Victory in Melbourne 

I missed only my second ever Victory home game on the weekend and from all reports I shouldn’t have really been too bothered about the fact. Haven’t even managed to see any footage of the game and I don’t think I will really bother.

In other news the good people at Four Four Two have seen it in their hearts to give me an opportunity to also blog on their website as well. I have got the Monday morning gig and you can check out my first post about the Victory’s ill discipline here. It might mean there will be a few less posts here, but I won’t let it slip too much.

The Melbourne Victory W-League squad was announced earlier this week. Didn’t get much coverage in the local press, but you can find a bit more about them here. Members of the inaugral squad are as follows:

Melissa Barbieri
Nicole Paul
Megan Archer
Daniela Digiammarco
Maika Ruyter-Hooley
Marlies Oostdam
Laura Alleway
Bronwyn Nutley
Stephanie Tanti
Tal Karp
Louisa Bisby
Ursula Hughson
Sophie Hogben
Selin Kuralay
Rebecca Tegg
Brittany Timko
Alisha Foote
Deanna Niceski
Sarah Groenewald
Enza Barilla

Emergencies:
Ashley Brown
Stephanie Catley
Brianna Davey

Coach: Matt Shepherd
Ass Coach: Bill Murray
Team Manager: Naomi Hirst

First game is this coming weekend against the Central Coast Mariners as a curtain raiser to the Melbourne vs Sydney A-League match. So get there a little early and support our team.

Last nights game made me angry. I’m not sure whether I was angry  at Archie Thompson for being so stupid for calling Matthew Breeze what he did and being sent off and thus missing the clash next against Sydney (even if it is possibly true - can’t give me a red card Mr Breeze); angry at Matthew Breeze for reacting angrily to Thompson’s comments and giving the red card; angry that we conceded a late goal again after going to ten men; or angry at the way the team played.

To put it simply, the Victory came across a team that responded to a week of heat from their coach. They were more hungry and for long periods of the game dominated all aspects of the match. The absence of Lopez from the Victory enabled the Jets to dominate this area of the pitch and Hernandez struggled without his fellow countryman, being constantly double and triple teamed.

The red card for Thompson, will surely be the talking point of this match. Clearly frustrated by the lack of opportunities provided to him and the fouling when he did get the ball, he snapped when Breeze failed to call a foul. Breeze, who always seems to be at the centre of controversy, had no hesitation in bringing out the fourth red card in five matches for the Victory. Probably a bit harsh in my opinion, a yellow and a talking to would have sufficed.

Merrick has finally admitted that the team does have an issue with discipline. Constant red cards are slowly bringing down what was a promising start to the season and is costing us in important matches, especially the upcoming match in what will be a top of the table clash against Sydney.

On a brighter note, the Melbourne Youth team picked up their first every win in their inaugral season, with Matthew Theodore (who impressed me in his time with the AIS) scoring the only goal. I wonder if Ernie, will bring in Nathan Elasi from the youth team to replace the suspended Thompson.

Yesterday the FFA officially launched the W-League with the first round beginning on the weekend of the 25th and 26th of October. The Victory women’s first up game is against Central Coast Mariners on the 25th October as a curtain raiser to the blockbuster Melbourne v Sydney A-League fixture. Not sure why we couldn’t have played Sydney in this fixture, it would have made more sense. All the rest of the games will be played at either Bob Jane Stadium or Epping Stadium, so I will be definitely be able to check out the ladies in action during their first season. Also good to see at least one match each week will be televised. The FFA didn’t announce any details, but it was pretty obvious would be getting the gig with the ABC1 logo splashed over the draw. Now we all need to know, is who will be wearing the navy blue? Melissa Barbieri is a definite along with Louisa Bisby according to my sources. We just need to know the rest of the 20 person squad.

It was nice to get back on the winner’s list last night with a 4-0 thumping of Perth. But as the title suggests the opposition, to put it simply were quite ordinary. Could you imagine what the scoreline would have been if Melbourne were at full strength with Hernandez and Fabiano available, it could have been quite scary. And to be honest I got a little bored throughout the second half and spent most of it watching and listening to the Northern Terrace (shown above) in action.

The crowd of 18,000 was quite disappointing but the odd kick off (5pm on a Saturday) would have contributed to the number of people not being able to attend along with the prospect of seeing Perth in action. Thankfully we only play them once at home this year. Crowd numbers should be boosted for the next home game, which in all likelihood will be a top of the table clash against Sydney. Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend :(.

It was good also to see Danny Allsopp back on the scorer’s sheet with a double, which was also especially good for my A-League Fantasy Football team as he is my captain. It was also amusing to see Archie Thompson efforts to get on the scoresheet were more often than thwarted by his teamates much to his frustration.

Not much else to write about the game in general but after playing every team once its great to be sitting solely on top of the table with things looking promising heading into the international break. Hopefully it can continue for the rest of the season.

Usually when Melbourne lose I take the result pretty philosophically, but some reason on Sunday I was pretty grumpy after our 2-0 loss to Queensland. Grumpy because of the way we played and tactics used. Grumpy because of the poor refereeing. Grumpy because one of my favourite players got sent off. And grumpy because I knew I would cop a lot of crap from the number of Roar fans that I know.

I went into the game in a pretty good, especially with the news that Wellington had beaten Sydney. But as I got to the ground and took my seat, it just didn’t feel like it would be our day. Maybe it was because I wasn’t wearing my “lucky hat” from the previous two home games. Who knows.

Tactically I think we got it wrong from the start. Last night’s game clearly showed that Brebner and Lopez can’t play in the same starting line-up. Brebner looked woeful and often got the balls that we have seen Lopez distribute with such efficiency in the previous five rounds. Also the relegation of Berger to the bench seemed a bit odd has been providing plenty of drive on the left.

