Image: Steve Starek/Melbourne Knights
A James McGarry brace encouraged Melbourne Knights to tussle past Richmond at Somers St.
Richmond were pursuing to heal their wounds inflicted in last round’s 3-2 defeat at the hands of league leaders South Melbourne, while the home side were out to overturn the misfortunes of their last fixture – after a 1-1 draw away to a Veneto Club surface drenched in fog.
Both outfits highlighted their determination to draw first blood early on – Jason Hicks swinging in a third minute free kick which kept Gian Tapia on his toes, before Nic Niagioran drove the ball through on the wrong side of the post merely four minutes later.
The balance of play was in favour of the travelers, although Rick Mensick’s men squandered their windows of opportunity – the most bitter miss a 1v1 from Niagioran who couldn’t beat Chalmers, and Alex Caniglia skying the follow-up in the 22rd minute.
Niagioran was already proving to be a handful for the Knights backline, attributing a number of chances to his name as well as proving his physicality among the opposition.
The attacker’s physical ability was looked on as a disadvantage after he received an early caution for a tussle for the ball.
James McGarry tucked home a well-worked play from close range in the 37th minute to deal a heavy blow to the visitors, who arguably had the flow of play.
Barely two minutes later, Marijan Cvitkovic drove his foot through the ball on his first touch, averting the back of the net by centimetres after coming off the underside of the crossbar.
Tensions escalated to extreme heights after a cynical foul to Cvitkovic, who was running towards goal. Push turned to shove before a punch was thrown – resulting in all 22 players, staff and match officials jumping in to terminate the brawl.
Cvitkovic and Bryan Bran were given their marching orders in the 42nd minute for their contribution.
Richmond had their share of chances going forward in the second half, although the away side lacked the individual brilliance in the final third – leaving the Knights to take reins of the fixture.
The match was all but sealed in the 83rd minute when Hicks pounced on a defensive slip to square the ball to McGarry, an unlikely match winner with a brace to his name.
Knights manager Andrew Marth expressed his displeasure regarding the finishing touch in the final third, highlighting how a coup of even seven goals should have been finished – especially given their firm hold on the momentum of the fixture in the second half.
“Every goal’s a good goal, but I’m not really concerned about scoring goals,” Marth said.
“I’m more concerned about not scoring as many goals as we should’ve today. In hindsight we should’ve been five or six definitely, possibly seven.
“In that final third, putting the ball in the back of the net was a little disappointing today.
“We had our statistician out there, and we had 80 percent of play, and we probably had eight clear cut chances, so two goals is very disappointing.”
At the other end of the pitch, Marth lauded his backline, who have conceded one goal in their past three matches. Among the praise received was custodian Fraser Chalmers, who showed a solid display, including numerous diving and 1v1 saves.
“[Chalmers] didn’t really do too much, did he?” the manager said. “But what he did do was quite good to come out and clear the ball quite well, collect it and play it early, which we wanted to do.
“I thought our back four did really well today, [Jurkovic] stepped in really well today, but unfortunately he’ll be out next week due to accumulating too many yellow cards.”
The Knights were drawn to face NPL Western Australia side Cockburn City in the FFA Cup Round of 32, who are winless from their past five NPL fixtures.
Marth appeared satisfied with the current quality of his outfit to progress in the FFA Cup, although the 47-year-old assured fans a high profile marquee signing would be on the cards.
“We wanted to achieve three things this year. Dockerty Cup was one, FFA cup was one, and obviously get in the top six. We’ve got two out of three, so anything’s possible.
“We’ve got to get through this last round of 32, Maybe [Josip Šimunić] or someone else who has played in the Croatian national team [can be signed as a marquee].
“We got a few options, but I’m more than confident we’ll bring a high profile player out.
The Knights continue their push for finals as they travel to Broadmeadows to face a fired-up Hume City outfit, while Richmond host a Pascoe Vale who are fresh out of three consecutive triumphs.
The Knights continue their push for finals as they travel to Broadmeadows to face a fired-up Hume City outfit, while Richmond host a Pascoe Vale who are fresh out of three consecutive triumphs.