Victory in Melbourne 

So after the euphoria of making it to a second successive Grand Final, of which I will talk about at a later date, it is again time to turn our attention to the Asian Champions League and Tuesday night’s clash against Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. It is a must win game as the Victory look to keep in touch with the rest of the group.

Being that I know even less about the team from Korea than I do about Beijing Guoan it was again time to ask Mike Tuckerman, regular The World Game and FourFourTwo contributor and Australian Football Weekly’s Asian football expert the questions to which we all want answers.

What style of play can we expect?

In the past, a fairly direct style – however the addition of instrumental Colombian playmaker Maurico Molina means that they now play more to feet than they used to. Nevertheless there will still be plenty of long balls forward from Sasa Ognenovski to giant striker Dzenan Radoncic, the latter of whom has been around the Asian scene for several years now.

Who are the dangermen?

Striker Namkung Do was part of the Pohang squad that won last year’s Asian Champions League, while Brazilian midfielder Fabrizio Sousa is an experienced campaigner at this level. On the whole though, Seongnam are not quite as laden with talent as they once were, so they will rely heavily on talisman Molina in the midfield.

Where do you think Melbourne has the advantage?

Compared to their group rivals, Seongnam don’t necessarily possess the most experienced of squads, so Victory’s veterans could come to the fore – particularly at home.

How did they qualify?

Seongnam finished the regular season in fourth, before embarking on a gruelling finals campaign.They saw off Incheon United on penalties, before following up with narrow 1-0 wins at home to Chunnam Dragons and away at Pohang Steelers, with Mauricio Molina scoring both goals.Their run ended in the championship playoff, where they lost 3-1 on aggregate to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors after the first leg had ended scoreless.

How are they faring in the K-League?

Seongnam kicked off the latest K-League in style with a 3-0 win over Gangwon FC on the opening weekend  with the aforementioned Molina getting on the scoreboard with a brace and Brazilian Fabricio Souza scoring the other. They enjoyed a bye before this clash but a tougher task awaits in their Round 3 clash with Incheon United, but overall Seongnam may be expected to concentrate on the Champions League over the early weeks of the season.

Welcome to Victory In Melbourne’s minute by minute analysis of Melbourne Victory’s first clash of their 2010 Asian Champions League campaign against Beijing Guoan at the Beijing Workers Stadium, Beijing. All the action kickoffs at 10:30pm AEST and we will be keeping you up-to-date as to when Joel Griffiths cops his first kick or whether the orange ball will be needed because it’s snowing and everything in between. Whilst you are waiting for it all to happen you might as well check out what we know about Beijing Guoan here.

(Note: This page does not automatically update so you are going have to keep hitting that refresh button to see what’s going on.)

0 mins: And we have kick-off. Melbourne starting with an unchanged line-up from Thursday wins against Sydney. As for Beijing, only one Griffiths gets a start with Ryan on the bench.

Melbourne starting XI: Langerak (gk), Muscat (c), Sukha, Broxham, Brebner, Vargas, Pondeljak, Hernandez, Ward, Leijer and Mrdja.

Beijing starting XI: Hao Wu, Ting Zhou, Darko Matic, Liang Xu, Valdo, Xiangchuang Yan, Xy Yunlong (c), Yang Zhi (gk), Yifan Zhu, Joel Griffiths and Maurice Ross

4 mins: Have to say I don’t mind the Victory away strip. Can’t say the same thing for the Beijing strip as those numbers are really hard to read.

9 mins: Pretty cagey start so far. Neither team really having any clear cut chances. Only stat that is getting a workout at the moment is the foul count with neither keeper having work to do apart form the odd goal kick. Valdo and Hernandez getting a bit of heavy treatment from their respective opponents.

12 mins: First foul on Joel Griffiths goes to Sukha. Griffiths at his whinging best asks for a yellow card but the referee is not forthcoming.

Play has stopped for the moment as the referee has appeared copped a laser in the eye from the home supporters and his having a bit of trouble with his eyesight.

18 mins: Some nervous moments in the penalty area as Vargas has some issues with Valdo after Muscat failed to clear a cross. Muscat recovers to restrict any further danger.

24 mins: Melbourne finally get their first corner of the match. Picks out an unmarked Muscat who sidefoots wide of the mark and that brings up Melbourne’s first attempt on goal. Melbourne playing too many long balls at the moment for my liking. We need to get Hernandez, Pondeljak, Ward and Co. into the play more.

