(An abbreviated version of this story appeared as ‘Butler ready to serve’, in the Geelong Advertiser, Friday 1 May 2015, p. 58.)

Roy Hay

The fairy story of English football this season has been the transformation of AFC Bournemouth from a team in danger of being relegated from senior football and going out of existence to the latest entrant to the English Premier League. That story is underpinned by the contribution of Geelong’s Russell Butler, long time referee and supporter of all things good in football. Russell is the sponsor of AFC Bournemouth’s Under 10s, helping make sure that this ascent is not going to be followed by an equally rapid descent as has happened to many clubs in the past.

He wakened up on Monday morning in England with a very sore head after a night of celebration at Dean Court after Bournemouth all but confirmed their promotion to the EPL with a three-nil win over Bolton Wanderers in the Championship, the second tier in England. It will take a nineteen-goal turnaround in the final games next weekend to prevent Bournemouth’s automatic promotion. Even then they could still qualify via the play-offs.

Russell was born in Bearcroft, a suburb of Bournemouth in 1947 and came to Australia as a four-year-old. His family brought him here, because his mother’s sister would not travel without her! ‘Women!’ he says. The families settled in Tasmania and Russell took up football (soccer) with the Police Boys Club and later went on to play for Burnie Celtic and Hobart Rangers, which sounds as if he were a member of Glasgow’s ‘Old Firm’. When he came to Geelong, it was the dark blues of Hamlyn Rangers, now Geelong Rangers, where he played. In 1974 he took up refereeing and since that day his height and his throaty voice, the result of blow he received while playing, have made him the whispering giant of the game in Geelong. He became a Grade One referee in 1988 and had officiated in well over a thousand games before he hung up his whistle in 1994. He did Premier League games, a Victorian League Cup final and Asian-Pacific Deaf competition at Olympic Park.

In the background, but close to the action, Russell Butler observes Joe Markovac of North Geelong and Sam McNeilage of Bell Park in the Geelong Advertiser Cup. Photo: Geelong Advertiser.

He has been secretary of clubs and leagues, has worked tirelessly both in Geelong and Melbourne to raise the standard of refereeing, and has been a strong advocate of a single team to represent the area at the highest level. He was the Geelong Soccer Personality of 1996, sponsored by the Geelong Advertiser. But he has never lost his attachment to AFC Bournemouth, a club that has spent most of its 125 years in the lower divisions, never rising above the second tier. Now it is on the verge of entry to the most watched league on the planet.

When Russell gets back home next month he will be finding some way to assist one of the local clubs or leagues or their officials or referees to improve their performance and their chances of success. He does not seek reward for his efforts but he has ‘the good of the game’ imprinted in his DNA.

Russell Butler (left) with Nick Monteleone, former President of Football Federation Victoria at the opening of Moreshead Park in Ballarat. Photo: Roy Hay.

He is a member of Melbourne Victory, has helped Ballarat Red Devils in their ascent to the Victorian Premier League, presides over a group of refereeing colleagues who form a wine-appreciation society and makes this soccer-tragic feel at times that he is a dilettante by comparison. So that is why he has put his hard earned money, much of it earned as a porter at Geelong hospitals, into the Under-10s in far away Bournemouth. What an example of selfless dedication to sport and society.

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

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

In what must be one of the sweetest victories of his fledgling coaching career, Kevin Muscat masterminded a two-nil win over the defending champion Guangzhou Evergrande in the Asian Champions League at Docklands on Tuesday night. Resting Archie Thompson and Nick Ansell, being without Tom Rogic through injury and Gui Finkler through an earlier decision, Muscat fielded a very young side, but they did him proud.

Mark Milligan and Kevin Muscat had vital roles in the triumph over Guangzhou

Victory struck inside two minutes when skipper Mark Milligan and Kosta Barbarouses exchanged passes leaving the midfielder clear in front of goal and he calmly placed it past Zeng Cheng, the visiting keeper. Barbarouses should have doubled the lead when he had another one-on-one with the goalie but somehow hit him on the legs. Thereafter the two keepers were the stand-out performers as they repelled a series of attacks in what was a very open game. Victory had some good possession at times but the final ball was often delayed or wayward, while Nathan Coe threw his body at attackers and their shots to keep a clean sheet.

