Victory in Melbourne 

I have been really enjoying the Victorian Premier League of late. This is particularly due to the fact that the Richmond Eagles are sitting on top of the table after five rounds and are yet to taste defeat. We are also in the great part of the season when the weather is still relatively balmy and not too many layers of clothing are required. Local football is also my topic of discussion for my latest blog post for au.fourfourtwo.com which can be read here.

In order to keep myself amused during the A-League off season I have taken to writing reviews and previews for au.fourfourtwo.com of the goings on in 2009 season of the Victorian Premier League. You can read my first effort here.

Before the big one on Saturday night there was the small matter of the kick off the 2009 Victorian Premier League season on Friday night. Kicking off the action was my second favourite Australian football team, the Richmond Eagles at Kevin Bartlett Reserve against the Whittlesea Zebras.

Like last season the Richmond boys started the season of in style and didn’t appear to be missing the services of Golden Boot winner, Pablo Cardozo and Jesse Krncevic as they ran 3-0 winners on a somewhat balmy night.

The player really grabbed my attention was Daniel Visevic, a player once on the books of Melbourne Victory in a cadet ship type of role before trying his luck with Dinamo Zagreb. His performance as an attacking midfielder on Friday night was second to one with his incisive passing being the highlight. The deft finish for the third goal was truly sensational. He will be certainly one to watch and it wouldn’t surprise to see him back with the Victory or maybe another A-League team before the season’s end.

The announcement today by Melbourne Victory of friendlies against VPL sides Green Gully Cavaliers and Whittlesea Zebras provides a conundrum for one Mr Vargas. He will have to choose which son to support when Roddy’s Melbourne take on a Green Gully side that features his brother, Andy.

I will be definitely making my way to the Green Gully match - its one of my favourite VPL grounds (apart from Kevin Bartlett Reserve, of course) although on a Monday night in the middle of winter it would be advisable to rug up. Don’t think I will be making it to the Whittlesea game - its just too far away and too hard to get to. As a bonus, we might get to see new Brazilian recruit Ney Fabiano De Oliveira make his Victory debut.

Match details are as follows:

Melbourne Victory vs Green Gully
When: Monday, 7 July, 7pm
Where: Green Gully Reserve, Green Gully Road, Keilor Downs (entry is free)

Melbourne Victory vs Whittlesea
When: Tuesday, 15 July, 7pm
Where: Epping Soccer Stadium, Harvest Home Road, Epping (entry is free)