27 mins: Pondeljak forces a great save out Yang Zhi from about 30 yards. The resulting corner comes to nothing. Melbourne’s first shot on target. They way Pondeljak shots reminds me of the way I shoot in futsal, all about placement and not so much about power. His last shot being the exception.

30 mins: Hernandez shakes off three defenders to get a shot off. Unfortunately, for the Victory his shot went wide.

Hernandez show his disgust at his effort on goal.

32 mins: Yellow card for Sukha for tug of Xiangchuang Yan’s shirt.

35 mins: Beijing effort cleared off the line by Sukha. At first glance it looked it was behind the line but replays confirmed that the clearance was okay. Victory also managed to block Ross’ follow up shot.

38 mins: Yifan Zhu puts a shot just wide of the mark with Langerak beaten. Just as I was saying Melbourne was getting back into the game Beijing have created a number of good chances. For Melbourne, Sukha is walking a fine line at the moment. Needs to relax a little by my reckoning as he is throwing himself into tackles, Leigh Broxham style.

41 mins: Langerak pulls off a brilliant save to deny Valdo after being set up by Joel Griffiths.

42 mins: Nik Mrdja fails to get a shot off as he is through on goal from a brilliant little chip from Nick Ward. Maurice Ross shepherds him off the ball nicely. I bet Ernie Merrick is hoping that half time can’t come quickly enough as Beijing are starting to dominate at the moment. That pesky Joel Griffiths being particularly dangerous.

45 mins + 3: And there goes Albadwawi Madhad Saif’s whistle for half time. After a slow start from both team, Beijing has looked pretty dangerous in the last fifteen minutes or so of the half with the combination of Griffiths and Valdo. being particular dangerous. Melbourne needs to impose its midfield more on the game as at the moment they aren’t seeing much of the ball at the moment.

46 mins: Surat Sukha makes way for Evan Berger at the start of the second half.

49 mins: Brenton Speed makes a very bad pun using one of the Beijing player’s name.

50 mins: Valdo gets the better of Rodrigo Vargas with his shot hitting the side netting after appearing to come off the leg of Muscat. Home fans get a little excited thinking they had opened the scoring. Melbourne get the goal kick though.

52 mins: Joe Griffiths opens the scoring for Beijing as he beats Langerak from close range. Griffiths continues his love affair of scoring against Melbourne. 1-0 to Beijing. Looks like he got a little help from a Vargas deflection.

54 mins: Langerak makes another great save to deny a long range Beijing free kick. The home side well on top at the moment.

58 mins: Looks like Matthew Foschini is going to get a run. Wonder who he is going to replace. Wouldn’t mind seeing Angulo getting a run.

60 mins: Foschini replaces Berger. Must have picked up some injury in an earlier challenge. Can’t see any other reason for his subsitution.

64 mins: Pondeljak blazes well over the bar from inside the penalty area after some excellent build up play from the Victory. They need to be careful to be caught on the break as they look for the equaliser.

65 mins: Muscat’s power of influence extends to Asian referees as gets Valdo booked for a rather soft foul. Referee also gives Huang Bowen a yellow for what appears to be a wardrobe malfunction.

68 mins: Langerak out quickly to deny Griffiths as Beijing again looking dangerous. Valdo definitely proving to be a handful for the Melbourne defence as he holding up the ball well.

74 mins: Pondeljak looking the most dangerous of the Melbourne midfielders as he somehow gets a corner. The resulting corner comes to nothing as Muscat header at the back post is cleared easily.

76mins: Both Liang Xu and Leijer go down in a fifty-fifty clash where both players missed the ball completely. Liang Xu had both studs up as he flew in for the tackle although to be fair Leijer’s effort wasn’t much better. Both players get up with the pitch appearing to come off the worse for wear as both players took a couple of divots.

79 mins: Melbourne Victory having a lot more of the possession at the moment as they press for an equaliser. Not creating many clear cut chances though. Are they leaving their run a little too late. Now would be an opportune to give Angulo a run.

82 mins: I get my wish as Broxham makes way for our second Costa Rican.

85 mins: Muscat puts a heavy challenge in on Joel Griffiths just for old times sake as Melbourne have an extended period of attacking. Unfortunately, it didn’t come to anything.

