Entries from September 2007 ↓

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.

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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?

Sydney FC managed their first win of the season on the weekend. And apparently, if the official A-League website is anything to go by, they did it with 10 men!

For a poor punter like me who doesn’t have Foxtel, the good ol’ A-League website is pretty much it in terms of coverage (since radio coverage is hard to come by for many games). But really, the FFA are really letting us down this season. Anyone else noticed the site is down all too often when a game is on?

Newcastle Jets 2, Melbourne Victory 2 (our report)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD8avkOyGZU[/youtube]

It seems strange that yet another draw would end up being a relief, but tonight it was. After a truly woeful first half performance, everything hinted at nothing other than another beating at the hands of Newcastle. But thanks to a timely first-of-the-season goal from Thompson and an equaliser from Caceres with only minutes left on the clock, Melbourne managed to steal back a point. Strange as it may sound, this match actually ended as somewhat of a morale booster. Coming from 2 goals down, away from home, is no mean feat and to be on the ascendancy at the end of a game is a definite positive. Not that there won’t be some serious reflection going on during the week ahead.

In particular, the roles of some of Melbourne’s key players have to be brought into question. Brebner and Muscat in the midfield looked less than convincing, with some very wayward passing. Perhaps fitness is still an issue for Brebner as he really has looked far from his best this season. With a few talented midfielders lining up to fill a gap, it is a wonder that he has managed to get so much game time. For his part, Muscat had a forgettable evening tonight or at least a forgettable first half. I for one am not entirely certain that playing a broken arm doesn’t have something to do with it. When you’re the assistant coach as well as the captain though, it is admittedly very hard to be taken off. And his influence on fellow players is arguably enough reason to keep him there.

Melbourne’s highlights were performances from Joe Keenan (anyone care to guess why he was subbed off?), Caceres, Love and Broxham, although Broxham didn’t quite show the keen nose for goal we would have loved to see. Archie scoring is definitely a good thing, as he is (and always has been) key to our success. But, for my money, man of the match was Michael Theoklitos (again). What a legend he proved to be for Melbourne. There is no such thing as an easy opportunity against him it seems and some of the saves he pulled out tonight were class. Thank you Theo!

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?

Carlos Hernandez is not Fred.

Quite the obvious statement really.

But such was the impression Fred made on the A-League last season that commentators are looking at the Melbourne Victory’s struggle to get its first win of the season and pointing the fingers at Hernandez: “He’s not Fred!”

How insightful.

The Central Coast’s Tony Vidmar pointed at the absence of Fred to explain why Melbourne seems to be a shadow of its former self. Jesse Fink from Half Time Orange agrees that Melbourne without Fred is “a totally different proposition”.

Agreed, to an extent. The Victory are a revamped squad (besides Fred, another 7 players from last year’s squad aren’t around any more); and so far, they really don’t look as good as they did last year.

But I think we are over emphasising Fred’s contribution to last year’s team. And I definitely think that Victory supporters are being too harsh to Carlos Hernandez, who has been wrongly cast into Fred’s shoes.

The bloke behind me at the game last Sunday spent much of the match screaming his scorn for a number of players, especially Hernandez. Deriding the Costa Rican for being “fat” (his words, not mine), I wondered whether this was the characteristic sentiment around Victory supporters. Is Hernandez on a fast-track to becoming the proverbial Melbourne scapegoat (a la Danny Allsopp, season 1)?

Unfortunately, Hernandez seems to be judged on the extent to which he can emulate Fred. But let’s get back to the basics: Hernandez is not Fred. Where Fred would run and run and run, Hernandez takes a decidedly different approach. He’s a classy midfielder with a deft touch. We’ve already seen flashes of his brilliance. Sure, he’s not at top-flight. But neither was Fred at this time of the season last year, as Ernie Merrick is keen to point out.

I was very disappointed to see Fred leave. He was, without a doubt, one of the highlight’s of the Melbourne Victory show in 2006-07.

I don’t expect Hernandez to be the new Fred. But I do look forward to watching him come into his own: in short, to play his game, not Fred’s.

Melbourne Victory 0, Central Coast Mariners 0

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EGXaNrnnBI[/youtube]

Adelaide United 1, Melbourne Victory 1 (our report)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzIFVvpN5jc[/youtube]

Melbourne played out a scrappy 1-1 draw against Adelaide United last night. Away from home, this is not a result to be unhappy with, although we can come away feeling somewhat unlucky to have not held on for the win.

After 80 minutes of scoreless play it was the most unlikely of heroes that stepped up to head home a goal for the Victory; Roddy Vargas. My foxsports fantasy league captain was looking like the best pick ever! His mind was likely still spinning with excitement when less than a minute later he left his arm outstretched to block an Adelaide shot on goal in our penalty area. Hero to villain in less than a minute. Theoklitos managed to get a touch on the Travis Dodd penalty, but it wasn’t enough to stop the goal. 1-1 it was and 1-1 it would remain, despite some late pressure by Adelaide.

The disappointment of yet another draw aside, this match did provide some good entertainment. Muscat flirted with the red card for much of the game, Costanzo faked a head butt to try to get Brebner sent off and in the end the drama of the 80th minute was enough to make this an intriguing contest, as Adelaide – Melbourne matches always are.

Positives we can take from this match were the solid performances by some of the newer additions. Sebastian Ryall in particular was very impressive as a right back, certainly staking a claim for a starting spot. Leandro Love was once again an absolute live-wire, although he never looked particularly dangerous in front of goal. But perhaps the most impressive performance for me last night was that of Adrian Caceres. Aside from providing the assist for Vargas’ goal, he was also responsible for what was probably Melbourne’s best chance of the match – a meandering run towards goal, passing numerous defenders and then eventually shooting just wide. It surprised me to see him taken off the pitch late in the game, moments after providing the goal assist. To me, he was a key performer for Melbourne last night and should be considered far more seriously for starting positions ahead of the likes of Milicevic, who to date has not really shown what he may be capable of.

The other players getting their debut last night, Daniel Vasilevski and Evan Berger, didn’t get much time to show what contribution they might provide to the team. We’ll have to wait to see more of them before drawing any conclusions.