Roy Hay

There are very seldom dull Victory-United derbies, the one earlier this year at Adelaide Oval, being the exception. This one was anything but, with two bizarre own goals to begin with, a goal chalked off in mysterious circumstances and a contentious penalty kick. There were five goals in a blistering first half, but none in the second when United should have taken advantage of a string of free kicks in goal-scoring positions.

Both teams were close to full strength and the return of key players—Marcello Carrusca and Bruce Djite for the visitors, Kosta Barbarouses and Nick Ansell for the home team—improved the quality available to their respective coaches. Within seven minutes, Victory was ahead. Gui Finkler’s probing free kick found Nigel Boogard facing his own goal and he made contact with his head a fraction before Eugene Galekovic and the ball looped over the keeper and off the underside of the bar before finishing in the net. Twice Awer Mobil streaked past a ball-watching Daniel Georgievski. The first time the winger blasted wide from a good position, the second time he connected with Craig Goodwin’s cross for the equaliser.

Eugene Galekovic has lost sight of the ball in this stramash in the Adelaide goal area. Players from the left: Osama Malik, Mark Milligan, Nigel Boogard, Michael Marrone, Galekovic, Besart Berisha, Tarek Elrich, Adrian Leijer, Bruce Djite.

Three minutes later another teasing effort by Finkler led Boogard to attempt a clearance but he only managed to strike team-mate Cirio in the face and the ball rebounded into the net. That was Melbourne Victory’s third ‘own goal gift’ in succession after Jade North had given it the win over Brisbane Roar last week. No wonder Cirio was not amused when bundled over by Finkler and then abruptly helped to his feet by the Victory man. That led to a brief ‘how’s your father’ in midfield and tensions were never far below the surface thereafter.

You could not keep Finkler out of the action and in the 32nd minute he sent Fahid Ben Khalfallah away on the left and the winger’s cross allowed Leigh Broxham to head home unchallenged from inside the goal area. Finishing in the back of the net he was in more danger from celebrating team-mates than Adelaide defenders.

Then came the strangest incident in the game. Adelaide were awarded a free kick out on the right on a fairly narrow angle. It was driven goalwards and went straight into the net, but the goal was not given. The referee blew his whistle almost as soon as the kick was struck which suggests, as his body language did, that there had been pushing in the area, but replays suggested not near the trajectory of the ball. At first I thought it had been an indirect free kick, but the referee did not have his hand up when the kick was taken. All very puzzling.

Three minutes later Victory central-defender Adrian Leiger seemed to put his hands out on either side of Cirio to maintain his own balance as the Adelaide striker backed into him. Kris Griffiths-Jones saw it differently and gave a penalty kick. Carrusca placed it down the centre of the goal as Nathan Coe dived to his left. Mabil lost and won the ball back from Mark Milligan as Adelaide chased a leveler before half-time.

Djite and Goodwin both tested Coe early in the second half as Adelaide took control of the game for significant periods. Barbarouses twice lifted the siege with a header which went wide and a pass which ran away from Besart Berisha, who made up for his lack of goals in this game by some completely unselfish high-line pressing and chasing. Osam Malik collapsed with a leg injury and had to be replaced by Dylan McGowan on the hour mark, but Adelaide continued to charge at the home defence. Leijer made a professional challenge on Tarek Elrich as the wing-back bore down on goals. Both players were booked following the incident.

Kosta Barbarouses of Victory takes on Adelaide's Tarek Elrich (left) and Marcello Carrusca.

Nick Ansell came on for Finkler and showed that he was able to pick up the pace of the game very quickly. He could not avoid being struck in the face by a fierce cross from Djite but recovered after treatment. Pablo Sanchez led the Adelaide fans at the other end to erupt in premature celebration after his close range effort went into the side-netting but that was United’s last gasp as five minutes of stoppage time came to an end shortly afterwards.

It only looks as if they turn the water cannons on the Adelaide fans at AAMI Park

Match details

Melbourne Victory: Coe, Galloway (Ansell 70′), Leijer, Broxham, Georgievski, Valeri, Milligan, Barbarouses, Finkler (Thompson 75′), Ben Khalfallah (Mahazi 85′), Berisha.

