It was a perfect day for football, the sunny and warm conditions keeping the Etihad Stadium roof open for the opening clash of the season for both Melbourne clubs. The crowd came streaming along the bridge decked in their respective team colours, a healthy 45,000 or so of them.
All the pre-match hype was about Victory’s impressive squad list, with the club busy in the pre-season to bring in star names such as Kosta Barbarouses and James Troisi. Heart’s capture of Harry Kewell caused a huge stir among the Victory faithful, who can’t accept the stars decision not just to sign with Heart but also why he left Victory in the first place.
All the predictions generally went the way of the blue and white, and why not considering they have been touted as potential title favourites. This was their first chance to flex their muscle and really make a statement in front of a big crowd.
The match itself proved to be a tense, tactical affair with Heart content with nullifying Victory with defensive, space blocking tactics while the latter was unable to overcome the bus parked in front of them. There were moments where the contest threaten to spark into life, but in the end there was a stalemate, a fitting result in the end.
Debutants show promise
Ange Postecoglou blooded four debutants in his starting line-up with marquee signing Pablo Contreras, Rashid Mahazi, James Troisi and Mitch Nichols making their debuts for the club.
The addition of Contreras at the back was welcome as he provided a cool, calming influence. Fans just need to take a look and the no look back flick pass to Leijer from a long ball to understand that this Chilean is a class act, and has composure in abundance. His contributions were perhaps soured by his stiff arm swing across Mate Dugandzic, which has subsequently cost him a two match suspension, but overall Victory fans should be happy with their new central defender.
Not many people knew Rashid Mahazi before that night at Etihad Stadium, and he’s now being touted as the next Nabbout/Pain, not in the sense of how he plays, but how he was plucked out of obscurity and thrown on the big stage. The former Northcote City midfielder filled the boots of departed Billy Celeski to good effect. He worked tirelessly all around the park and seemed unperturbed by the occasion. A few heavy touches here and there can be excused as it was his first outing at this level. Should he get an extended run, he should feel even more comfortable and begin to flourish.
Troisi and Nichols had a bit of a tough night, being a new partnership, they failed to create enough chances for the Victory and it could be said they played within their shells. Troisi played in a deeper playmaking role, while Nichols was the more advanced playmaker, dubbed the false nine. While on the ball both players’ class was evident, yet at times their final ball was lacking. There were positive signs however, when Troisi got into the box only to see his swivel shot go wide, while Nichols was a constant presence on the ball.
Patrick Kisnorbo and Robbie Wielart had a great evening out on pitch, as they successfully nullified the Victory’s attacking cavalry. Connor Pain was made to look a shade of the player he can be and Archie Thompson failed to have any impact on the clach. The two Heart centre backs read the play well, and covered for their respective fullbacks ensuring neither winger had a one on one situation. Kisnorbo in particular played some impressive cross field passes, one of which fashioned a scoring chance as it found the head of Kewell who nodded it to Mebrahtu, only for the striker to flash his half volley wide.
Andrea Migliorini and Massimo Murdocca were a big part of why the Victory were unable to break down the Heart defensive unit. Both midfielders worked extremely hard to plug as many gaps as they could, forcing the Victory to constantly look for new avenues to attack. Murdocca was like a buzzing bee, darting around the pitch pinching possession off the Victory midfield and helping set up counter attacks for Heart.
Finally there is Harry Kewell. On Saturday’s showing, they can’t afford to have him absent for any length of time. Proclaimed as one of the best talents the country has ever produced, he had only played as many as three competitive fixtures in twelve months. You wouldn’t have guessed it on this display and it seems like his decision to come back to complete a full pre-season was a good one. He played in an attacking midfield role on Saturday, and was the centre focus of Heart’s attacking forays and almost got himself on the scoresheet should his half volley had been on target. When he went off for another debutant Iain Ramsay, Heart didn’t look the same outfit, and his replacement failed to make any significant impact on the game.
Both sides have more to show
It is all well and good sitting back and making sure the opposition don’t hurt you, but at the end of the day goals win matches. Heart executed their masterplan to foil Victory, but apart from a handful of moments, never really threatened the Victory defence. The chances that they did have either came from direct counter attacks or long passes that bypassed the Victory midfield. Even then their finishing radar was off.
With the attacking weaponry that they possess, they could hurt some teams should they be set free to attack. Behich was far from influencial out of left back, making few darts forward compared to what he’s capable of, while Williams and Dugandzic were at times too quiet. Williams in particular struggled to have an impact on the game, and will be disappointed he couldn’t really test out inexperienced full back Jason Geria.
Golgol Mebrahtu also looked a little lost on the night, and besides his one volley that flashed wide, had no real impact up front. He chased and harried, but had precious little possession to speak off. With Maltese international Michael Mifsud returning from international duty next week, it may be tough for the young striker to hold his place in the starting eleven.
Victory would be more concerned with their inability to get in behind the Heart, as their midfield sat too deep. Even the false nine Mitch Nichols found himself dropping into deeper positions than he may have wanted, at times giving and receiving passes in the same line as Broxham. By vacating his high position, it left Kisnorbo and Wielart no one to worry about, aiding their cause to assist their fullbacks. It was rare that Nichols or anyone from the Victory midfield and attack found space in between Heart’s defence and midfield lines. This meant lots of sideways movement and hardly anything that hurt their opponents.
The wingers also received the ball too deep, allowing the two centre backs to cover their fullbacks to ensure Pain or Thompson didn’t have the luxury of blasting past them. There was even an occasion where Traore regained possession of the ball, but failed to spot the early pass to Pain who had taken up a great position in a pocket of space. In the end the pass came too late, and by then Pain was even behind Traore and found himself well blocked.
There were not many occasions in the entire ninety minutes that you truly felt Victory were hitting their straps. A couple of wonderful passing moves showed promise but either the final ball was lacking or Heart’s defence was well positioned to repel the attacks. When the Victory run hot they play fast direct football, and the two playmakers were caught in possession for too long.
The one occasion Victory got their groove on it was breathtaking, Nichols being in the centre of it all. The play had begun from a goalkick, and found its way to the left wing. From there Troisi switched play to the right wing and found Nichols, who played a couple of one twos and ended up putting an overlapping Geria in the box. His delivery only found Redmayne but the diving Pain was not far away.
It was a flash in the pan and if they are to be contenders like many predict, they need to be getting that sort of play going more often than they did on Saturday night. Victory are at their best when they pass and move quickly, and there is plenty of scope for improvement based on this showing.
Where to now for Jimmy Jeggo?
It was a situation a player like Jimmy Jeggo had been crying out for. He was in with a chance of starting the clash, but as it was failed to even make the bench, beaten to it by Scott Galloway who actually came on to replace Troisi. Mahazi’s performance on Saturday night was solid, and if anything spoke volumes for where the Austrian born midfielder sits in the reckoning. He had less game time that he would’ve liked the previous season and not making the squad for this clash would have been a huge blow. With Mark Milligan on the way back from injury, there is almost no room left for Jeggo in the matchday squad, and will need to work extra hard on the training paddock if he is to convince Postecoglou he is deserving of a spot.