Victory in Melbourne 

It was with some irony that Melbourne Victory’s first home win of the season coincided with the first home game of the season that I was unable to attend due to a clash with a Grand Final that my futsal team* was playing.

Whilst it was a win that came at the end of probably the most tumultuous weeks in the short history of Melbourne Victory one must remember that this a win against a side sitting bottom of the ladder and with the worst defensive record in the league. It was also a game where the Victory when cruising at 2-0 up endeavoured to do their best to actually lose the game. First up, veteran Rodrigo Vargas decided he wanted an early shower with a two-footed challenge on the half-way line with a little over thirty minutes gone on the clock. To say Vargas should have known better is a massive understatement with the incident giving Gold Coast United the incentive to claw their way back into the game. This was followed by a rather soft penalty (it was a penalty just the Victory’s first two goals were penalties) on the stroke of half time which gave Gold Coast some much need momentum going into the second half.

Shortly after the break some lax defending saw Gold Coast equalise and you could almost hear the collective groan coming from AAMI Park in my lounge room as fans watched the team again throw away another two goal lead. Fortunately for the Victory they had come up against a team that quite clearly doesn’t know how to win and even with all of Miron Bleiberg’s so-called tactical genius couldn’t find that all important third goal against a Victory side that had gone to rabble following Vargas’ sending off. It seemed as if the home side suddenly realised that opponents didn’t have both the manpower or the will to actually win the game as both Carlos Hernandez and Archie Thompson rolled back the years (to be fair to Thompson, he’s been in outstanding form all season) and created a number of chances before the two combined for the winner in the 79th minute. Who would have thought that Hernandez could out jump three opponents.

Whilst one win doesn’t a title challenge make one pleasing aspect was the form of Billy Celeski, who looked more than the player of three seasons ago rather than the shadow of a player that existed since his return from a knee reconstruction. Whilst Ernie Merrick might have turned him into one of the best defensive midfielders of that title winning season, it seemed on a Sunday that Celeski relished a more attacking role, one that he was more accustomed to before arriving in our fair town. The result was a much more confident display than we have seen in at least one and a half seasons or maybe it just taken him that long to get over what was a quite a serious knee injury.

Next up is a clash with the Newcastle Jets, a team against which the Victory notoriously struggle against especially on their home turf. If Durakovic has indeed turned the season around then next week is surely a true test as to whether that is really the case.

* - for the record my futsal team lost the Grand Final 7-6 in extra time.

Since Melbourne Victory’s rather insipid performance Melbourne Heart on the weekend much has been said about structure and formation with every Tom, Dick and Harry (including myself) having a crack at what we think Mehmet Durakovic should do in terms of formation. In light of this I thought I would share with you all a comparison of what happened on Saturday night and my possible solution

Melbourne Victory formation vs. Melbourne Heart (22 Oct 2011)*

Victory In Melbourne’s possible future Melbourne Victory formation

* NB. A cow has been has used as a symbol of how much space we left in the midfield, and is no way a reflection on Carlos Hernandez’s weight

Last night saw the dawning of a new era for Melbourne Victory with Mehmet Durakovic becoming only the second manager to be in charge of the club during its relatively short history albeit only in a caretaker role. However, the changing of the guard did little to change our fortunes in Asia as we again lost, this time 2-1 to Jeju United. Not that there were many people there to actually see it take place.

The loss was a familiar tale, with a goal conceded from a set piece and the other late on. Although to be fair to our opponents they were the better side on the night and probably deserved to take all three points and thus condemning to an uphill battle to get out of the group stages of the competition for the first time in our history.

Considering that he had little more than three days in the job it was always going to be difficult for Durakovic to actually have any impact on our playing style or tactics. He did however give Isaka Cernak his first game for the Victory and the former North Queensland Fury player did more than enough to indicate that he will be a worthy addition to the team and with time his combinations with the likes of Archie Thompson will definitely improve.