Adelaide United: Galekovic, Elrich, Boogaard, Malik (McGowan 61′), Marrone (Sanchez 66′), Isaias, Carrusca (Jeggo 66′), Cirio, Djite, Mabil, Goodwin.

Scorers: Boogaard OG (7′), Mabil (14′), Cirio OG (16′), Broxham (32′), Carrusca pen (37′)

Red cards: None

Yellow cards: Barbarouses (11′), Isaias (56′), Leijer (69′), Elrich (69′), Mabil (83′), Georgievski (83′)

Conditions: 18 degrees, dry

Attendance: 22,334 @ AAMI Park

Melbourne City 1 Sydney FC 3

Roy Hay

The new Melbourne City was a bit like the old Melbourne Heart as it went down to Sydney FC at Morshead Park in Ballarat on Tuesday evening in the Round of 32 of the FFA Cup by three goals to one after extra time.

On a bitterly cold evening under lights which were literally ‘good but not brilliant’ City fielded a team with only two starters who were not at the club last season. Damian Duff began wide on the left and Aaron Mooy, the energizer bunny and then some, covered the whole ground multiple times from a nominally midfield position. Sydney fielded Bernie Ibini, one of the All Stars against Juventus on Sunday night, along with Corey Gameiro and Terry Antonis in attack while the old firm of Sebastian Ryall, Sasha Ognenovski and Matthew Jurman put up a Graham Arnold wall at the back. You only had to watch for a few minutes to realise that this was an Arnold team, instantly putting ten men behind the ball as soon as it was lost, then rebounding like lightning when it was won back.

Clint Bolton was standing behind me at one point and we talked about football and then he volunteered that City had enjoyed a much-improved pre-season this year and that the future was all about results. ‘In the last couple of years we have had a pretty experienced defence but we have made some silly blunders which you would not expect from players like that. That has cost us several games’. He had hardly finished speaking when Jurman played a ball down the left touchline well ahead of Gameiro who sprinted after it as it curled inward. No one came across to cover and Andrew Redmayne rushed off his line but was always second to the ball and Gameiro tucked it under him and into the net as Patrick Kisnorbo made an unavailing attempt to hack it clear. That goal came in the 23rd minute.

Nine minutes later Nikola Petkovic sent a swinging free kick into the penalty area after Ali Abbas had been fouled but though the ball pinged around the result was a goal kick. City had been struggling for rhythm but Mooy made a good break in midfield and put David Williams away. The striker tried to lay the ball off to Mate Dugandzic in the clear on the left, but the pass clipped Ryall and the chance was gone. Damian Duff followed up with a low drive saved by keeper Vedran Janjetovic and the half ended with a long cross shot by Ryall which drifted wide.

Neither team made changes at half time and Duff set up Ian Ramsay four minutes after the interval but the winger shot wide. Williams then had a shot on the angle but it only found the side netting. But this was City’s best spell of the game and they won a free kick when Ibini impeded Mooy in the 65th minute. Mooy swung the ball across goal and Nick Kalmar got in ahead of the defence to power the ball past the keeper. Damian Duff had already been replaced by James Brown and both sides made changes late in the half but were unable to break the deadlock.

So the match went into extra time as the 2,801 fans shivered on the sidelines. The highlight of the first period came in the last minute when Mooy fired a pile-driver just over the outstretched fingers of Janjetovic and clear of the crossbar. But that was as close as City came to a breakthrough and in the 111th minute (nobody jumped) but Jason Hoffman was adjudged to have tripped Gameiro as he sprinted into the City penalty box. Referee Shaun Evans sent Hoffman off while Ali Abbas stepped up to fire the ball past Redmayne. Three minutes later Antonis seemed to fall over on the edge of the box with Robbie Wielaert closest to him when he dropped to the ground. But a second penalty was given with the same outcome as the first and Sydney were into the Round of 16, while City must somehow learn to eliminate the schoolboy errors of the kind which cruelled their chances in this match.

