effectively wrapped up. I hope that when the AFC reviews the Asian Champions League, it makes it possible for 2nd placed teams to progress to the next stage. If that had been the case last night, Melbourne and Chunnam would have had everything to play for. As it stands, the dominance of one team means dreary matches between teams that have nothing to play for.

Meanwhile, Adelaide United beat the Pohang Steelers 1-0 to keep themselves in the lead in their group. In their final match, they meet Changchun Yatai in China. A draw will be enough for them to progress to the quarterfinals.

Chunnam Dragons vs. Melbourne Victory airs on Foxsports 1 at 8pm tonight (viewers choice).

Gamba Osaka have all but wrapped up Group G of the Asian Champions League with their commanding lead. It would take an incredible dip in form for the J-League side to relinquish its place in the quarterfinals now. A draw against Chonburi FC tonight would be enough.

Which suggests that the other match in Group G, the Melbourne Victory’s away match against the Chunnam Dragons, is little more than a friendly. The Dragons may have a slim mathematical prospect of overtaking Gamba – they must win twice and Gamba must lose twice – their position is little better than the Victory’s, who are out of contention.

All this will make tonight’s match a very different affair to the first time these two sides met. That night, Melbourne grasped their debut in the ACL and delivered an impressive 2-0 win over the Dragons. A promising start. But sadly, that’s all it was.

The Dragons have picked up four points against Chonburi FC, putting them in third place. In their domestic competition, they are languishing among the bottom half of the table, with just two wins from eight.

After our premature elimination from the ACL, Ernie Merrick has the luxury of two meaningless matches (in the ACL), a meaningless friendly (against Juventus) and a moderately meaningless competition (the Pre-Season Cup) in which to prepare his squad for the A-League season 2008-09. A bittersweet luxury, to be sure, but one that he ought to capitalise on by ensuring his team is a well-oiled unit come August 16.

Merrick has promised to throw young Nathan Elasi into the mix, suggesting that Adrian Caceres, already on his way out, will lose his place in the team. Tom Pondeljak made his debut for the Victory two weeks ago, and he is expected to be in the starting 11, as Leigh Broxham misses tonight’s clash due to suspension. Carlos Hernández has recovered from his injury and will come in off the bench to help him regain his fitness. Hopefully, Kaz Patafta and Evan Berger will be given solid game time – especially Berger, who has had little time to prove himself on the field.

My tip: I think we can sneak away with a narrow win: 2-1.

Your tip?

Following the disappointing result against Gamba Osaka two weeks ago, Melbourne tomorrow has the chance to make amends and keep the dream of Asian Champion League glory alive. With 3 more matches to play, not picking up points in this match would spell the end of the campaign. Even if Melbourne were to win the match, we would remain one point behind Gamba and be reliant on other results to see us through.

Still no Archie Thompson or Carlos Hernandez in the squad (although there is talk that Archie could be back sooner rather than later), but we may finally see a match debut for new recruit Tom Pondeljak. Making way for him is Daniel Vasilevski, who has picked up an injury.

Merrick has also flagged some changes up front and in the midfield, with Nick Ward likely dropping back into a more central midfield role, replacing Steven Pace, who failed to impress in the previous match. The question then is, who will fill the void in the attacking midfield? An interesting possibility is Leandro Love. Merrick now appears to believe he would be more suited to a hard-working midfield role; “He’s physically very strong, he’s fast, he’s a good tackler and he’s good in the air. An attacking midfielder would, I think, be a more suitable position for him”. I can see how this mightn’t be a bad idea. Although Love has yet to score a goal for us, he has always worked hard, dropping back to provide extra cover when needed. I also wonder if the less physical nature of the ACL would work better for Leandro.

The other option for that spot is of course fan-favourite Kaz Patafta and this is certainly an option I am fond of. Even so, I suspect Merrick will give both players a fairly even amount of playing time. Who gets the starting spot remains to be seen.

On the Osaka side, an injury cloud hangs over first-choice keeper Yosuke Fujigaya. The stand-in goalkeeper, 34 year-old Naoki Matsuyo, came off the bench in the last J-League match when Fujigaya hurt a shoulder and could very well be the primary shot-stopper in this match.

With little to lose and plenty to prove, Melbourne can be expected to come out all guns blazing in this match. Let’s hope they don’t run out of steam in the final stages like they did a fortnight ago.

Ever hopeful, I’m predicting a 1-2 result in favour of the Victory.

The match screens at 10:00* 8:00 PM on Fox Sports 3 (Viewer’s Choice)

*darn Fox Sports website got me confused. Hope no one’s based their evening on this. The match should still screen again at 10 is my understanding.

Melbourne Victory 3, Gamba Osaka 4 (match report)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPBNV4D-deE[/youtube]

On Tuesday, I asked: Can a Melbourne side without Archie Thompson and Carlos Hernández score goals?

The answer, irrefutably, is yes.

Two goals from Danny Allsopp and another from Rodrigo Vargas, on most days, should have been enough to wrap this one up.