Adrian Leijer was heavily tackled and had to limp off with what looked like a serious foot injury. He was replaced by Leigh Broxham, who took up the central defensive role alongside Pablo Contreras who was his usual mixture of coolness and heart-in-the-mouth defending. One header off the goal-line was vital late in the first half.

Victory fans were becoming restless as the visitors piled on the pressure in the second half. The one-goal lead looked very precarious, but Coe and his defenders somehow managed to keep Guangzhou at bay. For a team which finished the A-League season with a negative goal difference this collective effort deserved great praise. When the keeper was stranded for once, it was Jason Geria who rescued Victory as he threw himself in the way of a shot by Muriqi.

World Cup winning coach, Marcello Lippi had played all his cards, even removing his skipper Zheng Zhi for Mei Feng at half-time, while Muscat was able to bring on fresh legs at the death with Andrew Nabbout and Jordan Brown getting a run in place of Connor Pain and Jesse Makarounas. It seemed that Victory would have to hang on to preserve its single-goal advantage but as stoppage time began, they mounted an attack down the left. When the ball came across quickly James Troisi outran a tiring defence to score from close range. The striker was booked for his bare-chested celebration but by that time he could have walked on water as far as the fans were concerned.

There was an excellent crowd, with half the lower level at Docklands decked out in red as the visiting Chinese and local Chinese-Australian fans turned out in force. Around where I was sitting there were many more not sporting the colours and for once the Victory support was outshouted at times. Everyone connected with FFA is hoping that the game in this country will attract large numbers of ‘away’ supporters from Asia and from those who have settled here, permanently or temporarily. This was one of the first occasions when the hopes were realised.

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

Harry Kewell is bringing down the curtain on a stellar career at the end of the current A-League season. It is a pity that he could not make it to what would be his third World Cup in succession, but the body which has inhibited him in the latter stages of his career will not let him deliver the kind of consistent performances demanded by Socceroo coach Ange Postecoglou. Even Melbourne Heart must have been reluctant to offer a new contract, despite the impact he has had on the players around him since he joined the club. So the time is right for one of our all-time greats to step aside.

New South Wales Under-15s, national champions in 1994

He was born in Smithfield in New South Wales of English parents. I first saw him play at Kim Reserve in 1994 with the New South Wales Under-15s who won the national championships beating a very strong Victorian side in the final. The light blues included Brett Emerton, Sebastian Sinozic, Yane Talcevski, Daniel Ucchino, Michael Cunico, Robert Trajcevski and Adam Brodbeck, all of whom went on to have significant careers in the game. Lined up against them were Vince Grella, Danny Allsopp, Simon Colosimo, Rodrigo Vargas, John Maisano, Clayton Bell and Colin Azzopardi. Between them these two talented groups produced most of the Joeys who took part in the Under-17 World Cup in Ghana where Australia pipped Spain on goal difference to qualify from its group behind Nigeria. Brazil proved too good in the quarter-finals and Danny Allsopp was top scorer with 5 goals and Kewell got the other.

Very soon the precocious Kewell was on his way to Leeds United where he began as a wing-back and his powerful engine got him up and down the field following his debut in the first team under Howard Wilkinson. He flourished under George Graham and David O’Leary clocking up over 180 league appearances and scoring 45 goals. On 24 April 1996, Eddie Thomson gave Kewell his first Socceroo cap against Chile in Antofagasta. Eddie was shrewd enough to know that Kewell could have been tempted to play for England so it was vital to ensure that he was aligned with the Green and Gold. Most sources want to claim that as a result he was the youngest player to be capped by Australia, but this is not true. Duncan Cummings was months younger when he made his debut against China in 1975, scoring within minutes of coming on as a substitute. That was the first of Cummings’ two games for Australia, while Kewell was to go on to amass 56 games and score 17 goals.

From Leeds, Kewell transferred to Liverpool where he was to win a series of trophies including the European Champions League in 2005, when injury resulted in his substitution before his team-mates produced a miraculous second half fight-back against AC Milan and won the cup on penalties. He played just under 100 league games for the Reds scoring a dozen goals. In 2008 he moved to Galatasaray in Turkey, captaining the club and performing various feats including a couple of matches at centre-half when injuries to other players occurred.

