Entries Tagged 'Asian Champions League' ↓

Chonburi FC 3, Melbourne Victory 1

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8×8Eb3l4Pzg[/youtube]

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Well that wasn’t expected.

Chonburi FC wreaked havoc on the Melbourne Victory last night, trumping the Aussies with a 3-1 victory that put them at the top of Group G.

While Melbourne’s performance against the Chunnam Dragons mirrored the type of football they were playing towards the end of the A-League season, last night regurgitated memories of the first half of the season: long balls, wasted chances, poor passes. It was painful to watch the Victory slip into its old ways. Continue reading →

Chonburi FC hosts the Melbourne Victory tomorrow night in Bangkok. It may not be their home stadium, but the Thai champions will be hoping that the heat and humidity of Bangkok will give them an edge over the Victory.

Both teams enter the match on the back of a good result: Melbourne downed the Chunnam Dragons with a clinical 2 – 0 win, while Chonburi FC came away with a point from their match with Gamba Osaka. Both will take confidence from their performance, but last week’s results will also make them wary of this week’s opponent. Continue reading →

Melbourne Victory vs. Chunnam Dragons, 2 – 0

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APZrK2BDRvA[/youtube] Continue reading →

It was a defenders’ night, with Kevin Muscat and Rodrigo Vargas scoring a goal apiece to give Melbourne Victory a 2-0 win over the Chunnam Dragons. And a third defender, Matthew Kemp, won the penalty that would lead to the opening goal. With defenders like these, who needs strikers?

It looked like it could have been a long night for the Victory defense when Chunnam’s Ronaldo-lookalike, Victor Simoes, came dangerously close to getting in behind Muscat and Vargas in the first few minutes. But that did not prove to be indicative of what was to come, as Chunnam’s attackers rarely penetrated the Victory backline. A half-dozen shots from outside the penalty area constituted the bulk of the Dragons’ chances, while Michael Theoklitos made two critical saves to keep a clean sheet. Continue reading →

Melbourne Victory embarks on its maiden voyage into the realm of Asian competition tonight, hosting Korean FA Cup winners the Chunnam Dragons.

With 20,000 tickets sold and a relaxing of Telstra Dome rules for supporters, this should be a dramatic and memorable night.

There’s a whiff of confidence in the air. Ernie Merrick indicated earlier this week that he expects success in the Asian Champions League. For a coach fond of understatement, that’s a very bold proclamation. Continue reading →

How hopeful are you?

For my part, I think Melbourne can top their group. After that, the competition gets increasingly tough – especially once the A-League season kicks back into gear and the Victory has two games a week to deal with. But that’s if they get that far.

How far do you think the Melbourne Victory can go in the Asian Champions League?

Vote in the sidebar and leave your comments below.

This post on Gamba Osaka wraps up our series of Asian Champions League team profiles. Check out previous posts on Chonburi FC, Chunnam Dragons and Melbourne Victory.

City: Osaka, Japan
Stadium: Osaka Expo ‘70 Stadium (capacity 21,000)
Coach: Akira Nishino

While the Melbourne Victory kicks off its Asian Champions League campaign tomorrow against Korean FA Cup winners Chunnam Dragons, I decided to get a detailed look at our third opponent, Gamba Osaka.

For an insider’s perspective, I enlisted the aid of Soccerphile’s J. League Correspondent, who was happy to answer some questions about last year’s Emperor’s Cup runners-up. Continue reading →

Melbourne Victory drew its second friendly with Adelaide United yesterday, after beating the South Australians last week with a 2-1 win. 

A goal for Danny Allsopp and a penalty converted by Adelaide’s Cassio left the teams at 1-1. 

With Leigh Broxham away with the Olyroos, and Nick Ward and Carlos Hernandez injured, Ernie Merrick opted for a creative midfield line-up featuring Steve Pantelidis, Kaz Patafta and Leandro Love. 

The Herald Sun reveals that Tom Pondeljak will not be available for the Victory’s match against the Chunnam Dragons next week. The midfielder hasn’t moved to Melbourne yet. I suppose he didn’t expect to be needed. 

His absence, as well as the injuries to Hernandez and Grant Brebner, means that Kaz Patafta and Billy Celeski will be clamouring for game time, especially if Nick Ward does not recover from his groin injury in time. 

This is bad: Carlos Hernández injured himself at training last week and is expected to miss six weeks.

Ernie Merrick said:

“It was just one of those training incidents with no one near him. He turned and his foot got stuck and twisted his knee.”

Six weeks means that the Costa Rican will miss Melbourne’s first three matches in the Asian Champions League.

Hernández’ absence will be sorely felt. His form at the end of the season was excellent, earning him a call-up to the Costa Rican national team. Suddenly, this injury throws a proverbial spanner into the works. Even if he recovers sufficiently to play in the latter half of the group stage, it will undoubtedly take him a few extra weeks to regain form.

Meanwhile, it appears to be confirmed that Grant Brebner will not be getting a game in the ACL group stage. This means that both Tom Pondeljak and Joe Keenan will be able to be drafted into the squad as injury replacements.