Entries Tagged 'Melbourne Victory' ↓

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Last Friday’s game against the Central Coast Mariners was, of course, a wonderful night for Victory fans. It struck me how a single moment of inspiration can turn a game on its head. Melbourne had been wading around the Central Coast box for a spell (mind you, the Mariners had been making some pointed attacks at our end as well), when a pass from Carlos Hernandez found Archie Thompson. Archie suddenly accelerates, catching Pedj Bojic out with his speed and storming into the box to deliver a cross to Danny Allsopp who was exactly where he should have been.

One moment of brilliance. Within eight minutes Melbourne had tripled the score count, but it all started with that run from Archie.

It was enough to put us at the top of the table, but not to keep us there. On Sunday afternoon, a Wellington Phoenix side brimming with energy – even after they went down to ten men – fought hard to get three points against Adelaide United, but could only secure the draw. Adelaide can count themselves lucky.

That result put Adelaide back at the top of the table, on equal points with Melbourne but with a superior goal difference (one goal). Adelaide and Melbourne are two points ahead of Queensland Roar, so a top two finish is not guaranteed for either side. Meanwhile, the Wellington Phoenix have one shot at displacing the Central Coast Mariners in fourth place – they have to beat Melbourne. But even if they accompany that, a Central Coast win or draw will ensure last year’s Minor Premiers finish above the Kiwis.

If I wasn’t so partisan, this would be an absolutely tantalizing final round. As it stands, it’s positively nerve-racking!

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This is a match review of the Perth game last week, written on Monday but not published due to the site being down.

It never ceases to amaze how the Melbourne Victory can follow up excellent performances against top-ranked teams with mediocre efforts against teams propping up the bottom of the table.

We may have given Perth a hiding when we played them at home, but Melbourne can’t seem to get the edge over the West Australians in Perth. This is the second time this season that Melbourne has been solidly beaten by the Glory.

After last night’s match I was left wondering how Perth managed to squander its season so effortlessly when it is capable of turning in performances like that. David Mitchell has so much talent at his disposal, even with Nikita Ruykavitsya’s departure. Eugene Dadi again put two in against Melbourne, while … Sikora and Adriano Pelegrino were impressive in midfiield.

The clue to Perth’s failure this season may be gleaned from the first 20 minutes of last night’s game. Archie Thompson and Danny Allsopp caught the Perth defence napping after just three minutes, with Allsopp slotting home the opener. The onslaught from Melbourne continued, with Carlos Hernandez missing a golden opportunity and Allsopp nearly doubling his score count.

But Melbourne didn’t take its chances, and Perth seized upon this little glimmer of hope. After a short drinks break around the 22 minute mark, Perth clearly began to dominate the game. Goals from Dadi and Ruykavitsya had the Glory a goal up at half time.

In the second half, I felt that Melbourne had the edge over Perth, especially after Ney Fabiano took advantage of a stray ball in front of goal to bring the score to 2-2. Dadi’s second goal came at a perfect time for the Glory, and a horrible time for Melbourne. We’d been on the ascendancy until then, but that goal proved to be a killer blow.

The young referee, whose name I didn’t catch, had an excellent game until the final ten minutes, when he managed to make two embarrassing errors. First, he unwittingly gave a second yellow to Matthew Kemp for what was a very soft foul – I’m convinced he wouldn’t have given that yellow if he’d remembered that Kemp was already on a yellow. Second, he missed a brilliantly obvious Kevin Muscat foul minutes later: Muscat should have received a red card for trying to pull Dadi down from behind. I don’t blame David Mitchell for being upset about the decision. Muscat deserved a red; Kemp didn’t.

The loss to Perth is a serious blow to our chances of winning the Minor Premiership, as Adelaide United sit a point ahead of us with a game in hand. It’s not impossible, but we need Adelaide to lose games while we win. The result, in other words, is out of our hands.

The Victory are back at the top of the table, with their third win over Adelaide United this season. Nice one.

It was a top-of-the-table clash, with first place up for grabs, but I was still surprised at crowd attendance. Over 27,000 on a Tuesday night is a great turn-out by any stretch of the imagination, and a reminder that good performances (such as the one against Sydney) put bums of seats. Melburnians like their football, but they’d rather pay to see a team in form than a team out of form.