Meanwhile he took part in Australia’s unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the World Cup in 1997, scoring critical goals away from home and at the MCG against Iran. His heroics were not enough and Australia lost on the away goals rule. It was an equally sad story in 2001 as a home win over Uruguay thanks to a Kevin Muscat penalty was cancelled out by the three-nil loss in Montevideo. Opinions differ as to Kewell’s contribution to the away leg. My feeling was that he left Mark Viduka unsupported in the striking role failing to be close enough to the big man who had three top class defenders marking him for most of the game. In 2005 however Kewell came into his own with an inadvertent shank that set up Marco Bresciano for the goal at home to Uruguay and putting away one of the successful penalty kicks. Then in Germany in the finals he scored the decisive second goal against Croatia, but then had to miss the Italy game in the round of 16 thanks to what was suggested to be gout at the time.

Kewell backed up again in 2010 in South Africa though he was perhaps harshly sent off for blocking a goal-bound effort against Ghana in the second match and hence badly missed then and in the victory over Serbia. Kewell also contributed in Australia’s Asian Cup campaigns in 2007 and 2011.

Harry Kewell at Melbourne Victory

He was named as Australia’s greatest ever player in a poll in 2012 which inevitably focused on recent stars. He certainly generated the charisma which attracted people to the game in an age of celebrity. So when he returned to Australia in 2011 and signed with Melbourne Victory on a contract which gave him an element of his income based on the number of extra fans he attracted to the game, there is no doubt that he boosted the profile of the club and the A-League. However by now his body was giving him less chance to demonstrate his talent, though as the first season ran its course his contribution on the field improved significantly. After the season he returned to England and then played briefly with Al-Garafa in Qatar before coming home for what turned out to be his final fling at Melbourne Heart. Again injuries cruelled his season, but he deserves to go out with a flourish in Heart’s final game of the season against Western Sydney Wanderers on 12 April.

Kewell attracted a fair amount of controversy over his long career, partly explicable as a product of the tall poppy syndrome, but some self inflicted or a result of the agents with whom he dealt. Also the injuries he suffered were not appreciated by those furthest from the man himself and his abrasive or dismissive attitude to the media did not always work to enhance his image. Nevertheless, he has been a major contributor to Australia’s recent success, as key member of the ‘golden generation’. In time people will be able to evaluate his career more dispassionately and with greater perspective, but he is certainly one to be considered when listing the players who have lifted the profile of the game in this country.

Bookends of two careers. Harry Kewell of Victory and Brett Emerton of Sydney FC

Roy Hay

Melbourne Victory took an early lead and withstood a barrage from Yokohama Marinos to win by that single goal scored by Kosta Barbarouses on Tuesday night at the rectangular stadium.

As has been the case in all three Asian Champions League matches Victory found it very difficult to break out of their own defensive area against quality opposition. But this time a combination of a some very poor finishing by the visitors, some luck and sterling defence by former skipper Adrian Leijer and keeper Lawrence Thomas in particular saw Victory emerge with the win. Thomas had by far his best game in goals making a number very brave saves at the feet of opponents and making sure that his clearing punches went well out of the danger area.  Leigh Broxham led the team and ran the midfield. He has matured into an excellent player and his substitution in the second half to give Mark Milligan a run was surely just to rest Broxham who has been ever present in Victory’s crowded recent program.

The only goal came after just nine minutes in virtually the home team’s first concerted attack. The ball was won in midfield and transferred forward by Jimmy Jeggo and Rashid Mahazi allowing Barbarouses to sprint clear and finish through the legs of Tetsuyo Enemoto in the Yokohama goal. Fabio fired a long shot just over the top after Yokohama tested the Victory defence with a series of three corner kicks, while James Troisi was also too high with his finishing when Victory played the ball across the park during a multi-pronged attack.

Jimmy Jeggo holds off Yuta Narawa

Yokohama began the second half with some sustained pressure and Yuhei Sato shot just wide at the end of it. Thomas was booked for time wasting at a goal kick after being warned by the Malaysian referee. Both he and Nathan Coe have been cautioned for that and one wonders whether they have been instructed to delay as much as possible to allow their defenders to have a breather, or whether they are just not paying attention.