87 mins: Hernandez scuffs a shot inside the penalty area. Is Merrick’s pre-game prediction of fast finish about to come true? Not long after Mrdja gets on in the end of a near post header but it goes well wide.

89 mins: Melbourne spurn a brilliant chance to equalise after some brilliant interplay between Pondeljak and Ward. Unfortunately, Pondeljak’s cross failed to find a Melbourne body around the penalty spot. Best chance of the game so far which is saying something when it happens in the 89th minute.

90 +3 mins: The referee blows the whistle for full time with Melbourne’s second Asian Champions League campaign not getting off to the most auspicious of starts as they go down 1-0 to Chinese champions Beijing Guoan. Again it proved to be the Victory’s nemises, Joel Griffiths, who was the difference with a well taken goal. Melbourne will need to bounce back in the next match against Seongnam Ilhwa at Etihad Stadium in a couple of weeks to ensure any chance of progression from this group after this early setback.

Being that Melbourne is playing Beijing Guoan on Tuesday night I thought it would be an opportune time to find out some information about our opponents. However, being that my knowledge of Beijing Guoan is limited to it being the current club side of the Griffiths brothers (Joel and Ryan) and that they play in Beijing, I thought would be probably best to ask someone who knows much more about them. Therefore I asked Mike Tuckerman, regular The World Game and FourFourTwo contributor and Australian Football Weekly’s Asian football expert the questions to which we all want answers.

What style of play can we expect?

Beijing are a side that aren’t afraid to employ a physical style to get the better of their opponents. In Bosnian defensive midfielder Darko Matic they possess a steadying influence in the centre of the park, allowing the likes of Yang Xianchuang and Huang Bowen to push further forward. They’re also a cosmopolitan club, with Scottish defender Maurice Ross joining new Brazilian signing Valdo and of course Australian duo Ryan and Joel Griffiths in the squad.

Who are the dangermen?

Aside from the Griffiths brothers – who each scored eight league goals for Beijing last season – Brazilian striker Valdo also scored plenty of goals for relegated Hangzhou Greentown, so he could be something of an X-factor up front. Huang Bowen is likewise a handy presence in midfield, while skipper Xu Yunlong is the mainstay of the defence.

Where do you think Melbourne has the advantage?

This is Beijing’s third straight appearance in the Champions League. Having fallen at the group stage in their past two outings, Melbourne may have the psychological edge over a Guoan side under pressure to end China’s wretched run in Asia’s premier club competition.

How did they qualify?

By winning their first ever Chinese Super League title on the final day of the season. Beijing went into the final game of the season level on points with Henan Construction, but a 4-0 thumping of Hangzhou Greentown in front of more than 60,000 fans saw the capital club finish a point ahead of fast finishers Changchun Yatai.

How are they faring in the Super League?

The Super League hasn’t kicked off – and may not any time soon – with ongoing investigations into widespread match fixing meaning that the scheduled March 20 kick-off is tentative at best.

That hasn’t stopped Beijing from getting into shape, as Guoan started their pre-season training on February 5. Unfortunately a wild brawl in a friendly with defending Asian champions Pohang Steelers disrupted their focus somewhat, so Hong Yuanshou’s side will be itching to kick off competitive action in the Champions League.

Earlier this week in my latest 442 blog I proposed that of most concern to Ernie Merrick and his backroom staff in the lead up to last night’s major semi-final first leg was that in 270 minutes of football so far this season against the boys in baby blue we had failed to find the back of the net.

So it was with some relief that when Nik Mrdja scored the opening goal for the Victory that 270 wouldn’t becoming 360 minutes. And then when Carlos Hernandez found the back of the net (captured so spectacularly in the image above) it looked like we would have a handy two goal advantage heading into the second leg. However, it wasn’t to be as supposed Melbourne Heart recruit, John Aloisi found the back of the net via a massive deflection from Kevin Muscat’s outstretched leg.

So I guess having a lead of 2-1 going into the second leg isn’t better than no lead at all although our serious issues with actually putting a striker on the pitch might be of significance after Nik Mrdja’s brain explosion and the resultant red card after elbowing Shannon Cole. Although the incident happened in the goal right in front of me I didn’t actually and have yet to see any replays. It was a stupid thing to do although to be honest I think Cole milked it for all its worth as he seem to get up rather quickly after it all happened. Also of interest is the fact that the linesman from over forty metres away could spot the incident but the one fifteen couldn’t. Linesman astound me sometimes.