Adelaide looked flat for most of the 90 minutes. They had a handful of shots, Theo was forced to make one excellent save, but the former ladder leaders deserved to lose. Aurelio Vidmar admitted as much after the match:

“We had no aggression, desperation, not much at all. There was probably only a handful of players who could have came off that pitch tonight and said they gave everything they possibly could. We just weren’t at the races tonight. We were very lucky it was only 1-0.”

Melbourne certainly played with desperation, but was dogged by poor passing for much of the first 60 minutes. The ideas were right, but the execution fell short too often. Carlos Hernández, after putting in a great game on the weekend, struggled to find his rhythm. Perhaps the state of the ground had something to do with it all?

It was good, of course, to see Nick Ward get his second goal in three appearances. What’s even more encouraging is the fact that Melbourne has scored from set pieces in the last four games. In the past, Melbourne has rarely looked dangerous from set pieces – now, it’s one of our most powerful weapons. Even Carlos Hernández almost popped in a free kick, stopped only by outstretched Eugene Galekovic.

Are you looking for the preview of the A-League Grand Final, to be played between the Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United on February 28, 2009?

Number 1 meets number 2 at the Telstra Dome tonight, as Adelaide United and the Melbourne Victory go head to head to determine who takes the top of the ladder.

A win for Adelaide, giving them a 4-point lead at the top of the table with a game in hand, would all but guarantee them the Minor Premiership. On the other hand, Melbourne are fighting to stay in the race for number one. Three points going their way would put them a point above Adelaide, but the South Australian side still has a game in hand – we would need other results to swing our way.

In short, tonight is critical.

The fitness and depth of both sides will be tested, with neither side having had more than a four day break. Melbourne’s had an extra day to recover since its last match, but if there’s one thing Adelaide have proved this season, it’s that they have can dig deep and produce the goods even while running on tired legs.

Depth is certainly something which Merrick has at his disposal. Grant Brebner and Jose Luis Lopez, neither of whom were even in the squad over the past two weeks, could come into his line-up. After last week, I get the feeling that Evan Berger may be the one to be dropped tonight. Pulled off early against Queensland, I think Berger is the main one in the 16-man squad whose removal would make sense – and who could be easily replaced. Michael Thwaite may be due for a break – like Philip said, Kemp has looked better than him the last two weeks – but in such a critical game I can’t see Merrick pulling out one of his key defensive options.

My tip for tonight: Melbourne by two goals.

If 2008 ended with a bang, 2009 began with a dull thud. Melbourne Victory rose to the top of the table, albeit only for a night, with a 2-1 win over the Queensland Roar, but it wasn’t pretty.

Queensland and Melbourne, ranked second and third on the ladder before this round started, were as evenly balanced as their ranking suggested. That is, they both had chances and bungled them. Both had, overall, a poor night. It’s just that Melbourne turned it on for fifteen, maybe twenty minutes, took a two-goal lead and was able to keep the Roar from getting two back in the remaining twenty something minutes.

Archie Thompson in particular had a frustrating night, with no less than four attempts on goal gone astray in the last twenty minutes. And let’s not forget his outburst after Carlos Hernández opted to take a shot himself, rather than passing it to Archie. Nevermind that Archie had done the same thing minutes before. Nevermind. To be fair, Archie did produce the pass setting up Danny Allsopp’s opener.

It wasn’t just Archie though. Compared to the week before, the Victory played with minimal intensity. Too many beers on New Year’s Eve perhaps? The exception to the rule was Carlos Hernández, who seemed to be moving quicker than he has before. A positive sign to be sure.

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Adelaide United won their game against Sydney FC on Saturday night, putting them back at the top of the table and forcing John Kosmina to admit his side’s season is over. It also sets up a brilliant top-of-the-table encounter between Melbourne and Adelaide on Tuesday, which will go some way to determining who grasps the Minor Premiership this year.

Meanwhile, Wellington Phoenix have kept their season alive with an emphatic 3-0 win over the Newcastle Jets. They’re a point down from Queensland Roar (who have played a game less) and three points down from the Central Coast Mariners. Whether they manage to oust one of the Aussie teams will be one of the most interesting stories to watch over the next three weeks.

The Melbourne Victory hosts the Queensland Roar tonight, in what is a critical juncture of the A-League season.

The Roar sit on equal points with Melbourne, but edge us out on goal difference. A win tonight for either side would go a long way to ensuring their finals aspirations.