Roy Hay

A leg weary Melbourne Victory conjured up another goal in injury time—this time the winner against Sydney FC in the A-League Elimination Final at Docklands on Good Friday evening.

As the 20,802 crowd settled, anticipating extra time, somehow Victory forced themselves forward and James Troisi combined with Adam Traore to get the ball into the centre of the penalty area for Gui Finkler to deliver the coup de grace. Troisi had completed a similar move on Tuesday night against Guangzhou Evergrande in the Asian Champions League, so the Victory dream run rolls on.

After a fluctuating opening series of exchanges, in the 27th minute Pablo Contreras robbed Alessandro del Piero in the Victory half and set off on a run of his own, releasing the ball to Troisi who used the outside of his foot to place it delicately in front of a charging Archie Thompson. Victory’s leading scorer will not have executed many better finishes than the one which curled the ball round Sydney keeper Vedran Janjetovic and just inside the far post.

As expected Sydney immediately lifted their intensity and poured forward in a sustained series of attacks before del Piero fed Ali Abbas out on the left and his low cross found former Victory defender Sebastian Ryall who swept the ball through Nathan Coe’s legs. Ryall had said before the game that he was intent on scoring against his old club, and made good the promise. Then it was Victory’s turn to put on some spirited attacks. Thompson was through again but Janjetovic saved with his legs then the ball was put behind for the first of five corner kicks in succession to the home team, none of which could be converted into a goal.

In the 42nd minute del Piero hit Victory’s goal post with a shot and the ball was spirited downfield for Thompson to curl another shot at goal, only this one drifted past the post. That single minute summed up an exciting end to end first half, in which the home team had the edge, especially early on when its passing was crisp, accurate and rapid.

Neither side made changes at half-time to personnel, but Sydney began to dominate the game in its normal rebounding style. Victory’s attacks became more labored as they faced two solid walls of defenders. Joel Chianese cut in from the wing and fired over a cross shot which Coe managed to turn on to the crossbar and over. Mark Milligan tried to lift his team with a surging run through two tackles but dragged his shot wide of the near post. Sydney brought on Branko Despotovic for Chianese and the substitute announced himself with shot which narrowly missed. Nick Ansell and Mark Milligan were both booked for fairly innocuous tackles which earned the ire of the crowd of 20,802. It seemed odds on that they were going to watch extra time when Finkler popped up with his stunning winner.

Kevin Muscat has repeated that he has a group of players who are all desperate to take part. However, with Adrian Leijer and Tom Rogic injured and Finkler unavailable for the midweek game against Jeonbuk Motors in South Korea followed by an away final in the A-League next weekend the resources are going to be stretched. Yet it would he hard to write Victory off given the collective spirit they have shown in the last 180 minutes of football.

Roy Hay

Melbourne Heart could not give skipper Harry Kewell a winning end to his career after going down by three goals to two to Western Sydney Wanderers at AAMI Park before a noisy crowd of 10,003.

The retiring star brought his family on through a guard of honour, but that was as far as the pleasantries went, with Nikolai Topor-Stanley crashing into his back a minute after the Wanderers central defender scored the opening goal with a header from a precise Shinji Ono free kick. Heart conceded that goal in the 28^th minute, but fought back to equalise then go ahead with only 18 minutes left to play, only to be overcome by two late strikes as the defensive failings which have plagued Heart all year resurfaced.

Both sides started very cagily after Mark Bridge became the first of ten players booked by referee Jarred Gillett. But gradually the match settled with both teams prepared to attack. Heart had given a start to young Steven Mauk and he was prominent in the first half with a couple of shots, one of which led to a series of corner kicks and another where he just dragged his effort past the left hand post. Heart equalised in the 35^th minute, when Kewell found Orlando Engelaar about thirty metres from goal in heavy traffic. But as he has done before this season the big Dutchman hit a brilliant grounder across Ante Covic and in off the far post. A great goal, thanks in part to Kewell’s assistance. Kewell had a shot which had to be deflected for a corner kick, then Matthew Spiranovic had to head the ball over his own crossbar from virtually underneath it as Heart went for another goal just before half-time.

