Entries Tagged 'Queensland Roar' ↓

We’re well and truly into the tail end of the season, with just nine rounds of the regular season remaining. The Melbourne Victory sits perched on 6th spot, while their opponent, the Queensland Roar, enjoy a flattering position in 2nd place. But such is the tightness of the league that a win for Melbourne could push them into the top 4 and see the Roar drop a spot (or two).

It goes without saying that it’s a critical game for both teams. Continue reading →

Melbourne Victory 2, Queensland Roar 0 (our report)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEE2K39mKjA[/youtube]

It was the night we have been waiting for for a very long time now. Melbourne’s first A-league win since the grand final was somewhat scrappy, but nonetheless, a win it was.

For much of the game, it looked like we were destined for yet another draw. The football was poor from both teams for most of the game, with wayward passes the order of the day. Neither team managed to really take control of the game, until Melbourne , somewhat against the run of play, managed to get a penalty. And one thing the Victory rarely stuffs up, is a penalty. Thanks go to our talismanic captain Muscat for yet another perfectly executed specimen. That said, the preceding shot by Archie Thompson was magnificent to say the least and really would have been a much preferred way to take the lead. But Archie was yet to have his moment in the sun. His time came when, after a wonderful lobbing pass from Leandro Love, he made no mistake from a tight spot to net his second goal of the season beautifully. Leandro’s performance has to be one of the highlights of the match – with two assists to his name (if attracting a penalty can be considered an assist), he certainly played a big part in ensuring Melbourne took all 3 points. Who would have thought our played-down, backup striker would have the impact he has had so far? He has not failed to impress when he’s had his chances and it seems that with every match he has played, his confidence has grown.

Continue reading →

I have two very simple requests of the Melbourne Victory tonight:

1. Get a goal. Your home fans need to see that net ruffle.
2. Win. Is it too much to ask for something other than a draw? (And don’t even think about losing!)

I’m not asking much, am I? Just a little action and a chance to sing the club song for the first time this season!

The Queensland Roar lost last week against Sydney (how embarrassing). Poor efforts in front of goal have been blamed repeatedly, but it’s interesting to note that their defence is yet to manage a clean sheet. It seems Craig Moore’s presence in the back hasn’t managed to solidify the team as much as Frank Farina would have hoped.

Melbourne come into this game with two likely absentees: Danny Allsopp and Kevin Muscat. If neither of these boys plays, I do believe that would be a first-ever for the club (haven’t checked this, so correct me if I’m wrong). But I have enough confidence in the rest of the squad to think that Danny’s and Kevin’s absence won’t put us on the back foot. In Danny’s place, for example, comes Leandro Love, whose performance last week has had people buzzing all week. Let’s hope Leandro and Archie Thompson continue to operate as a sizzling partnership tonight.

Without Muscat, Hérnandez should be back in the starting line-up against Queensland. And with Joe Keenan back in the team, the midfield looks strong and certainly potent enough to dominate Queensland’s midfield, which boasts the impressive presence of Matt KcKay and Danny Tiatto.

Off the field, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of crowd the Telstra Dome will draw tonight. Given our unimpressive string of draws so far and the fact that this is Grand Final weekend, I’m tipping a smaller crowd.

But anyway, to the result… My prediction: Melbourne Victory 2, Queensland Roar 0

Your tip?