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Victory, Roar forced to settle for draw

Roar Guru
11th November, 2017
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Victory coach Kevin Muscat. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
11th November, 2017
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The battle between the two teams needing a victory so desperately has ended in a draw that will please neither of their managers.

The Melbourne Victory and the Brisbane Roar came to Etihad Stadium to win tonight, after the poor starts to the season there was really no other option for either team.

Sadly, neither will leave triumphant and both still sit mired on the lower rungs of the table, waiting for their fortunes to change. The first half was lamentable to say the least, as fouling and a stodgy style of play infested the game.

When under points pressure from a ladder perspective, teams can sometimes submit to conservativism and that was the case for both teams tonight. It was one of those games where the game desperately needed a goal.

Victory had the better of the first half possession yet did little with it and the half-time stats were less than fascinating.

The second period started in a similar manner to the first before the drought was finally broken by Besart Berisha in the seventy-ninth minute and the fans went ballistic in Melbourne with the first win of the season appearing well within reach.

Inexplicably, five minutes later, Brett Holman, a fresh player, found his way into the box to knock home a neat ball from point-blank range and astonishingly the game so desperately needing a goal had two.

A few mad scrambles took place in the final minutes, however, the scoring was done for the night and both teams will leave with a sense of disappointment.

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A winless Roar and Victory after six rounds is an odd thing for the A-League. Plenty of soul searching to do for both managers, it will be interesting to hear what their take on the game is.

Personally, it looked like two struggling teams a little scared to attack and frightened to lose.

Final score
Melbourne Victory 1
Brisbane Roar 1

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