Considering the players missing I thought the team put in a pretty solid effort and outplayed Sydney for the most part. Only when we were down to ten men did they really apply any pressure but more often than not it came to nothing. Now we have to have to wait over two weeks for the second leg with our first Asian Champions League match against Beijing Guoan coming up on Tuesday as a taster filler. Hopefully by the next leg (pardon the pun) Archie Thompson or even Robbie Kruse makes some kind of miracle recovery so we don’t end up playing a 4-6-0 formation.

Every wanted to know what happens in the Northern Terrace when Melbourne scores a goal? Here are two short examples from last night’s game against Sydney FC.

Next Sunday looms as one of the biggest games in the very short history of the A-League as Melbourne and Sydney battle it out for the much coveted Premier’s Plate and with it automatic qualification for the ACL.

For Melbourne, who are guaranteed a top two finish and the double chance will be looking to create history and become the first team to win back-to-back premierships. It will be interesting to see how the Victory back up against Sydney, especially in the continued absence of both Thompson and Muscat. Whilst it didn’t seem to effect the team against the Fury, Sydney is definitely a step up in class. Here’s hoping we get a repeat performance from Carlos Hernandez, who was at his brilliant best against the Fury.

It was also good to see Adrian Leijer step up to the plate as he took the captain’s armband for the first time. It suited him and you would have to say he is a frontrunner for the role once Kevin Muscat hangs up his boots.

Digressing a little, last week was certainly a topsy-turvy one and this was my topic of discussion in my latest 442 blog, which you can read here. You will also notice that my blog for 442 as I decided to go with ‘V is for Victory’.

So in the end three wins from three games in six games proved too much for the Melbourne Victory on Friday night. A combination of injuries before the game (Thompson) and during the game (Kruse) made what was going to be a difficult task anyway and much more difficult especially when there was no out-and-out striker to replace them in the squad or on the bench.

Leading up to the game, we were hoping for the free-flowing football of our last encounter at Skilled Park at it looked like we were going to get it with the opening ten minutes a feast of end-to-end football. However former Victory player, Steve Pantelidis put paid to that with his cowardly hit on Robbie Kruse. From then on, the game particularly in the first half degenerated into a slug fest with Kevin Muscat exacting his revenge with an elbow to Jason Culina’s face. Both players will come under investigation, its just a matter of how many weeks they get.

In the end, Gold Coast’s weight of possession told in the second half with a spectacular goal from Zenon Caravella capping it off. As for Melbourne, not having a recognised striker out there on the pitch resulted in very few chances being created as both Hernandez’s and Angulo’s creativity was stifled by their requirement to play as out and out strikers. Even though Nathan Elasi is not having his contract renewed at the end of the season surely it would be worthwhile having him on the bench in lieu of youngster, Aziz Behich.

Any loss of Muscat will probably effect the Victory more than the loss of Pantelidis will do for the Gold Coast as the two teams compete with Sydney for the Premier’s Plate and the automatic ACL qualification. It sure makes for an interesting finish to the season, much like last season and hopefully it will be the same result.

For more of my thoughts on the game and my ponderings as to why Robbie Kruse always seem to be the target for attention, check out my latest 442 blog.

After Saturday night’s win against Adelaide I wrote in my latest blog for 442 that it was one down and two to go in what is the most important week of the season. So I guess after last night’s 4-0 demolition of Wellington Phoenix it is now two down and one to go for the Melbourne Victory. You get the picture.

Last night’s standout performance was from new Costa Rican import, Marvin Angulo. After struggling in his opening game against Newcastle (who wouldn’t struggle after three months of not playing football) he has impressed off the bench in his last two matches and earned himself a starting position against the Phoenix. After a somewhat slow start to the game he steadily worked himself into the play and capped off his performance by setting up Archie Thompson for a goal in his 100th match for the Victory.

Whilst occasionally being knocked off the ball a little too easily (although to his credit in most cases he continued to fight for the ball) and his final shot was a little week it surely was a performance that will have opposition teams a little worried in the final stages of the season. Dare I say, it was a performance reminiscent of a certain Brazilian player from Season 2, whose name we dare not mention.

Looking forward now to the final match of this all important week against Gold Coast United where a win will cement our position in the top two. Before getting ahead of myself it must be noted that the team from up north is definitely a step up in calls from both Adelaide and Wellington and should provided for an absorbing contest. Can’t wait for it.

