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Melbourne Victory vs Brisbane Roar: Victory hold off Roar in thriller

13th January, 2017
Kick-off: 7:50pm AEDT
Venue: AAMI Park
Last meeting: Roar 1 - Victory 1
Referee: Chris Beath
Odds: Victory $1.70, Draw $3.90, Roar $4.75

Melbourne Victory (two to be omitted)
2. Jason GERIA, 4. Nick ANSELL, 5. Daniel GEORGIEVSKI, 6. Leigh BROXHAM, 7. Marco ROJAS, 8. Besart BERISHA, 9. Max BEISTER, 10. James TROISI, 11. Mitch AUSTIN, 13. Oliver BOZANIC, 14. Fahid BEN KHALFALLAH, 16. Rashid MAHAZI, 17. James DONACHIE, 20. Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21. Carl VALERI (c), 22. Stefan NIGRO, 23. Jai INGHAM, 40. Matt ACTON (gk).

Brisbane Roar (two to be omitted)
1. Michael THEO (gk), 3. Luke DEVERE, 4. Daniel BOWLES, 5. Corey BROWN, 7. Thomas KRISTENSEN, 8. Jacob PEPPER, 9. Jamie MACLAREN, 11. Tommy OAR, 13. Jade NORTH, 15. ARANA, 16. Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS, 17. Matt MCKAY (c), 19. Jack HINGERT, 21. Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22. Thomas BROICH, 23. Dimitri PETRATOS, 26. Nick D’AGOSTINO, 28. Brandon BORRELLO.
Melbourne Victory take on the Mariners in the final weekend of the regular season. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Roar Guru
13th January, 2017
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3462 Reads

Match Review:

After a first half for the A-League ages, Melbourne Victory have held on for a 3-2 win over Brisbane Roar despite being a man down for most of the second half at AAMI Park.

It was a cagey first ten minutes between these two before Victory opened the scoring in spectacular fashion with James Troisi curling a free-kick precisely into the top right corner on 12 minutes.

With Brisbane rattled, Melbourne doubled their advantage with 18 minutes played with Troisi turning provider when he found Marcos Rojas at the top of the box. Rojas gifted the goal when Roar keeper Michael Theo made a mess of a potential interception allowing the Kiwi attacker to drill home his tenth goal of the season.

Dominating the game, Victory would then win a penalty after a Luke Devere foul on Besart Berisha with the Albanian tucking the ball into the far left corner to put his side 3-0 ahead on 28 minutes.

Seemingly out of the contest, the Roar then found a lifeline on the half hour mark when Dimitri Petratos smashed a swirling free-kick from range into the top right corner.

As momentum swung Brisbane’s way, they would pull another goal back in the 41st minute with a Brandon Borrello ball in the box was deflected into the Victory net by former Roar player James Donachie.

After a thrilling five-goal first 45 minutes, the second half started with a similar intensity as the Roar looked for an equaliser.

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Brisbane’s search to draw level given a huge boost in the 58th minute when Berisha was given a controversial straight red card for a stray elbow on Luke Devere.

Despite being a man down however, the Victory seemed to rally with the numerical disadvantage as they kept the Roar out and went close to extending their advantage through Rojas and Troisi in the 80th minute.

Having dominated possession with an extra man, Brisbane simply couldn’t force an equaliser as they were handed a third straight defeat as the Victory themselves secured a gritty sixth win in a row.

Final Score:
Melbourne Victory 3
Brisbane Roar 2

Match Preview:

Melbourne Victory will be looking to secure a sixth straight win tonight when they welcome Brisbane Roar to AAMI Park. Join us on The Roar from 7:50pm AEDT for all of the action.

The Victory secured a fifth consecutive win last week as they cooly dispatched of Adelaide United 2-0.

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A first-half strike to the in-form James Troisi and a 68th minute header to the A-League’s most prolific goal scorer Besart Berisha securing the win over bottom-of-the-table United.

Sitting second on the ladder, seven points behind table-topping Sydney FC but with a game in hand, the Victory will be looking to keep their title push going with another win to extend their streak.

It has been a turbulent season so far for the Roar who though currently sitting fourth enter this clash on the back of two losses.

Last week’s dramatic 3-2 loss to Newcastle Jets at home adding to the pain of the previous week’s 2-0 loss to the Sky Blues.

While current form may be an issue, there’s no doubting the quality of the Brisbane side with striker Jamie Maclaren netting five goals from nine games and the Brisbane defence so far conceding just 17 goals – the third lowest in the league.

The Victory’s search for a sixth straight win has been hampered with the one match suspension handed to Alan Baro. In his place however Max Beister, Rashid Mahazi and Stefan Nigro have all been promoted into the squad.

Though Brett Holman remains sidelined for the Roar, they have no new absentees and are bolstered by the promotions of Nathan Konstandopoulos and Nick D’Agostino.

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Prediction
At home and riding high, it’s hard not to see the Victory securing the win. Brisbane’s current form doesn’t suggest anything but a Melbourne win, but if the Roar do show up they could well hold on for a draw. But enough fence sitting, I’m going with a 2-1 win to the Victory.

So can the Victory go six in a row or can the Roar bounce back to form with an upset? Join us on The Roar from 7:50pm AEDT to find out as Melbourne Victory play host to Brisbane Roar.

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