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Goal drought at the Dome
Melbourne Victory managed their second consecutive goalless draw at the Telstra Dome albeit with an improved performance against the league leaders, the Central Coast Mariners.
I went to watch this match hoping that this time there was going to be a goal of some kind after the first goalless draw against Perth Glory a fortnight ago but all we got was a reasonably good game but also a game that showed lack of Victory's organisation in the centre of the park.
Leandro Love introduced some creativeness into Victory in the second half and I think Ernie Merrick should let him start the next match against Newcastle together with Carlos Hernandez or else let Hernandez or Leigh Broxham start from the bench. Also Adrian Caceres should be left on the pitch for a bit longer because he offers more attacking options than Steve Pantelidis.
The next home match will be against Queensland Roar and I actually think its going to be a tough one with Queensland now beginning to play well as they showed against Perth Glory to get their first win. There was also a first win for Wellington Phoenix who won away to a disjointed Sydney FC outfit.
The fourth match saw Melbourne next opponents Newscastle Jets get a narrow victory over Adelaide United. In the last match of last season Victory lost 4-nil at the EnergyAustralia Stadium and though I don't think this scoreline will be repeated this time, a loss is quite likely and I will take a draw any time.
Meanwhile on TipsChallenge it was an
improved performance from me as I managed to get the exact score for the
Perth/Roar match and direction for the Jets/Adelaide.
Merrick always insists that the team is still unbeaten but I think that is covering up for the under-performance by the team at the moment at home. Being unbeaten and having four points is the same thing as winning one and drawing one and losing two.
I thought we did well in the away games and should have won against Phoenix but I think that at home the team has problems and they have to be addressed by having an attack minded line-up after all we are the home team.
Thanks for the comment Kelvin. Infact Wellington Phoenix has lost two games and won one and drew Victory and they are also on four points just like Victory who have not lost a game so far. The difference will be in goal difference though depending on how much you lose your games.
I am just hoping that once Victory get a win under their belt, then they can go on a winning streak.
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...Melbourne look lethargic, the play is not flowing, it could be because of the long lay off and the few changes that have happened to the team. The championship looks very open this season which is good for competitive play...the competition should be expanded and increase the options...I'm sure the league is able to sustain a knockout competition as well....it was also disheartening to see players failing to string passes together or poor ball control at such a high level,....what happened to all the talent we saw during the Asian Cup, noone is interested...I would prefer teams to recruit from Asia than South America...
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Mbareboy, there were a few stray passes from both sides under no pressure at all which I didn't expect.
Interesting point about getting players from Asia. There have been a few Asian players but mostly from China and also Kazu from Japan but it could be a good idea to look at some of the players from the likes of Iraq and Oman who looked very good.
About South America - it also depends whom you take from South America. Fred was good and exceptional and also I think Felipe and Daniel from the Phoenix are also very good but some of them have been pretty ordinary and incapable of changing the course of a game. Next place to scout for talent will be the upcoming Africa Nations Cup.
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