Don’t forget that Victory In Melbourne can now be found on Facebook and you can become a fan. It’s only just started and there is not much to look at, but you can check it out here and more importantly become a fan.

If you have a read of my minute by minute analysis of Sunday’s game against Newcastle Jets you will probably notice the growing despairs in my writing. Following on from Melbourne’s poor performance against the Fury, two weeks before, you would have expected a much improved performance. However, it wasn’t to be as the Jets classier finishing capitalised on some poor defending and our attacking third looked toothless. For all my thoughts on the game, take out a look at my latest 442 blog, titled “What Is UnMelbourne-Like?”.

In other news, the possible return of Danny Allsopp has many fans salivating at a possible reunion with Archie Thompson and driving Melbourne back to the top of the table. Whilst nothing has been confirmed as yet, it remains an exciting prospect as the current Kruse-Thompson partnership really isn’t working and has been exposed in the last couple of rounds. While it is tad disappointing to see Allsopp quitting Al-Rayyan after only twelve minutes, as Michael Cockerill points out:

It’s not that Allsopp has been a disaster in Qatar - he scored six goals in 12 appearances - it’s just business. Al Rayyan have re-signed Oman international Imad Al Hosni on loan after his failed venture in Belgium, and Allsopp has to make way.

I guess we now have to just sit and wait and see what happens next.

Don’t forget that Victory In Melbourne can now be found on Facebook and you can become a fan. It’s only just started and there is not much to look at, but you can check it out here and more importantly become a fan.

Welcome to Victory In Melbourne’s minute by minute analysis of Melbourne Victory’s clash against the Newcastle Jets at Energy Australia Stadium, kickoff at 5pm AEST.

(Note: This page does not automatically update so you are going have to keep hitting that refresh button to see what’s going on.)

Angulo gets a start in his debut: Mitchell Langerak (gk), Kevin Muscat, Leigh Broxham, Matthew Kemp (c), Archie Thompson, Rodrigo Vargas, Carlos Hernandez, Robbie Kruse, Nick Ward, Adrian Leijer, Marvin Angulo. On the bench: Glenn Moss, Grant Brebner, Tom Pondeljak, Mate Dugandzic

Newcastle Starting XI: Neil Young (gk), Adam D’Apuzzo, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Ljubo Milicevic, Ben Kantarovski, Jin-Hyung Song, Matt Thompson (c), Tarek Elrich, Jobe Wheelhouse, Michael Bridges, Labinot Haliti. On the bench: Ben Kennedy, Sasho Petrovski, Sean Rooney, Ali Abbas. Look for plenty of puns with Neil Young in goals for the Jets. Hopefully he has a heart of gold towards the Victory and lets in a few goals.

2 mins: In the week leading up to this game, Jobe Wheelhouse reckons that South Americans (sic) don’t like to get kicked so he’s going to give Hernandez a few.

5 mins: Langerak pulls off a brilliant save to deny Michael Bridges. An early warning for the Victory.

10 mins: Sloppy opening from both teams early on. No one able to really assert themselves on the game.

13 mins: Can anybody explain to me why the Energy Australia Stadium pitch is in such bad condition? Looks like they have been holding tractor demonstrations.

14 mins: Angulo gets wrongly called offside on the edge of the penalty area denying Melbourne are scoring opportunity. Wheelhouse still yet to get near Hernandez to carry out his promise.

18 mins: Kevin Muscat gets the first yellow card of the game for a flying kick on opposing captain, Matthew Thompson. Probably a tad lucky to still remain on the pitch, it was fairly blatant.

19 mins: How about a bit of variety of the free-kicks, sometimes it pays not to take them quickly. Although looking at Broxham’s delivery they be the best option. Earlier the linesman on the opposite side of the pitch also forgets the rule book and calls Newcastle offside from a throw-in.

22 mins: Kantarovski picks up Newcastle’s first yellow card for an act of petulance.

26 mins: Matt Thompson puts the Jets in front after being set up nicely by Michael Bridges. It begs the question why he was left unmarked that close to goal. Maybe the goal will bring some composure into the Victory game, have been looking a little sloppy so far.

28 mins: Langerak denies Haliti from close range. Another example of some poor defending from the Victory as the Jet’s striker was allowed to much space in the front third.

