Entries Tagged 'Perth Glory' ↓

Dear readers, I’m afraid MVFC Blog has been the victim of some wily hackers. I have done just about everything I can think of to fix it, but Google still seems unconvinced. Please do NOT visit MVFC Blog at the moment, as it may not be safe for your computer. I’ll keep you posted. For now, please enjoy this via your feed reader or email.

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 Melbourne Victory faltered on the road again, this time going down to a bottom-of-the-table Perth Glory side who kept their season alive with a 3-1 win. The loss, combined with a spectacular 6-1 defeat of the Wellington Phoenix by Adelaide United, forces Victory down to 2nd, trailing Adelaide by a point.

Melbourne’s performance was a cut above the previous week, with the Victory controlling the game for most of the second half. But two first-half goals in quick succession from Perth’s Ivorian striker, Eugene Dadi, gave the home side a strong lead, which they defended tenaciously. The Victory pressed hard and eventually pulled one back with an enterprising (and somewhat lucky) run by Ney Fabiano in the 55th minute; but after enduring all the pressure, Adriano Pellegrino fired in a wonderful goal in the 78th minute to crush the Victory.

Despite the scoreline, it was a tight game. Perth took their chances, while Melbourne didn’t take theirs. Tom Pondeljak missed a sitter, and Rodrigo Vargas narrowly edged the ball over the crossbar with his header. But football doesn’t reward possession or near-misses, only goals.

Archie Thompson had picked up a knock at training the day before, putting him out of action. But why did Merrick decide to put him on the bench if he didn’t intend to play him? Last I heard, Merrick was planning to take Evan Berger with the squad to Perth, so why he wasn’t on the bench instead of Archie is beyond me.

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

The second-third of the A-League season wraps this weekend, with Melbourne meeting last-placed Perth Glory.

It’s another away game for the Victory, who have only had one at home in the last four matches. But Melbourne will have a week’s rest after this, thanks to Adelaide United’s Club World Cup schedule.

Ernie Merrick yesterday tipped that he would start Grant Brebner, whose form (and fitness) has been diminished over the past month. The Scotsman has started the last two matches but been substituted off at half time. Evan Berger, meanwhile, appears to be ready to return from his injury. I for one have missed the youngster, who added grit and determination to the side.

Merrick has also indicated that Carlos Hernández will be played off the bench, amid concerns that the Costa Rican isn’t quite ready to play a full 90 yet. Maybe so, but I hope Ernie gives Hernández more than 15-20 minutes to work his magic. Hernández made a belated appearance last week in which he clearly lifted Melbourne’s game, but it was too late. It would be great to see Hernández given a full 45 minutes.

Last week, I tipped a win for the Glory, but they were robbed of three points by a late equalizer from the boot of Sasho Petrovski. That draw adds to the pressure this week, as Glory coach David Mitchell has already declared that this is a must-win affair for his side. Perth are on 12 points, well clear of the 18 it currently requires to be in the top 4.

But desperate teams are dangerous, something which Melbourne must be wary of. While we can dream of another 4-0 thrashing, we should realistically expect something much more difficult. The key will be scoring early and putting Perth on the backfoot. The Glory are confidence starved and seem to fall apart when they’re a goal or two down.

My tips for the weekend:

• Adelaide United to draw with Wellington Phoenix. A fourth win in a row for the Phoenix would be truly something; Adelaide are looking very fragile at the moment; but I think the home side will dig in and find themselves a goal or two, enough to draw with Wellington.
• Central Coast Mariners to beat Queensland Roar. This is a critical game for both sides, who are fourth and third, separated by a point. Queensland have the edge on the ladder, but I’m tipping the home side will overtake them.
• Perth Glory to be kept on 12 points, as the mighty Melbourne Victory put at least 2 past them. If Melbourne can take the lead early on (and maintain it), they’ll be halfway there.
• Newcastle Jets to beat Sydney FC. Newcastle desperately need a win this weekend, as they are stranded on the bottom with Perth. Sydney’s poor form is starting to catch up with it, as it has sunk to 6th place. I expect that poor form to continue this weekend, with Newcastle getting the three points they need.

It was exactly the game the Melbourne Victory needed. A solid win with plenty of goals to keep the club at the top of A-League after seven rounds.

Perth Glory were truly lacklustre, all across the pitch. Mitch Langerak was tested just once – and produced a wonderful acrobatic save to keep a clean sheet – while you only have to look at how easily Melbourne picked up its fourth goal to see how flimsy the Perth defence was. Things are not looking good for the bottom feeders.

The win adds great credibility to Merrick’s claim that Melbourne has the depth to cover for injuries and suspensions this year. Perth may have been poor, but it still takes a pretty good team to manage four goals. Even without Carlos Hernandez, our first-choice goalkeeper and one of our first-pick defenders, we looked the goods.