The Central Coast Mariners have already played their game this round, beating the Perth Glory 1-0 on New Year’s Eve. That’s put the Mariners at the top of the table temporarily, but that’s unlikely to remain so, with Adelaide United, Queensland and Melbourne all able to overtake the Mariners.

Ernie Merrick indicated that he plans to do very little to change the squad that overcame Sydney FC last week, suggesting that Grant Brebner and Jose Luis Lopez may once again have to watch from the sidelines. Surely it is a sign of the depth of Melbourne’s squad that a hero from season 2 and a Costa Rican international are unable to make it into the squad?

The pitch is a cause for concern, as the Telstra Dome was used for New Year’s Eve festivities. The club and Dome are apparently clashing heads over it. Ernie Merrick even said: “As coach of Melbourne Victory, I find working with Telstra Dome management and preparing for a game is very difficult. That’s all I’ll say at this stage.” Enough said Ernie. We know what you mean. Telstra Dome are pains in the arses.

My tips for the weekend:

• Melbourne to shatter Queensland: Maybe not by much – Queensland have a strong defence – but if Melbourne play with the intensity they had against Sydney FC, they can win this.
• Adelaide United to beat Sydney FC: Only the bravest of punters would tip otherwise at the moment. Adelaide are riding high at the top of the table, while Sydney are tumbling down. I expect the trend to continue.
• Wellington Phoenix to beat Newcastle Jets: I suppose I could have saved time and just said I expect the home teams to win this weekend. Newcastle have nothing but pride left to play for, while a win for Wellington is essential for the finals chances.

It started badly. A strike in the 30th second from Shannon Cole; another one from Brendan Gan three minutes later. Sydney 2-0 up.

But that just set the stage for one of the greatest comebacks in Melbourne’s history. Sydney may feel robbed, but Melbourne absolutely deserved the three points.

The turning point? This, undoubtedly:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTsb4315GVU[/youtube]

Melbourne played with an intensity we rarely see. For once, Merrick’s substitutions had the desired impact, as the fresh legs of Ney Fabiano, Matthew Kemp and Nick Ward tore Sydney apart. Ward’s goal will deservedly go down in MVFC history as one of our finest, but Fabiano had a bigger impact. Here is a striker who can run at players, cross the ball and hold it. Three weeks in a row, he has come off the bench and scored. The only question is whether to keep him as an impact substitute, or give him a start.

While it’s hard to feel anything but euphoric about the game, two things bothered me: Melbourne’s habit of dropping intensity and giving up possession far too easily when it takes the lead; and Kevin Muscat, who just about made me have a heart attack with his antics in front of the Melbourne goal.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhqhE_7eT0k[/youtube]

Queensland Roar won its game against Wellington Phoenix, meaning we’re still in third place. In fact, all the top 4 sides won their matches, so the standings remain exactly as they were last week. With back-to-back matches against Queensland Roar and Adelaide United coming up, it’s well and truly make-or-break time.

After three disastrous away games, the Melbourne Victory returns home for its round 17 clash against Sydney FC. Sydney’s recent form has also been far from spectacular, with a devastating 4-1 loss against the Perth Glory last week forcing Sydney down another notch on the ladder. Melbourne didn’t do much better against the Newcastle Jets, finishing 4-2.

Melbourne and Sydney: two out of form sides who both desperately need a win. Sound familiar?

Hoping to spark his team, Ernie Merrick appears keen on shifting Kevin Muscat into midfield, paving the way for Sebastian Ryall to perhaps enter the squad. It may not be such a bad move: Muscat has made some uncharacteristic – but severe – errors in defence this year, and a central role should allow him to focus on leading the team through the middle. Muscat’s tenacity and physical style may complement Jose Luis Lopez’ more fluid abilities.

The round 9 incarnation of this fixture ended in a 0-2 win for Sydney FC, which saw Melbourne tumble down to third. A loss this week could be far more disastrous, with the Central Coast Mariners (4th), Wellington Phoenix (5th) and Sydney FC (6th) all able to overtake it on the ladder. Granted, Melbourne has a game in hand, but dropping from the top 4 would be a terrible psychological blow at this point of the season.

But Sydney’s poor form gives some cause for optimism. John Aloisi has only scored once since opening his scoring account in the round 9 fixture, and made a mess of a few sitters last week. There’s plenty of pressure on him to step up, and John Kosmina must be awfully close to having his contract suspended. Let’s hope we show him the door.

