The Stands: Victory 3 – 2 Phoenix

by Mark Gojszyk 0

Kevin Muscat, or Mr. 100% so far, oversaw his first win as Melbourne Victory head coach on Monday, but not before his team squandered a comfortable lead to survive a close finish to claim the three points. His first game replacing Socceroos-bound Ange Postecoglou was looking a dream within half an hour, with Archie Thompson and James Troisi (x2) giving Victory a 3-0 lead, before a Jeremy Brockie goal soon after and a late Paul Ifill strike left home fans anxious for that final whistle. It eventually came, preventing Wellington from snatching a third, and Muscat and co, breathing a sigh of relief, can now look forward to the Sydney game on Saturday.

The game was an interesting one for Muscat, pitting some players he once played with (Archie Thompson, Adrian Leijer) against others (Carlos Hernandez, Vince Lia), and going up against a coach he was once coached by (Ernie Merrick) at a ground where he once shared success with them all (Etihad Stadium).

Man of the Moment – James Troisi

The 25-year-old fringe Socceroo looks to be a genuine finisher, and his loan move from Serie-A outfit Atalanta is working a charm. Co-owned by Juventus, Troisi’s potential is finally being realised in the A-league. After a sluggish start to the season as a substitute against Heart, Troisi has now scored four goals in three games, including two against Wellington, propelling him to the top of the A-league scoring charts at this early stage.

His first goal was an opportunistic pounce on a poorly headed pass back by Andrew Durante to expertly score past Glen Moss. The second was a classy chip after a lobbed pass by Mark Milligan over the Nix’s high defensive line. Troisi is now gelling well with teammates in Victory’s attacking system and looking good to push for Socceroos selection. His movement and ball skills are exceptional and, bar a few errors, his passing is also improving. Consistency will now be key for him, where he can be a key player in Victory’s championship pursuit.

Complacency rearing its ugly head

Victory raced off the blocks early against Wellington, exploiting their high line, defensive errors and inexperienced fullbacks Reece Caira and Louis Fenton. Everything was looking promising, including Thompson’s ability to finally stay onside for a goal. Within half an hour, the three goal buffer was looking likely to be doubled by the end of the game. However, Wellington began to sit deeper but still pressure Victory, saturating the midfield, winning important contests in the middle and retaining possession. Jeremy Brockie scored a quick reply, Mitch Nichols came off with a persistent calf injury, and Victory seemed to lose their way after that.

Early in the second half Victory huffed and puffed, winning multiple corners but could not capitalize on a number of free headers. It is worth noting that, despite Wellington’s winless start to the season, they possess an abundance of talent and an attacking style under Merrick, unlucky not to win so far. They are not a team to treat complacently, but that is exactly what Victory seemed to do. The rot settled in when Pablo Contreras, for all his calmness and guile, started to hit passes short, one of which gifted Wellington an attacking opportunity. Finkler and Barbarouses were also guilty of wayward passes. Other fancy flicks and moves by the team were not paying off. Archie Thompson was once again re-living old habits, scoring from offside, and Victory were unable to capitalize on later opportunities to put the game beyond doubt. As it was, only some desperate defending rescued the home team’s blushes at the final whistle.

Evolution not revolution

It is evident Muscat will dare not fix what ain’t broke at Victory. Why would he, when Postecoglou left such a clear blueprint for success with the current plan?

Monday’s team line-up was almost identical from the one that defeated Brisbane, with Contreras the only inclusion, replacing the unlucky Nicholas Ansell. However, as the season goes on, Muscat’s challenge will be player rotation, something which could have been handled better as the game progressed on Monday. Whilst he was forced into making an early substitute through Nichols’ injury, he left the last two, Connor Pain and Scoyy Galloway, till a few minutes before full time. He could have brought them on earlier to rest a few tired legs; especially considering Victory have a five day turnaround before they play Sydney. Jason Geria, affording Brockie loads of space for his goal, has performed honorably in his time at right back but it could be time to give Galloway, a natural right back, a chance to start. Last season’s hero in Sydney, Andrew Nabbout, has scored consecutive braces in the Youth League and could be pushing for selection to return to the ground that holds happy memories for him.

The new manager’s other challenge will be to look at how better to break up defences sitting back deep. Victory have excelled exploiting high lines with their pace, yet against teams like Heart, struggle to play the killer ball through.

Muscat’s real test as manager did not come against Wellington. You have to go back to the NSL to find a Kiwi side beating Melbourne in Melbourne, so anything less than a win would have been diabolical. Even then, the scoreline was not flattering, considering at least one of Victory’s goals was gifted to them. Complacency and a leaky defence will be something Victory must rectify and cannot afford against a desperate Sydney team clawing for points.

An away game with a five-day turnaround will be Muscat’s real test of tactics and man management. Sydney, despite their injury ravaged poor start to the season, have a good record at home, and form will be thrown out when these two teams meet for the ‘Big Blue’. Will Muscat remain Mr. 100%? Stay tuned to find out.