And then there is Ben Williams, Sydney FC’s favourite referee. Missed a blatant handball in the area and should have carded Tiatto early on for one of his numerous late challenges. It set the tone for the rest of the match. And the Carlos Hernandez send off for a second bookable offence. Player gets his run checked and gets carded for simulation. What about the numerous body checks by Craig Moore all night? For once, I agree with Eamonn’s comments, we don’t need him in the Socceroos lineup.

In my grumpiness I almost forget to mention that it was great to see the Northern Terrace back in almost full voice. They have been missed. They are part of what makes Melbourne the best supported team in the land and hopefully the FFA sees the error of their HEM ways with a show of support such as this. Instead of sitting by myself in future I might actually join them.

I’m not really blaming the ref for the loss (just asking for the removal of the double standards) as in reality we didn’t deserve to win and some credit must go to Queensland for their efforts. I am thinking maybe we should start the game next week with ten men and save the referee the trouble of picking someone to send off because no one likes a grumpy Neil.

So Ney Fabiano gets nine weeks for spitting at Robert Cornthwaite, whilst Dino Djulbic only gets five for spitting in the direction of a referee. Obviously the decision by Matthew Breeze cannot be questioned, as the referees never get it wrong do they. It also seems a little odd that the decision seems to be have been made without the input of the Adelaide players involved, namely Cornthwaite and Travis Dodd, who noted in the media earlier this week that he didn’t notice Fabiano deliberately spit at his teammate. Watch out for the appeal and a possible trip to the Court of Arbitration. The FFA needs to take a good hard look at its tribunal - its slowly becoming a bit of a farce.

Leading up to this match I realised I hadn’t seen Melbourne play Adelaide in Melbourne since the 6-0 whitewash of the 2006/07 Grand Final. For last year’s one and only home match against Adelaide I had to rely on text updates as I had other commitments. Also I realised during the game that I still have an intense dislike of Adelaide United - probably a little unhealthy I know but I was extremely happy when that final whistle had blown and we had won 1-0.

The talking point of the match was obviously the sending off on Ney Fabiano for allegedly spitting at Adelaide’s Robert Cornthwaite. I say allegedly because I was sitting at the opposite end of the ground to the incident plus the replays I have seen are pretty inconclusive. Its not like you see a big lurgy fly from the mouth of Fabiano in the direction of Cornthwaite. Fabiano was pretty fired up over the incident and it may just have been a case of him forgetting that old adage of “say it, don’t spray it”. I also think its a harsh call by John over at A seat at the A-League calling for Melbourne to dump him over the incident. Also I do tend to agree with him on the Cristiano “diving” call.

Friday night also saw the end of an era. It was the end of “Kevin Muscat never missing a penalty” era. Fortunately for him it rebounded nicely and he was able to tap home for the only goal of the game. And I must say what a difference a year makes. This time last year every time Matthew Kemp touched the ball he was greeted with jeers of derision. On Friday night every time he took a corner close to where I was sitting he was applauded and cheered.

Good performance by the team to maintain their style of play whilst being down to ten men. It was reminiscent of that Central Coast game back in our championship season. Lopez, still coming back from international duty was certainly missed in the midfield, but Celeski showed that he is capable of playing a different role in the midfield.

Also good to see we got almost 25,000 people to a game that clashed with an AFL final, that in itself only had 47,000 spectators. First time in our history that a Victory game has gone up against an AFL final and the result was extremely pleasing.

Things are certainly looking good - especially from the top of the table after the completion of the round. Hopefully it continues as we travel north to play the Central Coast Mariners and I hopefully find a decent place to watch the match.

As I said in my previous post, I was a little excited about Friday night’s game - first home game of the season and against Newcastle, a team for some reason I despise. Probably something to do with Joel Griffiths I’m sure. The afternoon pre-game was put also to good use, baiting members of my work’s Newcastle office.

Maybe, it was the first game of the season, or the fact there was no way I was going to wear my MV shirt from last year with “Patafta” on the back or most probably the effects of the beer drunk at after work drinks but I decided to dress up for the occasion - tie, vest, jacket, nice shirt, pants and shoes - you know the deal. Only problem, I don’t know how to tie a tie (don’t have to wear one for work) so I quickly learnt.

Anyway I was well rewarded for my dress sense with a 5-0 thumping of Newcastle and some excellent play from the Melbourne boys. The match started off slowly and I thought for a while it was going to be one of those nights where we dominate and then Joel Griffiths pops up in the 80th minute and bangs in the only goal of the game. But with a bit of tactical genius by Ernest Merrick (something you don’t hear me say to often), substituting an injured Thwaite for Archie Thompson, the flood of goals started as the Newcastle defence was made to look very ordinary. The main culprits being North and Covic.

There was a lot to be pleased about on Friday night - especially the way we played, but for me the standout players would have to be Hernandez, Lopez and Berger. An honourable mention goes to Ney Fabiano, who was unlucky not to get amongst the goals despite tireless running all night. I probably noticed his running more than mainly because of his running style. Make sure you have a look next time - its a bit odd. I am really enjoying our style of play at the moment and it makes for much more enjoyable viewing than what we were seeing same last season.

Was a bit disappointed with the crowd of only 22,000 - thought there would have been a few more with it being the first game of the season and all, but I guess everyone wasn’t as excited as I was. Hopefully in a couple of weeks time there will be a crowd of 30,000+ as we take on fellow league leaders, Adelaide.

And finally if you want to see me all dressed up for the game, visit here because it probably won’t happen again.

First home game of the season. A giant team poster in The Age. Hopefully a big crowd - I’m guessing around 26,000. A chance to boo Joel Griffiths. What more could you ask for? I’m a little excited!