My tips for the weekend:

• Newcastle Jets to lose to Central Coast Mariners: The Mariners lost a critical game against Wellington last week, while the Jets sliced right through Melbourne. But this week I’m tipping a reversal of fortunes for both sides.  
• Perth Glory to beat Adelaide United: There’s no small measure of optimism to this tip. A solid win last week for Perth, but this game against Adelaide is going to be huge. I’m foreseeing lots of goals ending in a narrow victory for the hosts.
• Melbourne Victory to make a mockery of Sydney FC: Unlike some people, I can’t tip against my own team. One of these two sides is going to end its drought, and I reckon Melbourne can do it – and exact their revenge on Sydney for that round 9 loss.
• Queensland Roar to beat Wellington Phoenix: Queensland have surged to second place, while the Phoenix have worked themselves to the edge of the four. Expect a game with plenty of fireworks, but a win for the hosts.

I may not be the world’s greatest strategist, but Ernie Merrick’s substitutions on Friday night made no sense to me. Perhaps I’m missing the big picture. But if you’re down two goals at half time, then concede a third five minutes in, surely that’s an ideal time to bring on some fresh attacking legs? No?

Instead, Merrick waited until after the 60th minute (his trademark time to make a substitution), after Melbourne had finally scored. But by then, the Jets had already scored a fourth, and Melbourne needed a goal every five minutes or so to get anything out of the game. A tall order for any side.

The game started well enough. Newcastle had practically no attacking momentum, as Melbourne created chance after chance. An Archie Thompson goal was disallowed for his being offside – a decision shown to be wrong by the replays. But you still got the feeling that it was just a matter of time before Melbourne finished one of their chances and took the lead.

It didn’t turn out that way. Newcastle, in what seemed to be their first attack of the game, opened their scoring when Matt Thompson headed in what would be the first of three he’d score. As soon as the Jets took the lead, they also grabbed the momentum. Suddenly, it was all Newcasle, with Melbourne obviously on the back foot.

It was a game that ran away from us. Newcastle didn’t start strong, but they surged after they scored. Trailing, Melbourne looked stale. As has so often been the case this season, they looked clueless in the final third, a team that’s worked out how to pass it around the box but can’t figure out how to get a shot off.

The loss has made Melbourne slip below the Queensland Roar on goal difference, while Wellington and Central Coast trail by a point (though they have both played one more game than Melbourne and Queensland). Adelaide United, which had another bye this week, remains at the top of the table with a game in hand.

The Newcastle Jets will attempt to inject pride (and a small dose of hope) into their cascading A-League campaign tonight, as they meet second-placed Melbourne Victory. But it’s a critical game for the visitors, who are a point behind Adelaide and need a win to regain the lead.

Adding to the pressure for Melbourne are the Queensland Roar, who are on equal points, and the Central Coast Mariners, who trail the Victory and Roar by a point. It’s very tight in there, but it’s deceptive: Melbourne have a game in hand.

Newcastle’s recent form has been disastrous. The Jets haven’t won since Round 8 – incidentally, that was against Melbourne. On that occasion, Newcastle were clearly the better team, but have struggled to maintain decent form since them. They now sit on 12 points at the bottom of the table, with 7th placed Perth Glory on 16.

Archie Thompson is a 50% chance to play tonight, while Ernie Merrick has Evan Berger and Carlos Hernandez back at his disposal. It’s a full strength squad bar one, but that one player missing is arguably the most significant cog in the system. A fortnight ago against Perth Glory, Melbourne had chances but didn’t take them; the week before that, Thompson had an off game and Melbourne looked pathetic in the final third as a result. Archie’s presence and form remains a key component of Melbourne’s set-up.

My tips for the weekend:

• Wellington Phoenix to beat Central Coast Mariners. Two sides with everything to play for, but the Phoenix are at home and in desperate need of a win. An embarrassing loss and a draw last week have it on 19 points, chasing the 4th placed Mariners by 3 points. They’ve beat the Mariners before, and I think they’ll do it again tonight.
• Newcastle Jets to collapse before the Melbourne Victory. Both have had poor games lately, but a week’s rest and an almost full squad give Melbourne no excuses. They need a win, and I think they’ll get it.
• Sydney FC to draw with Perth Glory. Perth need a win to keep their finals chances alive, and Sydney need one to get back into the top 4. I don’t think either will get what they need.