Up front a similar question is raised as Victory’s attackers were caught offside on several occasions. Sometimes this result from delayed passes out of defence, but on others it was a failure to appreciate that defenders step up as soon as a through ball is on the cards. So attackers need to have heads on swivels to time their incursions. On the other hand, sometimes officials get it wrong and there was some dubiety about an incident in the 76^th minute when substitute Mark Milligan sent Barbouses away again. The Kiwi international put the ball in the next but the flag went up. Another substitute Tom Rogic released Barbouses in stoppage time, but again offside was the decision as Barbouses beat the keeper.

Before this the Marinos had a number of gilt-edged opportunities to at least equalise. A couple of free kicks would surely have been converted by Shunsuke Nakamura, but the former Celtic and Blue Samurai star was not able to take the field. Lawrence Thomas made a brilliant and brave double save in the 64^th minute and Jungo Fujimoto hit the bar with a long range effort, but Victory held on to the delight of the home supporters. The Yokohama fans kept up their drumming, jumping and chanting, but in the end it was the homesters who were celebrating. The attendance was 6.357.

Mass defence as Rahsid Mahazi, Jason Geria and Leigh Broxham jockey Yuta Narawa and Jin Hamato (17).

Roy Hay

In its first home game of the 2014 Asian Champions League, Melbourne Victory squeezed out a hard-fought draw with Jeonbuk Motors from South Korea at Docklands on Wednesday night.

As happened in its away match in China, Victory took the lead in the first half, but was unable to hold on to it in the second, but lifted to secure an equaliser soon after going behind. For long periods Victory found it hard to break out of its own half with the speedy Korean midfield and forwards closing down attempts to play out from the back. So long balls which were often quickly returned were only a temporary solution to Victory’s problems. Kevin Muscat insisted after the Guangzhou Evergrande match that Victory had to improve its ball retention, but that remained an issue throughout this tie. So it was desperate defending which was the motif for the night and to be fair to the home team they managed that successfully for all but a three-minute period deep in the second half.

Leigh Broxham partnered Nick Ansell in central defence with Mark Milligan, Tom Rogic, Jesse Makarounas and James Jeggo in midfield, leaving Andrew Nabbout and Kosta Barbarouses in attack. Barbouses had an excellent chance in the 12^th minute when Makarounas put him clear on the right, but he scooped his shot wide. Ansell pulled off an excellent saving tackle on Lee Dong Gook and then the Brazilian Leonardo had a shot which skidded off the cross bar and over. Three minutes later Victory, in its first concerted attack won a free kick about 25 metres from goal. Makarounas drove it hard and flat to the far post where Nick Ansell threw himself at the ball and finished in the net with it after crashing into the post on the way. There was a mayhem at the other end when the referee spotted a back pass handling error by Lawrence Thomas, but the keeper made amends by helping deflect the subsequent indirect free kick over the bar. Nabbout was very unlucky to be pulled up for offside on a Victory break in 41 minutes, being only one step inside the Jeonbuk half when the ball was played to him. The half ended with the Victory keeper in action again touching a header by Choi Bo Kyung over the bar.

Kosta Barbouses in action against Jeonbuk Motors

The second half saw the visitors camped in the Victory half for nearly half an hour with very little relief. Finally the pressure told when Lee Seung Gi fired in a low shot which Thomas could only parry. Unfortunately the ball went straight out in front of goal and Lee Dong Gook pounced to fire home the rebound. That goal was a bit scrappy but there was absolutely nothing anyone could have done about the big striker’s second effort. He met a loose ball about 30 metres from goal and the swerving shot flew inside the post beyond Thomas’s despairing dive. Given that Victory had hardly mounted an attack in the second period, some of the home fans were very depressed but three minutes later Barbarouses latched on to a good through ball, sprinted clear and slid the ball through the keeper’s legs. Substitute Connor Pain came within centimetres of restoring Victory’s lead when he was just short of a Rashid Mahazi cross in the 88^th minute, but that was the last action of home side.

The attendance was disappointing and while Victory’s fans at both ends made themselves heard, the Jeonbuk supporters kept up a barrage of sound with their drums and chants. At AAMI it would have been a much better atmosphere for both teams who deserve credit for lots of effort even if the result will probably leave both coaches feeling that they have lost two points, rather than gained one.

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 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.