Meanwhile, Adelaide United stuffed up a 3-0 lead over the Central Coast Mariners, finishing the match with a draw. Sydney FC also drew at home, though they were lucky to come from behind in injury time. The Newcastle Jets host Wellington Phoenix tomorrow.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKQJdnPpMj0[/youtube]

The first third of the season wraps up this weekend, with the Melbourne Victory clutching a narrow lead at the top of the table.

Melbourne edges Sydney FC out on goal difference, sits a point ahead of Adelaide United, two ahead of the Central Coast Mariners and three points ahead of Queensland Roar, who inflicted Melbourne’s first defeat of the season last week.

This is a critical round. Adelaide hosts the Mariners tonight, while Queensland have another away game, this time in Sydney. The Wellington Phoenix have a chance for back-to-back victories (they’ve never achieved this before), with the Newcastle Jets missing a host of players, including Joel Griffiths.

Suspensions and injuries have whittled Melbourne’s squad down to barely enough to field a full team. Carlos Hernandez, Michael Theoklitos and Ney Fabiano are all out with suspensions; Sebastian Ryall and Nathan Elasi are on international duty; and Michael Thwaite is out with an ankle injury, while Nick Ward may make a reappearance. Steven Pace has been promoted into the squad, as has Matthew Theodore, who impressed me last week in the Youth League.

The Perth Glory aren’t without their problems. With just four points to show from 6 rounds, they’re holding up the bottom of the table. Former Victory player James Robinson has been ruled out for the next ten weeks with a groin injury, while Amaral, Dinjo Djulbic, Hayden Foxe and Josip Magdic are all still unavailable.

My tips for the weekend:

• Adelaide United to draw with Central Coast Mariners. Both these sides had strong wins last week, and they’re sitting in three and four on the ladder. I’m tipping a draw.
• Melbourne Victory to thump three past the Perth Glory. I like to be specific with my Victory tips. But seriously, even with a less-than-stellar squad, Melbourne should be able to beat the Glory emphatically.
• Sydney FC to draw with Queensland Roar. Again, I’m tipping a draw, but this could really go either way. At the end of the season, I would expect both of these sides to be in the final four.
• Newcastle Jets to draw with Wellington Phoenix. What can Newcastle do without Joel Griffiths? A fired up Wellington might be able to grab a win, but I think a draw’s the more likely outcome.

Last week I was wandering around some of the other A-League clubs’ forums and found a forum post entitled “The Worst Supporters in the Land” on the Perth Glory’s forum.

To quote directly from there:

“Well, we certainly have come full circle.

Once upon a time we had the best team in the land with the most vocal and passionate supporters.

Now we’re bottom of the league with, what are without question, the worst supporters in the country.

Continue reading →

With both Adelaide United and the Newcastle Jets winning all three points on Friday night, the Melbourne Victory’s Sunday-arvo match against the Perth Glory became all the more critical. A win would keep the Victory within a game of reaching the top 4; anything less would see them recede further away from finals football.

And yet, the Melbourne Victory turned up on Sunday and was utterly outclassed by the Perth Glory, who thoroughly deserved to win their first home game in over a year. Continue reading →

Perth Glory 3, Melbourne Victory 1

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZqMvF–AzY[/youtube]

Three weeks ago, under the new coaching of David Mitchell, you would have called the Perth Glory a resurgent force. Mitchell replaced the out-of-favour Ron Smith and within days the Glory sealed their first win in a year – a triumphant 4-1 victory away over the Newcastle Jets.

But the glory was short-lived. A loss at home to the Central Coast Mariners and a draw in Adelaide have kept the club at the bottom of the ladder, languishing 3 points behind the Wellington Phoenix and a formidable 9 points outside the top 4.

Still, Glory fans will be hopeful of seeing their team win at home for the first time since November 26 last year. But to do so, they will have to overcome a Melbourne Victory struggling for a spot in the finals. Continue reading →

With the A-League starting its final 7 rounds this week, it’s a good time to take a look at how Melbourne’s fate is panning out alongside its competitors. I’ve heard plenty of pessimistic talk from Melbourne fans recently, but a cursory look at how other teams are performing should give Victory supporters plenty of cause for hope.

It’s a very tight league.

1. Central Coast Mariners
Four points separate Central Coast from the Queensland Roar. It’s a strong, but breakable, lead. From a strictly statistical point of view, the Mariners’ strength has been their defense, which has let through only 9 goals this season. But with strikers like John Aloisi and Sasho Petrovski, and scoring midfielders like Tom Pondeljak, Adam Kwasnik and John Hutchinson, opposition teams will have their work cut for them all across the park. The Mariners are a lethal team at the moment and I would not bet against them finishing top of the ladder. Continue reading →