David Williams was withdrawn at the interval, being replaced by Aziz Behich, and a string of bookings broke up the flow of the game in the early part of the second half. The visitors should have gone ahead again when the referee found a penalty kick in a challenge in the Heart area. Shinji Ono, who can normally be relied on to take advantage of dead ball situations, put this one over the bar. So Heart was still in the game and took the lead in 72 minutes. Jason Hoffmann came down the right as he had been doing throughout the game but this time trusted himself to shoot. The ball took a slight deflection but it was enough to wrong foot Covic and dropped over him into the net. Thoughts of a home win to end the season flourished only briefly as the Wanderers were determined to get second spot on the ladder.

The referee had a big impact on the result allowing substitute Brendan Santalab to bowl over Robbie Wielaert before scoring Wanderers equaliser in the 81^st minute. That kind of incident had been regularly pulled up earlier in the game but in the last phase several were allowed, perhaps because another booking would have meant expulsion for the offender and consequent missing of the first match of the finals.

Heart could not withstand the red and black tide and Jusuf Hersi sprinted through a tiring defence to grab the winner with only four minutes of normal time left. Kewell walked a lap of honour to mark the end of his stellar career but his team finished at the bottom of the ladder showing that the new regime will have to make big improvements next season if Heart are to challenge for the finals.

Roy Hay

Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC cancelled each other out in a one-all draw at AAMI Park on Saturday night. Both sides would feel that they created enough chances to have won several games—Victory having more, but Sydney perhaps the better ones.

Victory’s Tom Rogic and the suspended Leigh Broxham did not make the squad, and Kevin Muscat plumped for experience with Adrian Leijer and Pablo Contreras paired in central defence, Adama Traore restored at left back with Mark Milligan, Gui Finkler and one youngster Jimmy Jeggo in midfield. James Troisi, Kosta Barbarouses and Archie Thompson formed the attack. Frank Farina also had his senior men on hand, with Sebastian Ryall, Matt Jurman, Sasa Ognenonvski and Nikola Petkovic forming a barrier at the back. Matt Thompson and Richard Garcia, two former Heart players, were in midfield with Alessandro del Piero.

Adrian Leijer and Richard Garcia at the centre of action in the A-League derby.

Barbarouses made a dangerous break in the second minute but drove his low cross just too far ahead of Archie Thompson. It took Sydney 14 minutes to have its first shot on goal when Del Piero tested Lawrence Thomas from just outside the penalty area. At the other end, Thompson appeared to fall over the ball, but was awarded a free kick, and Finkler’s effort was headed clear by Ognenovski. Victory gave away a couple of free kicks in Del Piero territory but the marquee star could not take advantage of them. Barbarouses had a run at the Sydney defence but curled his shot just wide. Del Piero then appeared to block a clearance by Milligan by sticking his leg in and Victory skipper took some time to recover. Then just as it appeared the half would end with no further incident, Contreras was booked for a trip right on the edge of the box but Traore got his head in the way of Del Piero’s shot and saved his side. (At least that is what I deduced from the fact that Adama got up groggily on the goal-line as I looked through a narrow gap between the people who were standing up in front of me. When I later saw the television replays it appeared that Scott Galloway’s hand stopped the ball. We don’t get replays of controversial incidents in the outer, that is reserved for the Foxsports watchers in the press box. These days I observe games with my wife in the general admission area.)

Mark Milligan and Ali Abbas contest the ball watched by Alessandro del Piero and Jimmy Jeggo.

The second half was only three minutes old when Sydney took the lead. Ali Abbas ran at a retreating defence and fired in a low shot which Thomas could only push into the path of Joel Chianese who had an easy finish. Victory then had an excellent spell but just could not score. Thompson put an inviting ball in front of Troisi but keeper Vedran Janjetovic sprinted out to save. Then Thompson made a good run and break, but Barbarouses was very slow to spot the opportunity and did not make position to receive the ball. Three players, Jeggo, Abbas and Chianese were booked in a six-minute spell, but while the crowd got exercised the game continued to be played at high tempo and Victory finally got on terms. Gui Finkler won the ball in the Sydney half and threaded it through to Troisi. The latter made a diagonal run and struck the ball across Janjetovic and in off the far post. Three minutes later Victory could have been in front when Jeggo’s shot from distance was parried away by the keeper towards Thompson whose cross in turn just eluded Troisi. At the other end, Del Piero’s miskick fell for Chianese but the latter’s shot went high over to the derision of the locals, but it was genuine opening for Sydney which should have been taken.