Last night also saw a much slimmer looking Carlos Hernandez take to the field in the second half and unlike for most of last season his appearance on the field gave us the impetus in the midfield that we were lacking up until that stage. He came on as a replacement for fellow Costa Rican, Marvin Angulo but from my point of view it would be better for the team if both were out on the pitch together. I would have Tom Pondeljak make way for both of them to take their place in the Victory midfield.

Much of where it went wrong last night was when we actually got the possession we didn’t do that much with it. This was down to the fact that too often players were left isolated allowing two or three Jeju United players to quickly dispossess them and end any attacking foray. One prime example was when Danny Allsopp won the ball in midfield through his own industry and was then forced to head for the touchline because he was getting no support from his teammates.

Next up for the Victory is a visit to our sister city Tianjin to take on group leaders Tianjin Teda in what is now shaping up as a must win game. We of course have history with our opponents formerly meeting twice in what would appear to be the now defunct Lord Mayor’s Cup. Our last meeting resulted in a win on penalties. Let’s hope we can repeat that result come our next encounter.

In the lead up to Thursday night’s match against the Central Coast Mariners, Ernie Merrick clearly articulated that a win was what the Victory needed in order to still have any chance of a top two finish. So I guess you can say with some assurance after the 2-2 draw that any slim chance we had of the double chance disappeared out the proverbial window.

Based on the first half performance from the Victory it looked like Merrick’s motivational skills were simply not working. For the most part, the team looked insipid, disinterested and lacklustre. In fact, it looked a lot like the team that rocked up again Perth Glory the week before. Apart from some neat interchanges between Angulo and Thompson there was very little to write home about. Add to that we also copped a goal to a typical Central Coast sucker punch.

The second half came and it appeared to be more of the same until BANG, a cheeky Vargas back heel and sumptuous Carlos Hernandez free kick within three minutes of each other saw the confidence return to both the players and the fans. For a good period of time this was the team we all know and love and were tearing the Mariners to shreds. If it wasn’t for some poor finishing we could have knocked in a few more.

And it was that profligacy in front of goal that would ultimately cost us all three points as corner that shouldn’t have been found it’s way across the goal line and the hearts of many Victory fans were broken. What looked like it good have been a season turning win just turned out to be like many other games this year and in the process put a serious dent in what is left of our confidence.

It was good to see Merrick give Angulo his second start in succession, something that has never happened before and the Costa Rican is showing signs that the extended game time is doing wonders as he put in what I would consider a best on ground performance. For his confidence and that of the team I can only hope that Merrick sees fit to give him an extended run and that he also puts one of his many chances in the back of the net.

I must admit after the game a red mist descended over my eyes and it was probably a good thing that I didn’t have access to twitter let alone this blog in the minutes after the match had concluded. This was mainly to do with the pathetic display of refereeing that Gerard Parsons again displayed. I have already put forward my thoughts on the poor excuse for a referee a while back and that there is no need to repeat it here but I dread the next time he is in charge of a Victory game.

So now with rather an extended break at hand and a little over half the season gone it provides the team with a much needed opportunity to rest tired bodies and minds and make a concerted push for the finals when they return.

One of the keys to Sydney FC’s relative success over the Melbourne Victory in their 2009/10 double winning season was their ability to shackle the rampaging Carlos Hernandez like no other team could. In light of that it was rather pleasing to see the Costa Rican provide an assist and also get on the scoresheet  in Saturday’s romp over the still winless champions. Not that Hernandez has been playing that badly up to then anyway.

The confidence boosting win over Sydney FC is difficult to judge mainly because Sydney FC are really that bad. The defence that was so measly in their last campaign was completely porous on Saturday and if it wasn’t for some poor finishing (I’m look at you Ricardinho and Rodrigo Vargas) we could very well have had a repeat of that 5-0 thrashing in Season 1, which coincidentally occurred five years to the day on Saturday.
The real test of where the Victory is really at will come in the next matches against Brisbane and Adelaide. Whilst they may have beaten the Roar 3-0 a number of weeks back, the team from Queensland is playing some of the best football in the competition at the moment. Despite our impressive record at Suncorp Stadium it will be a difficult challenge.

