This should be the Melbourne Derby to end all Melbourne Derbies, yet for some strange reason it doesn’t quite feel that way. If you think about it, the ingredients are all there for a fierce contest – two unbeaten sides with new superstar strikers lining up against each other, a power balance never before seen in the city, the fuel of a massive 4-0 thumping from the then Melbourne Heart last time the sides met. Perfect, right?
Well if the contest fell on any other week, it may just have taken centre stage, but it appears the City camp has remained preoccupied with the news that David Villa’s departure is to be pushed forward six rounds, coupled by the fact that marquee Robi Koren is ironically also set to miss the next six weeks. They’ve also pushed the hard stance this season that their focus will be on their own game rather than their opponents. Doesn’t sound like typical derby talk.
Melbourne Victory on the other hand has settled down to a simmer after exploding out of the blocks against the Wanderers. Their 1-1 draw against Adelaide was underwhelming performance wise as they seemed averse to pushing forward, a far cry from the gung-ho approach they took into the opening round.
Both camps have played down the clash thus far, palming it off as any other game, but at the crux of it, it’s much more than that. Here’s a Melbourne City side who are chomping at the bit for that first victory to set them on the right path, while the Victory are just desperate to prove they are still the top dogs in the state. But come the end of the 90 minutes on Saturday, that outcome will be much clearer.
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The Past
That 4-0, which might seem like an age ago for some, will no doubt live on fresh in the minds of the Victory support. The City/Heart camp, by their own admission, had agreed that last season’s result wasn’t a “fair” one, despite its emphatic appearance. The rigours of a tough Asian Champions League campaign took its toll on the squad and back-up keeper Lawrence Thomas was brought in for his first A-League appearance of the season, promptly making an error for Heart’s second of the afternoon.
“As a result maybe but I think if you look back at that game, we started very poor but we didn’t conceded a goal. We scored the first, had a lucky second but I think that result wasn’t really fair. I think in the first game we deserved a better result in that game.” –Rob Wielaert
That blowout was a real outlier in a series of generally tight affairs between the two clubs. Aside from that 4-0 thumping, there have only been two A-League matches between the teams separated by more than a goal (both by two). The head-to-head record also stands at an even four wins, losses and draws thus far over its four-year reign. But on the other hand, that result is the only one so far which has seen both Kevin Muscat and John van ‘t Schip at the helm.
The Present
Staying with the past for just one quick moment, it’s important to note that there’s been a staggering three 0-0 draws that have played out in this fixture. That begs the question; will we once again be disappointed by two sides that are more wary of conceding instead of focusing on playing football?
“We’re not going to stay behind and wait. We’re going to try and play our game. If we have to defend and the opponent is stronger, then we’re going to have to be there as well but if that’s not the case, then we want to play our game. We’ll have to be aware of the opponent when we lose the ball. Saturday won’t be any different.” –John van ‘t Schip
The Victory got sucked into that trap at times in Adelaide, and it doesn’t bode too well for the Round Three clash. But there’s a certain feeling in the air that this one might have a little more meaning to it, and given something of note happens in the opening stages – think Kisnorbo’s sending off in Derby 2 last year, or Engelaar’s strike in edition 3 – I can see it opening up for an entertaining game.
Looking at likely team news, I can’t see too much changing for either side. City’s casualty list may be small in number, but the extent is quite lengthy. The aforementioned Koren once again joins the ill Connor Chapman, Argentine Jonatan Germano and the versatile Ben Garuccio on the sidelines.
The Victory also look to be much the same, but will be bolstered by the return of Young Socceroos trio Dylan Murnane, Scott Galloway and Jordan Brown. Expect to see an appearance from one of the two defenders on the bench, given the Victory’s lack of cover on the pine last week.
The Future
How important is a win for both of these sides in the grand scheme of things? If City fail to take points from this one, the pessimists will point straight to the capitulation that they called a ‘start of a season’ last year. The expectations were high in 2013-14, but they’re higher now and while they faltered at this exact same hurdle last year after a promising start – They lost 1-0 in Round Three to Perth Glory – they very well can’t afford to do the same. While a loss wouldn’t signal panic, the warning bells would definitely be ringing.
Melbourne Victory would’ve looked at their first three fixtures and anticipated a potential tough run to start their campaign. A win and a draw later and the club have asserted themselves as early premiership favourites. As far as they’re concerned, anything less than three points against their rivals is a failure given their decent showings so far. A win would surely pin the title of ‘top dogs’ on the navy blue half of the city and set their season up very nicely with the only potential distraction their involvement in the FFA Cup.
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As the recently appointed Melbourne City captain Paddy Kisnorbo put it, the whole of Melbourne is expecting “fireworks” when the clubs meet this weekend. If the steely defender has his way – with a tantalising match-up against Besart Berisha awaiting – then the match could just ignite.
There won’t be as much bite in the contest as Paddy seems to think but I think it’ll end with 22 players still on the pitch and a healthy amount of goals. 2-2 draw with both Berisha and Villa to get on the scoresheet.