Richard Garcia has his eyes on the ball as does the referee while an incident has occurred off the ball it appears.

The match petered out in a draw which really suits neither team as Victory pursues a second top finish, while Sydney wants to bolster its place in top six. Victory’s last two games are away to Newcastle and Wellington, while Central Coast Mariners has a two-point buffer and Western Sydney Wanderers one. The crowd was 20,447 a comfortable attendance at AAMI but well down on some previous derbies.

James Troisi prepares an overhead effort following a Victory corner kick.

Roy Hay

Melbourne Heart threw away a chance to close the gap on the teams above them when they conceded two second half goals to go down to defeat by Central Coast Mariners. It could have been so different had Heart followed up an outrageous strike by Orlando Engelaar from half-way which flew over the stranded Liam Reddy and just under the cross bar in the 34^th minute. But the home team never looked like a side chasing a last opportunity to reach the finals as it faffed around at the back while its ostensible front runners wondered when, if ever, the ball was going to come their way. This mode of play was never going to upset the leg-weary Mariners who simply waited for the long ball or misplaced pass which often resulted and saved their energy for a second half fight back. They got a bonus through a goal in stoppage time in the first period when Matt Simon and Mile Sterjovski fed Kim Seung-Yong and the Korean midfielder finished from close range.

Sterjovski and Simon did the business up front for the Mariners until deep in the second half when coach Phil Moss brought on Benny Ibini and Mitchell Duke, both fresh and full of running. Ibini outstripped Ben Garrucio only five minutes after coming on to score the winner from a route one punt by Liam Reddy via Marcel Seip. Even after it went a goal down Heart still did not go all out for an equaliser and though it had a number of half chances these were squandered by substitute Stefan Mauk. Harry Kewell had come on with just under half an hour left, but even he could not lift the Heart. David Williams had earlier set up Engelaar but the big man’s header was pushed behind for a corner by Reddy, and when the Dutchman returned the favour to Williams, the latter could just not get high enough to direct his header past Reddy, though another fruitless corner resulted.

Jonatan Germano rises hoping to get in a header against the Mariners defence

John van’t Schip has gone on record as saying that Heart is beginning to play the attacking game he wants, but on this evidence it has a long, long way to go. Massimo Murdocca must be wondering what he has let himself in for. At Brisbane Roar he was part of a team which pressed its opponents in their own half and made every attempt to start its attacking moves from there. Now he is virtually the only one who consistently harries the opposition, while Williams, Ramsay and Dugandzic do so intermittently, which is quite useless. Ramsay is very fast on his feet, but appears to think much more slowly, and consequently misses opportunities to create openings for himself or his team-mates. Harry Kewell had an almighty clash of heads seconds after coming on, so this might have reduced his effectiveness, while young Mauk finds it difficult to pick up the pace of the game in the few minutes he has been getting and consequently struggles for composure in front of goal.

Goalscorer Orlando Engelaar about to launch the ball forward for Heart

I don’t like criticising young men who are giving everything for their team in difficult circumstances, but it seems clear that Heart will have to make some very hard decisions at the end of the season as to those it believes can take the club forward under the auspices of Manchester City.

Roy Hay

Melbourne Heart continued its surge towards the finals by sweeping aside Melbourne Victory in the third derby of the season by four goals to nil. Poor Victory found their daunting trip to China had sapped the legs and this was compounded when they were reduced to ten men, after Nick Ansell was sent off by Strebre Delovski in the 38^th minute. By then Heart were already two ahead and any chance of a Victory revival was snuffed out by two late goals by David Williams and substitute Harry Kewell.

