After suffering an unexpected loss at home to Newcastle Jets the previous week, Melbourne Victory made amends and secured a 2-0 triumph over Perth Glory on Friday through classy goals to Adama Traore and Guilherme Finkler.
Anything but a win would have been disastrous for Kevin Muscat’s side, which had on numerous occasions dropped points this season despite performing well enough to win those games, and was playing a highly inexperienced Perth team missing the likes of Shane Smeltz, Sidnei Sciola, William Gallas, Scott Jamieson and Josh Risdon.
This game, however, will also be remembered for two key incidents off the pitch. The first one occurred during the game, where a scuffle just before half time with security led to a walkout by the Northern Terrace, further inflaming tensions between the two parties amid protracted negotiations with club regarding sanctions imposed on active support.
The second incident after the game involved Perth coach Alistair Edwards and senior players, namely captain Jacob Burns, who failed to feature off the bench despite his availability after returning from suspension. The perceived favouritism of the coach to play both sons, Cameron and Ryan, ahead of more senior members of the squad, led to a dressing room bust-up and forced the coach to miss the scheduled post game press conference.
Despite the off-field drama, Kevin Muscat’s men march on in fourth place, now preparing for battle against table propping, cross-town rivals Heart.
Victory defence looking more solid
It’s difficult to measure exactly how good Victory’s defence was this game, considering they faced a seriously depleted Glory side with a game plan to sit deep and play on the counter. Still, if the old adage “you’re as only as good as your last game” holds true, then keeping a clean sheet would indicate Melbourne did something right throughout the 90 minutes.
For the most part, the home side managed to restrict their opponents to only a few shots on goal, cutting off supply to Perth’s speedy wingers Ryo Nagai and Chris Harold before they could get in behind on goal and in turn starving forwards Jamie Maclaren and debutant Ndumba Makeche of the ball. The result was a 5th clean sheet for Victory for the season, not a bad return considering the criticism targeted at the back four throughout the campaign.
More importantly, marquee man Pablo Contreras looked to have a solid game. His 56th minute slide tackle to dispossess Maclaren, running through on goal, was indicative of his quality performance. Being last man and already on a yellow, the result could have been disastrous had he mistimed the challenge. Contreras was also intercepting balls and breaking up attacks before they could materialise. What he lacks in speed he makes up for in intelligence and reading of the game, and Victory fans will be hoping the brain-fades dogging his earlier games become a thing of the past.
Elsewhere, ‘keeper Nathan Coe also had a proactive game, constantly coming off his line to clean up through balls and lobbed passes. He was also an important figure during a period late in the second half when the rest of the team was losing concentration, pulling off an excellent save from a Maclaren volley in the 81st minute.
Jason Geria, too, looked more comfortable at right-back, dispossessing players, passing crisply and providing forward runs. The youngster, a natural centre back, is looking more confident in his adopted position. And then there’s Adama Traore, the star left back who needs no introduction.
Still struggling to convert chances into goals
Whilst a 2-0 scoreline looks convincing enough on paper, victory for Melbourne was only sealed in the 89th minute, following a few nervous minutes when Perth could have equalized. It took Melbourne over 20 shots, and numerous other half chances, to muster their two goals.
Like a number of teams before them, Perth looked to sit eleven men behind the ball, stifle Victory’s creative freedom, and hit them on the counter. For the most part the Glory players executed their defensive duties perfectly, and if it wasn’t for Traore’s stunning deadlock breaker late in the first half, frustration could have risen further among Victory’s ranks.
There are some positive signs, however, that Melbourne’s attack does look like slowly gelling into a deadly unit. It took a number of expert saves from Glory No. 1 Danny Vukovic, to keep them in the game. Former Brisbane teammates Mitch Nichols and Kosta Barbarouses had good chemistry up front, the former with excellent through balls behind Glory’s defence, the latter with great footwork to dribble past defenders. Finkler was stellar coming off the bench, and Troisi came close to scoring a number of times, though his game was blighted by inaccuracy in front of goal and a number of misplaced passes.
Muscat has defended his striker-less system, saying he would rather face the problem of creating chances and not finishing them, rather than lacking creativity and not fashioning chances at all. Regardless of his confidence in the system, Victory will face more opposition teams willing to sit back this season, and Muscat will be hoping that his teams profligacy in front of goal, already costing them vital points this season, will have ceased by then.
When will Gui Finkler start a game?
In returning from a serious knee injury that sidelined him for the best part of a year, attacking midfielder Gui Finkler has played a cameo role off the bench every game this season. He has already scored two goals in his role as a super sub, and many are calling for his reinstatement into the starting line-up.
His sealer on Friday capped a superb move. Starting with a received back heel from Nichols, Finkler dribbled past a defender, interplayed a one-two with Troisi, and bashed the ball past a hapless Vukovic. His other goal this season was away against Adelaide, an effort that sparked Victory to an inspirational comeback draw.
Leading the assists charts for most of last season despite being cut down less than half way through the campaign, Finkler has incredible vision, technique and passing, precisely the attributes Melbourne Victory require to break down stubborn defences. To aid his recovery, Finkler has also featured in many youth league games this season and now looks ready to play a full 90 minutes in the senior side. He has spoken of his willingness to bide his time and honor his current role in the side as a super sub, helping punish tired defences.
Problem is, who exactly would Finkler replace in the team? Currently, Nichols is undroppable in the false nine position, earning a number of man-of-match performances. Troisi, despite not having the same passing range as Nichols in the middle, is the one clinical finisher in the side, top scoring with six goals. Barbarouses, Archie Thompson and Connor Pain have been serviceable out wide, though a possibility could be one of the wingers sacrificed to play Troisi out wide, with Finkler slotting in the middle.
At the moment, however, Muscat won’t be compelled to tinker with a line-up almost on the brink of opening floodgates. There will be times when Finkler will be required to start games due to injuries and scheduling of games around the Asian Champions League, and he will be ready when called upon.
Needless to say, Finkler will be required in some capacity against Melbourne Heart, who, under John Aloisi, will again look set to play the same defensive tactics they did in the first derby and throughout the season. Despite Heart’s winless start to the season, the Melbourne Derby is a game where form is thrown out the window, and no extra motivation is required to spur a team to victory. Muscat’s men will have to be on guard, as Heart has historically performed nobly in the derby, regardless of both teams’ positions on the ladder.