But three wasn’t enough to beat Gamba, nor to get a draw.

The J-League side, playing their fourth match in nine days, looked shaky at the start. For once, our long balls were paying off, due more to poor Osaka defending than Danny Allsopp’s prowess. Melbourne could have been two up within five minutes.

At one – nil, Melbourne was surging, and Gamba’s backline was betraying them. But this was an open, free-scoring match. A delicious long-range goal from Takahiro Futagawa put Osaka back on level terms in the 32nd minute.

The first surprising choice – surprised me, at least – was Ernie Merrick’s decision to replace Steven Pace with Steve Pantelidis. Pace had been slow on the ball and appeared to be playing too far forward too often, but to replace him with the lumbering Pantelidis seemed illogical, especially with Melbourne a goal down. Why not inject an energetic, creative player like Kaz Patafta into the mix?

But maybe Pantelidis’ introduction paid off, as the Victory levelled shortly after, going into the break 2-2.

Gamba seemed to settle in during the second half, cutting down on defensive errors. Consequently, the Victory long-ball approach to attacking football proved futile, as Danny Allsopp would be nullified by two defenders. You can’t blame Allsopp – not much he can do with it – but I had to wonder why none of our midfielders were pushing up behind him, ready to pounce on loose balls. As it were, there was little pressure on Gamba’s centre backs.

The Victory did manage to go ahead, a little too early according to some pundits. The second Melbourne goal from a spot-kick, tucked away by Allsopp. But with 20 minutes left on the clock, Melbourne were looking tired. This was a game in which Gamba were supposed to be the ones tiring, not us. The introduction of Kaz Patafta and Daniel Vasilevski in the final ten minutes came too late.

In the end, 3-4 was a bitter result. Besides almost killing our chances of making it past the group stage (although the Chunnam Dragons’ win over Chonburi FC certainly gives us a little more hope), it was disappointing to see the Victory leak so many goals. How many times has Theoklitos let through four in 90 minutes?

Even more frustrating was Melbourne’s continued use of long-balls. The futility of these was summed up most poignantly when Steve Pantelidis, coming into possession after a Gamba corner, decided to send a long-ball forward – despite the fact that all his team mates were with him in the Melbourne box.

‘Nuff said.

When the Melbourne Victory host Gamba Osaka tonight in the third round of the 2008 Asian Champions League, most Victory fans will harbour more than a passing sensation of trepidation. No Archie Thompson. No Carlos Hernández. Can Danny Allsopp deliver the top-shelf performance we need him to deliver?

Allsopp isn’t the only one with a fair weight on his shoulders. Rodrigo Vargas, given the job of marking Brazilian striker Bare, has an equally critical role to play, while Leigh Broxham is set to take on Bare’s countryman, playmaker Lucas. And Ernie Merrick is looking to Kevin Muscat to provide a strong attacking thrust.

The match has been fairly described as a “must-win” affair. With away matches in Japan and Korea yet to come, anything short of a victory will render the Victory’s chances of progressing past the group stage very difficult indeed.

Gamba, meanwhile, have had a hectic schedule leading up to this match, playing three J-League matches in six days before flying out to Melbourne early this week. The fact that they won all three of those matches will bolster their confidence; but the heavy schedule may take its toll against Melbourne, especially in the latter stages of the match.

With Archie absent, Adrian Caceres is likely to push up alongside Allsopp, with Nick Ward filling the hole behind them. Archie’s absence also means a promotion for someone else: fans may cry for Kaz Patafta, but my guess is that Merrick will instead bring on Steven Pace to provide extra muscle in the midfield and close down Gamba’s Yasuhito Endo.

Archie and Hernández accounted for over a third of Melbourne’s goals last season, so they will be sorely missed. But there is some hope, as our J.League Correspondent revealed last month: Gamba has major weakness in defence. It may also be encouraging to note that the Victory’s three goals in the ACL so far did not involve Archie at all. Let it be known, we can score goals without Archie.

My tip (hoping to be proved wrong): Melbourne Victory 2, Gamba Osaka 2

Your tip?

Last week, I published an article on football blog Pitch Invasion about the conflict between Melbourne Victory fans and Telstra Dome management. As part of my research for that article, I interviewed Tunna, the leader of the Blue and White Brigade. Tunna has been a key person in negotiations between the Telstra Dome, the club, and the fans.

After the Telstra Dome agreed to ease up on restrictions for the Asian Champions League last month, I was interested to learn about Tunna’s involvement in making those changes happen. He also shared his thoughts on the atmosphere created by the fans at last month’s match against the Chunnam Dragons. Continue reading →

The calf injury Archie Thompson picked up in the Socceroo’s World Cup qualifier with China earlier this week could keep him on the sidelines for the next six weeks.

At the very least, Archie will not be available for the Melbourne Victory’s April 9 Asian Champions League match against Gamba Osaka, considered by many to be the favourite of Group G. But he is likely to miss more than that, with Ernie Merrick suggesting the Victory may be without its marquee man for up to 8 weeks Continue reading →