31 mins: Maybe the Jets have Kruse confused with Hernandez, as the former Roar player has been getting kicked left, right and centre.

33 mins: PENALTY to Melbourne Victory for a blatant shirt tug by Kantarovski on Robbie Kruse in the area. Second yellow for Kantarovski sees him take an early shower and the Jets are down to ten men. Kevin Muscat duly converts the resulting penalty to bring the scores back to level pegging.

36 mins: Yellow card to Michael Bridges for a foul on Leijer. One has to think that Wheelhouse must be giving the team talks instead of Culina.

41 mins: Nick Ward gives us a fine example of the Maradona spin on the edge of the area, unfortunately it comes to nothing. Kruse looking the most dangerous of the Melbourne forwards, with Archie Thompson being rarely sighted.

44 mins: Goal to the Jets as Michael Bridges slips in unmarked at the back post. Another example of some poor defending sees Newcastle take a 2-1 lead. Poor effort by the Victory considering they have the man advantage.

45+2 mins: Matthew Breeze blows the whistle for half-time. Some seriously poor defending has seen the Victory give up to easy goals to the Newcastle Jets. Hopefully, Merrick will give them a good talking to in the half time interval and the second half will see the Victory make the most of their man advantage. The debutant, Marvin Angulo has rarely been in the play so far.

Half-time: A-League website has Melbourne having 71% of the possession. Slight exaggeration of Melbourne’s possession there don’t you think, probably more like 60%. Now to make that possession count. The lovely Mel McLaughlin tells us that Brebner is coming on for Angulo and Sean Rooney will be coming on for Bridges for the Jets. If I was a betting man, I would take Sportsbet up on that $3.25 for the Victory to win.

49 mins: Hernandez gets his first shot on target for the match. Unfortunately its straight at the Jets’ keeper.

51 mins: Melbourne defence again gets caught napping by a beautiful Song cross, fortunately for the Victory Rooney blazes it well over.

54 mins: Kemp robs Song blind and then makes a run into the penalty area that comes to nothing.

55 mins: Goal to Haliti (this guys sure likes to score against the Victory, his third in as many matches). Beautiful volley but again the defending leaves a lot to be desired. Also cops a yellow card for removing his shirt.

58 mins: Andy Harper is blaming Melbourne’s poor form in this match on lethargy from possible intensive training. No excuse really, considering they are a man up.

61 mins: Keep your arms by your side Vargas, that should have been a penalty to the Jets. Melbourne’s chance of taking the premiership could very well hinge on Perth’s performance against Sydney FC in the match following this one.

64 mins: Langerak saves a free Sean Rooney header. If that had gone in, it would have definitely been curtains for the Victory.

65 mins: Yellow card to Leijer for pulling on Matt Thompson’s shirt. Can’t see why he’s complaining about that one really.

72 mins: Simon Hill describes it as a most un-Melbourne like performance. It’s looking very much like Melbourne’s last start performance against the Fury so I guess that makes it two un-Melbourne like performances in a row. Whilst a lot of the blame could be placed at the feet of the defence for the result so far the front third is looking extremely unimaginative. Would have liked to see Nathan Elasi get a game in this one as he provides a different option going forward.

78 mins: Langerak gets down low to deny a Song free-kick that was bent nicely around the wall.

81 mins: Socceroo Matthew Kemp makes way for Mate Dugandzic. Who would have thought that after his relatively poor start for the Victory three seasons again that he would get a Socceroos starting spot.

82 mins: I give Abbas a 2 out of 10 for a dive that took place about fifteen minutes after being fouled.

86 mins: A crowd of 6,979 announced. Most of them who would be pretty happy with what they are seeing. Although there is a good Victory travelling contingent and they definitely wouldn’t be happy with they are seeing.

90+1 mins: GOAL to Hernandez! Probably a little too late you would have to think as Hernandez curls his shot around a despairing Neil Young.

90+3 mins: Matthew Breeze blows the final whistle just as Ali Abbas takes another theatrical dive after clashing with Kevin Muscat. A poor performance from the Victory, especially considering that they had a man advantage for almost an hour. Uninspiring in attack and sloppy in defence and as Simon Hill correctly stated, hands the advantage to Sydney FC in the race for the premiership. Two ordinary performances in a row on the road by the Victory, the home fans will surely be expecting a better home performance next week against Perth Glory.