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Melbourne Victory skipper Kevin Muscat buried his grand final penalty demons and restored some respectability to his side’s Asian Champions League campaign in a 1-0 win over Kawasaki Frontale on Wednesday night.
On the same ground he missed a spot-kick in the Victory’s A-League grand final penalty shootout loss to Sydney FC 10 days earlier, Muscat slotted home the Victory’s second-half winner against the Japanese side at Etihad Stadium.
Victory goalkeeper Mitch Langerak was outstanding for his side – pulling off four vital saves to deny the wasteful visitors.
They included a reflex save from a deflected shot in the dying seconds to maintain his side’s lead.
Melbourne had lost their opening three matches in the ACL, including a 4-0 hammering by Kawasaki in Japan last week.
But they were far more lively on home soil, though Kawasaki had more than enough chances to win the game.
The match turned on a 60th minute decision by Iranian referee Saeid Mozaffari Zadeh to award a dubious penalty to Melbourne.
Striker Robbie Kruse went to ground under a light challenge from Kawasaki defender Takanobu Komiyama, which replays showed was well outside the area regardless of the level of contact.
But Muscat stepped up and put away the penalty, easing a little of the disappointment from his rare miss in the grand final.
The Victory will need all other results in the ACL to go their way to have any hope of making the top two and advancing to the second stage of the competition.
Victory coach Ernie Merrick was full of praise for Langerak’s performance, as well as the courage of Muscat to step up and take the match-winning penalty.
Muscat was missing for the 4-0 defeat in Japan, but his physical presence certainly aided his side in the return game.
“His pre-match speech before the boys went out was first-class, and the boys keep stepping up when he asks them to,” Merrick said.
“He was pretty keen to take that penalty and score, and he did it.
“It was a faultless penalty, first-class penalty, and it was under pressure. I think it was good for Kevin.”
Kawasaki coach Tsutomu Takahata believed his side was feeling the effects of a short turnaround from a weekend match, then the long trip to Melbourne.
“I think the players did well considering the long distance of travel. But I felt Melbourne’s energy was better than their energy in their away mission last time,” he said.
The Victory’s next match is a home clash with China’s Beijing Guoan on April 14.
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