Captain's knocks, new faces and match-winning braces: The A-League players who were the difference in Round 19
Round 19 was an interesting weekend of football with no draws, 19 goals in six matches, two five-goal games on Sunday and for the…
Melbourne Victory get the chance to rebound from a disappointing 2-1 loss at Western Sydney when they host Wellington Phoenix at AAMI Park tonight. We’ll have live scores from 7.45pm AEDT.
After an early rocky period, Melbourne Victory have had a strong two months of solid results that has seen Ange Postecoglou’s side surge into the top four on the A-League ladder.
But this competition has a funny way of handing out timely reality checks, and the Victory received one on New Year’s Day when they were slain by Shinji Ono and the Western Sydney Wanderers, eventually going down 2-1.
Tonight they get their chance to consolidate their spot in the four against a Wellington Phoenix side on the second leg of a two-game road trip.
Ricki Herbert’s men haven’t hit the mark on a consistent basis enough this season and they are precariously placed only three points ahead of last-placed Sydney.
They’ll take on the Victory tonight without several key personnel. Manny Muscat was suspended for three matches midweek for his efforts against Brisbane and so will young gun Tyler Boyd, who was sent off during the match.
Leo Bertos and Alex Smith both look under serious injury clouds and are unlikely to play.
For Melbourne, the picture is somewhat rosier but the Victory’s long-term prospects were affected by a serious knee injury to Brazilian Gui Finkler, who could miss the remainder of the season.
On a good day, in good form, a well-organised Wellington Phoenix side could be relied upon to journey across the Tasman and get the job done.
But today is not one of those days and Ange will be burning after what happened in Sydney midweek. Expect the Victory to win and win well.