As for Adelaide, I can’t really say that much about them as the only match of theirs I have witnessed was their 0-0 bore draw with Gold Coast United. That aside, their results so far speak for themselves and it will be interesting to see if our winning streak against them can continue.

Whilst one Costa Rican may have grabbed all the headlines on Saturday, it’s the lack of game time for another that forms the subject of my latest effort for Australian FourFourTwo, which you can read here.

Whilst it was all well and good that Melbourne kept its fourth clean sheet in a row, what was more concerning that it was the third game in a row in which the team failed to find the back of the net. One key factor in the failure of Carlos Hernandez to find the back of the net so far this season, something that he managed to do thirteen times last season.

Whilst critics and fans alike like to assume it is because he is carrying extra weight in my opinion it down to having to carry the weight of expectation of a season like the last one, especially in the continued absence of Archie Thompson. In my latest blog for Australian FourFourTwo I take those critics and fans to task, especially those who constantly question is weight and fitness.

As for the game itself, it was pretty riveting 0-0 draw. However that being said, I can’t actually remember either of the keepers having to make any crucial saves, especially Michael Petkovic. With the absence of Brebner through injury it was pleasing to see Merrick give Marvin Angulo given a full ninety minutes in which to strut his stuff. And the Costa Rican midfielder didn’t let him down, playing his best game so far for the club. If he gets regular game time, his confidence will grow and hopefully take some of that pressure of his fellow countryman.

On a slightly different note, I have also started contributing to Sam Kelly’s excellent blog about Argentinian football, Hasta El Gol Siempre in his weekly segment entitled Argentine’s Abroad. Whilst the Victory doesn’t contain any Argentinians I will be updating the readers of Hasta El Gol Siempre on the weekly exploits of Adelaide United’s Marcos Flores and Central Coast Mariners’ Patricio Perez.

Whilst it was great to see Melbourne Victory finally play a competitive match at AAMI Park but as I alluded to in my previous post the whole experience was dulled a little by the influence two participants mentioned. For my very brief thoughts on the game you can check out my latest blog for 442, although as is often my habit, I undertake a bit of reminiscing and talk more about the Victory’s first ever game against Olympic Park rather than the game itself.

Having been watching the team basically play indoors for the past four seasons it was a bit weird to be shivering a little as I stood there watching the play in action and it took almost half an hour to drink the beer that I purchased at half time. As for the viewing experience (the game aside) my current view is from the South End (who were a bit flat on the night) and it is much better than the view that I experienced at Docklands Stadium. In fact I am quite happy with my spot.

Following the weekend, it has felt like we have been going through a series of high and lows or swings and roundabouts (if that is your kind of thing). First there was the concern of Hernandez and his knee after being on the wrong end of one of many ordinary Perth Glory tackles and then finding out it should all be okay. Then there was concern over Billy Celeski and his newly reconstructed knee after an incident at training and fearing the worst only to be told it wasn’t as bad as first thought. Finally there was the announcement yesterday that subject to a medical, Melbourne would be unveiling their new Brazilian signing on Thursday to compliment yesterday’s signing of Welsh winger, Geoff Kellaway. At last we will have a striker of some sorts - let’s hope he’s a good one.

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.

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’.

On a fairly regular basis I visit the construction site for the new rectangular stadium as part of my bid to capture the whole construction process (you can view my photos here). What I have noticed in recent visits is that construction (only from an external point of view as I haven’t been inside) has slowed and it worries me a little that the stadium won’t be completed in time for its proposed opening in May.

As a person who works in the construction industry, in my very limited experience that the finishing touches to a project take longer than expected and I don’t think the four months will be enough for the completion of the stadium. I hope to be proved wrong but I don’t think it will meet the deadline somehow.

On a slightly different note, in my latest blog for 442 I come up with some highlights of the year that passed and as per usual there is a heavy bias towards my favourite player of the current squad, Carlos Hernandez. If you want more details, check it out here.