Victory began brightly and sharply enough with some excellent approach play by James Troisi and Tom Rogic, who had recovered from his ankle injury. Gui Finkler drove a hard low effort that brought out a fine save by Andrew Redmayne. Heart responded with a series of strong physical challenges. Victory had given a rare start to Lawrence Thomas and the keeper’s first clearance was wayward and picked up by Iain Ramsay. His cross was flicked on by Williams and Orlando Engelaar nodded the ball home in the 9^th minute. If that was a setback for Victory, Mate Dugandzic’s outrageous goal in the 16^th minute was totally dispiriting. The former Victory winger sent over a cross from out on the touchline. One might have expected it to fade to the left, but it drifted right over the keeper and nestled just under the crossbar.

Victory’s woes were compounded just before the interval when Williams charged through the centre. Nick Ansell was caught slightly out of position and as he tried to retrieve the error he may have grabbed the Heart man’s shirt as the pair collided with Thomas who had rushed out of his goal. That was the interpretation Delovski indicated to those players who questioned his decision, but it resulted in a harsh sanction for one of Victory’s most promising young players.

Four minutes into the second half a Finkler free kick was met by Victory skipper Mark Milligan but his header was grabbed by Redmayne. Both sides made substitutions after the hour mark with Nick Kalmar replacing Jonathan Germano for Heart, while Connor Pain and Kosta Barbarouses swapped places with James Troisi and Archie Thompson. But it was a later substitution by Heart which really livened up the game after Heart had created and missed a string of good chances. Orlando Engelaar went off to an ovation from the Heart fans, while the appearance of Harry Kewell in his place produced contrasting reactions from the ends of the ground. He was quickly into the action forming part of a move with Dugandzic and Ramsay which laid the ball on a plate for David Williams to score in the 84th minute. But the best was yet to come for the home support as two minutes later Kewell latched on to a loose ball about 30 metres from goal and absolutely thrashed it into the far corner.

Victory fans with their banners before the derby

A good crowd of 25, 546 was witness to a typical local derby where the passion on and off the field created a wonderful atmosphere. Victory deserve credit for their refusal to capitulate with substitute Connor Pain raising spirits with a number of runs at the Heart defence and Heart were able to give a brief outing to Ross Archibald at the end. Heart jump above Newcastle Jets, whom they meet next week, and are only four points from the play-off position.

Roy Hay

Melbourne Heart’s winning sequence continued with a single goal victory over league leader Brisbane Roar at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon. Orlando Engelaar is still regaining full fitness but it is already clear that he was a superb choice as Heart’s marquee player in 2013–14. He showed coolness and skill in breaking up attacks and setting Heart moves going with close control in tight situations. Then with just over an hour gone he ghosted into the Roar penalty area to meet a low cross by Mate Dugandzic for the vital goal for his side.

The first half of this match was largely forgettable as both sides struggled to put together decisive attacks. The Roar had far more possession but the usual crispness and penetration of its play was missing. Heart’s moves broke down constantly with misplaced passes or slowness in releasing the ball while under pressure. So the two teams effectively negated each other though Iain Ramsay came closest for Heart early on after skinning Jade North only to find Michael Theo perfectly positioned to save his shot. Luke Brattan had one long-range effort but it was straight at Andrew Redmayne.

A good Spot the Ball picture: Action in the Heart penalty area

The tempo quickened in the second half and Matt McKay, who had a quiet game, did test the home keeper again, and then Heart finally made its breakthrough. Four minutes later David Williams got clear on the break but his shot was deflected for a corner kick, from which Patrick Kisnorbo tested Theo with a powerful header. A second corner kick led to an almighty scramble in the Brisbane penalty area and referee Adam Kersey picked out an indirect free kick. The ball was tapped to Engelaar but he could not force it through the advancing wall of defenders who poured off the goal line. Thomas Broich had looked to be the Roar’s greatest threat in attack and in 80 minutes he wriggled his way clear and curled the ball just wide of Redmayne’s goal. At the other end, Iain Ramsay’s last act was a run and shot saved by Theo before he was replaced by Ben Garrucio as Heart ran down the clock. Heart survived the four minutes of added time thanks in part to a saving tackle by Kisnorbo on Besart Berisha. Kisnorbo has been sent off more than once this season for lunging mistimed tackles, but he got this one right and saved the day for Heart which now moves closer to the top six and opens up the chase for the championship by inflicting its second defeat in succession on Brisbane Roar.

