Entries Tagged 'Perth Glory' ↓

Melbourne Victory 2, Perth Glory 1 (our report)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cQA3v78lIE[/youtube]

Melbourne’s season finally started to look up last night, after a strong performance against Perth Glory. After last week’s abysmal display against Adelaide and the off-field drama’s that followed, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

It was all about the first half for Melbourne. And the man that really shone was Carlos Hernandez. Finally, we saw a game from him that showed his class. It all culminated in that one beautiful moment, when he combined brilliantly with Archie to set himself up for a goal. Lob, backheel, return pass.. and bam – a magnificent goal from what was still a tricky angle. This will have to be a confidence booster for the Costa Rican, something he seems to have been lacking in previous matches. And it will be a confidence booster for Victory fans, who have desperately lacked something to be excited about in midfield. Continue reading →

The Perth Glory will line up against the Melbourne Victory at the Telstra Dome tomorrow night, in a rematch of the Round 2 clash that ended in a rather drab 0 – 0 draw.

The Glory are yet to win a match this year, but they are coming off what was arguably their best match of the season last week, against Sydney FC. Perth went 3 – 1 up in that match, but Sydney snatched back two goals to gain a point. A heartbreaking draw, to be sure; but I think Ron Smith and co. will take a lot of encouragement from the performance. In particular, James Robinson looked very dangerous. He makes his return to the Telstra Dome tomorrow, this time in Perth gear.

The Victory, on the other hand, suffered their first loss of the season to a vibrant and convincing Adelaide United. Adelaide outclassed a Melbourne side missing Kevin Muscat and Grant Brebner, putting my predictions to utter shame.

Muscat has been named in tomorrow’s squad, but it’s still doubtful whether he’ll make an appearance. Brebner should be straight back into the starting 11. Like fellow blogger Neil, I have not been overly impressed with Brebner’s performances so far this season, but last week indicated that a Melbourne side without Brebner and Muscat is desperately lacking. The other good news this week is that Leigh Broxham is close to returning, after a thigh strain forced him to miss the last two matches.

Last time I wrote my preview for this fixture, I predicted a fairly comfortable 2 – 0 win for the Victory. Peter commented, predicting an even more comfortable 3 – 0. We both turned out quite wrong. This time around, I’m going to predict 2 – 0 again, but I’ll add that it will be a tough and very tight affair. Frankly, I expect a resilient Perth with a thirst for their first win of the season.

My tip: Melbourne Victory 2, Perth Glory 0

Your tip?

The Melbourne Victory takes on the Newcastle Jets tonight.

Before the season began, I tipped the Newcastle Jets for a low finish this year. We’re four weeks in and the Jets are in 2nd place, with two wins and two draws to their name. But I’m still not convinced that Newcastle have what it takes to make it into the final four this year.

Tonight’s game is one that Melbourne can, and should, win.

We’ll have to do it without Danny Allsopp, who picked up a bad injury last Sunday and needed to be rushed to hospital. In his place, Leandro Love should pick up his 2nd start of the season. It will be interesting to see how well Love and Archie combine. I fancy that Love’s ability to weave through players (much like Archie’s), will force the Victory to attack on the ground – instead of sending hopeful long balls forward.

Joe Keenan looks set to return, which might free Leigh Broxham up from the defensive duties assigned to him against the Central Coast. Broxham looked much brighter in the 2nd half last week, when he slotted in behind the strikers. He is a superb dribbler, and his pace makes him an excellent penetrative force. Could he be the spark we need to break through defences?

My prediction: Melbourne Victory 2, Newcastle Jets 0.

Your prediction?

Melbourne Victory 0, Perth Glory 0 (our report)

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

Melbourne’s performance tonight was lacklustre at best. It is clear that Melbourne is struggling to get up to speed this season.

