- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Simon Colosimo of Sydney during their round one A-League match between Sydney FC and the Melbourne Victory in Sydney. (AAP Image/Jason McCawley)
Peruse the various A-League forums in cyberspace, and many fans are claiming that this Sunday’s minor premiership showdown between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory is the most important match in the A-League’s five-year history.
Some supporters have gone as far as suggesting that the Valentine’s Day encounter is the biggest domestic club game ever played in Australia.
I’m sure many former NSL fans will have something to say about that, but there’s no denying that Sunday’s fixture bears all the hallmarks of a classic.
Only two points separate Ernie Merrick’s league leaders from Vitezslav Lavicka’s premiership chasing Sydney FC, and both teams are desperate to sew up the title and the place in the 2011 AFC Champions League that comes with it.
Add to that the fact that Gold Coast United are just a point behind Sydney FC and the seeds are sewn for a tense afternoon in the harbour city – even if the Sky Blues will know the result of Gold Coast’s clash with North Queensland Fury by the time they take to the pitch.
Precisely where they take to the pitch is the question on everybody’s lips, as rumours abound that last weekend’s Edinburgh Military Tattoo did significant damage to the surface of the Sydney Football Stadium.
Whether that forces Sydney FC to move the much-anticipated fixture to Parramatta Stadium remains to be seen, but less than 8,500 fans turned out at the same venue last weekend – albeit in miserable weather conditions.
With showers once again forecast for next weekend, thousands of fans may prefer to stay home and watch the action unfold live on Fox Sports.
That won’t take away from the tactical battle at hand, as the A-League’s stingiest defence aims to keep the most free-flowing attack at bay.
Vitezslav Lavica has undoubtedly moulded a tight-knit unit in his first season in charge, and in Simon Colosimo and Stephan Keller, the Sky Blues possess the sort of hard-nosed central defence that every coach dreams of.
Melbourne are of course missing their self-appointed hard man Kevin Muscat through suspension, but surely of greater concern to coach Ernie Merrick is the absence of injured talisman Archie Thompson.
The dubious signing of Central Coast Mariners striker Nik Mrdja aside – Thompson’s absence hits hard at precisely the wrong end of the season, even if Carlos Hernandez is currently in sparkling form.
The tireless Matthew Kemp could also miss the entire finals series, and the absence of key players may hand the advantage to Sydney FC should the pair meet once again the finals.
Sydney’s major concern this season has been a lack of goals, and marquee man John Aloisi is still looking to silence the critics despite his two-goal haul last weekend.
The stage could be set for the former Socceroo to wreak havoc on a depleted Victory defence, as Aloisi looks to stamp his authority on a Sydney side that his missed fellow striker Mark Bridge for long stretches of the campaign.
It’s a dream match-up for both the marketing men and women and the football purists, as Australia’s two biggest clubs go head-to-head in what what promises to be a fascinating stoush.
Whether it truly is the biggest A-League clash ever played is debatable, but there’s no question that FFA officials have got the final day blockbuster they desperately craved.
The weather might be lousy, a couple of key players are crocked: but this is precisely the kind of Valentine’s Day showdown fans were hoping to fall in love with when the A-League kicked off.
If there’s only one thing left to wish for – besides a decent playing surface – let’s just hope that it doesn’t end in a scoreless draw!