Roy Hay

Melbourne Victory conjured a narrow win over Adelaide United by four goals to three on Saturday night but the result came at a cost, with Tom Rogic looking to have suffered a severe injury when team-mate Leigh Broxham trod inadvertently on his ankle. If he is unable to make the trip to China in the Asian Champions League this coming week, it will significantly weaken Victory’s chances of making it out of a tough qualifying group.

Adelaide came smartly out of the blocks, playing four and sometimes five players in attack, three in midfield and the residue in defence. In the fourth minute the visitors poured down the right wing and Fabio Ferriera opened up the Victory defence and his precise pass was put away by Sergio cutting in past Scott Galloway. Victory was on terms in 15 minutes after the somewhat undermanned Adelaide defence lost the ball at the back and Gui Finkler was the beneficiary of some good scavenging by Broxham and an approximate pass by Archie Thompson. It appeared that the teams would go to the break still level but in the last passage of play Scott Galloway was caught a long way from his man, Sergio, who was able to run in and dink the ball over Nathan Coe. One would have expected Kevin Muscat to insist that his right back tighten up in the second half, but he continued to drift infield allowing Sergio to represent a constant threat on the left wing.

Rogic limped off in the 50^th minute after his injury with Kosta Barbarouses taking his place and adding speed though perhaps not quite so much skill to the Victory attack. The home side got back to parity in the 57^th minute, as once again Broxham broke up an attempt by Adelaide to tidy up after a James Troisi shot had been blocked. He played a one-two with Finkler who squeezed the ball just inside the post. That lifted the home crowd and ten minutes later a long free kick should have been met by a straightforward clearance with his feet by Eugene Galekovic. But for once, the reliable keeper miscued and the ball spun wide where Thompson pounced to slide the ball in from a narrowing angle. Ten more minutes and Victory had another goal as Troisi worked his way along the bye-line and cut the ball back for Barbarouses to score from the edge of the goal area. Adelaide refused to buckle and Sergio completed his hat-trick seizing on a deflection by Contreras who had already received his usual booking for a rash tackle earlier in the game. Adelaide were appealing for a free kick or a penalty, but Sergio settled the matter in his own way. Nathan Coe was booked for pretty blatant timewasting and ignoring warnings, but Victory held on to its win after five nervy minutes of added time.

Active fans at the river end of AAMI Park.

The crowd of 18,341 were well entertained and Victory’s active fans at the Swan Street end ignored the marked area behind the goal and decamped to the top corner of the stadium to encourage the team vociferously from there. So we were back to the two-ended support which has been a striking feature of Victory’s fan behaviour since the early days of the A-League.

Roy Hay

After being on the back-foot for much of the ninety minutes, Melbourne Victory got a last gasp penalty kick to equalise an early Perth Glory goal, then completed the come-back with an Archie Thompson goal in extra-time to set up a semi-final with Central Coast Mariners. Coach Ange Postecoglou bristled at the suggestion that his team had got out of jail with the manner of the win, and pointed out that football was always throwing up events like those of the concluding minutes of this encounter. His opposite number Alastair Edwards hid his disappointment behind his praise for the performance of his players in the eight games since he took over. His pride in their efforts was palpable and he did not try to disguise the fact that the players themselves were very angry at the loss of a match they could and should have won.

After some early sparring in which victory found it hard to keep possession and the visitors looked very comfortable, Perth took the lead with an odd sort of goal. In the 15th minute Jacob Burns fed Scott Jamieson wide on the left. The cross was not really testing but keeper Nathan Coe started to come for it, then stopped and Ryo Nagai chested the ball into the space he had left and over the line. It was a most sloppy goal from a Victory perspective.

Victory might have replied quickly when Perth gave the ball away at the back but Leigh Broxham’s curling effort flew well wide.