Perth, a team coming off of a miserable 0-0 draw against Newcastle last week should have been an easy win for the champions, but it wasn’t to be. Chances were few and far between in a match that provided little cause for excitement. The premature departure of Joe Keenan left Melbourne struggling for ideas in midfield, seemingly unable to string together decent passes and barely able to reach the strikers. There were occasional promising spells, like when Archie lobbed the ball one way over Colosimo and then back the other way before misplacing his shot on goal. Exciting to watch, but not as exciting as a 1-0 score line. Melbourne seems to be slipping into an over-reliance on individual brilliance to generate results. With players like Thompson and Hernandez in less-than-fit states, Melbourne ends up looking uninspiring at best while the rest of the team attempts to grind out a result.

If anything positive was to be taken out of tonight’s match, it was Grant Brebner’s involvement. His early run towards goal after a Hernandez cross was arguably our best chance at taking the lead. Unfortunately his finish wasn’t up-to-scratch and the shot went wide, but at least it indicated that he was looking for runs at goal, something we rarely (if ever?) saw last year. Then, as he lined himself up for a long range strike in the dying moments of the game, it looked like he might be our saviour, just as he was last year against the Glory. The shot had sufficient power, but slightly lacked in direction. Brebner has been given instructions to get forward more and score some goals. Last year’s tally aside, he does have a history of scoring goals, and tonight he seemed fired up to meet the challenge. Unfortunately for him (and us frustrated Melbourne fans), tonight was not the night.

Tonight was also our first good look at Leandro Love. Yes, we saw him briefly in the pre-season, but considering the short amount of time he’d been in the country and considering he was only on for a very short period, it was not enough to draw any conclusions from. Tonight however, he had a respectable 25 minutes or so to impress the crowd. While he did seem a little over-eager at times, he also provided some good movement on the field and in the box. His energy was a little reminiscent of that other Brazilian, Allesandro, but he seems a little more composed and perhaps more comfortable in his role. He managed to get a hold of a few decent chances in fairly tight spots, only to see the shots blocked by defenders. He may not be of the calibre of Archie Thompson, but he certainly does make a decent substitute when we are up against it. Let’s hope he can start finding the back of the net in upcoming games.

Melbourne is certainly up against it in this season of the A-league. Injuries to Milicevic and possibly Joe Keenan, and fitness concerns for Hernandez and Thompson mean we are not going to be the same cohesive unit that we were last season. Unlike last season though, Merrick does have a depth of talent to draw on with the likes of Adrian Caceres not even making it to the bench tonight.

There’s still plenty of reasons to be upbeat about this season. Let’s just hope these draws don’t become a habit.

The Melbourne Victory’s form at the Telstra Dome may not have been its best (the Victory had a better record away than at home last season), but this hasn’t done anything to dampen the spirits of what is bound to be a record-breaking 20,000 members. Perth may not be the most glorious (pardon the pun) opposition, but expect BIG crowds tomorrow night.

That crowd, undoubtedly, will be hoping for a repeat of the last time we played Perth at home: a decisive 1-0 victory thanks to a stunning Grant Brebner goal.

And frankly, the Victory ought to top that effort. Don’t get me wrong: the Glory have some fine talent in the likes of Leo Bertos and Nikita Rukavytsya. But their squad is thin at the back and the front, with defenders David Tarka and Hayden Foxe out due to injury. The absence of those two will probably see Jamie Harnwell return to his customary defensive role, leaving behind the attacking position he’d taken on in recent matches.

Ernie Merrick, of course, also has a few injury-related headaches to deal with. Ljubo Milicevic is set to be out of the squad for four weeks at least, while Archie Thompson is also somewhat doubtful. But Melbourne has what Perth doesn’t: depth. With Milicevic out, expect to see Matthew Kemp return to the first 11 and Steve Pantelidis find some game time. Leandro Love has also been added to the squad, and I would expect him to come on for Archie.

My prediction: Melbourne Victory 2, Perth Glory 0

What’s your tip?