Victory’s transition was woefully slow in the first half and there was little for the fans to get enthused about apart from one excellent run by Marco Rojas which set up up Broxham again in the 35 minute, only for the midfielder’s shot to be deflected past the post. Victory fans were non-plussed when no corner was given.

Perth were very well organised at the back but in truth Victory lacked invention and tried to pass their way through without disrupting the composure of Steve Pantelidis, Michael Thwaite and company. At this point, I thought Victory had regressed since mid-season when they seemed to have adopted a high-speed passing game as coached by Ange Postecoglou.

Jason Geria takes on Liam Miller and Ryo Nagai

In the second half Victory began to come more into the game, though they found it very hard to keep consistent pressure on the Glory by giving the ball away. Jason Geria was booked aftr only three minutes and was quickly replaced by Marcos Flores, which certainly sparked a more fluid attacking game from Victory. Perth might have had a second goal when Shane Smeltz got clear and Coe once again came off this line and then stopped. It looked like the keeper would concede again, but he managed to deflect Smeltz’s shot then safely caught the ensuing corner.

The match turned on two critical refereeing decisions which referee Jarred Gillett got right, even if some of his other interventions were more dubious. The first was a penalty to the Glory after Scott Jamieson was brought down in the box by Mark Milligan. That was in the 88^th minute and should have sealed the game for Glory, but Shane Smeltz hit the bar with his penalty kick and Victory lived on.

A minute later substitute Andrew Nabbout was manhandled in the Perth area by Steve Pantelidis, who had earlier been booked for an assault on Archie Thompson in midfield. The former Victory defender was cautioned again and sent off while the penalty fell to Mark Milligan. He showed how it should be done with a shot into the corner giving Danny Vukovic no chance.

Victory flags before the start of the game

So the game went into extra time. Four minutes into the added time Flores sent Marco Rojas away down the right. The speedy Kiwi outstripped the Perth defence and sent over a cross which Archie Thompson met with a downward header which bounced up and past Vukovic. Victory tried to take the steam out of the ten men by passing the ball around at the back but they were nearly punished when Jamieson again came charging into the penalty area, but this time the referee saw nothing wrong with the challenge on him by a couple of defenders. Players were now going down with injuries or exhaustion but Victory had two late breaks which should have resulted in goals, though tiredness helps explain why they did not.

Match details

Friday, 5 April 2013

First Elimination Final

Melbourne Victory 2 (Mark Milligan 90’, Archie Thompson 95’) Perth Glory 1 (Ryo Nagai 15’)

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Melbourne

Kick-off: 7:30pm AEDT

Referee: Jarred Gillett

Assistant Referees: Nathan MacDonald and Ashley Beecham

Fourth Official: Peter Green

Attendance: 22,902

Melbourne Victory:

39. Nathan Coe, 5. Mark Milligan, 6. Leigh Broxham (21. Spase Dilevski 109’), 10. Archie Thompson, 11. Marco Rojas, 14. Billy Celeski 23. Adrian Leijer, 30. Jason Geria (Marcos Flores 48’), 31. Scott Galloway (26. Andrew Nabbout 84’), 32. Connor Pain 33. Daniel Mullen.

Unused substitutes: 1. Tando Velaphi. 8. Jonathan Bru.

Yellow cards: Marco Rojas 45’, Jason Geria 48’, Leigh Broxham 54’, Billy Celeski 71’, Adrian Leijer 75’

Red cards: Nil

Perth Glory:

1. Danny Vukovic, 5 Steve Pantelidis, 7. Jacob Burns, 9 . Shane Smeltz, 10. Liam Miller, 11. Adrian Zahra (8. Dean Heffernan 63’), 12. Ryo Nagai, 18. Matias Cordoba (14. Steve McGarry 96’), 19 Josh Risdon (28. Daniel de Silva 105’), 21. Scott Jamieson, 23. Michael Thwaite.

Unused substitutes: 30. Lewis Italiano, 2. Jack Clisby.

Yellow cards: Scott Jamieson 26’, Steve Pantelidis 68’, 90’.

Red cards: Steve Pantelidis 90’.