Melbourne Victory sent Adelaide United back to the therapist, extending one of the most dominant streaks in Australian sport with a 10th successive A-League win over the Reds on Friday night.
Victory’s 2-1 come-from-behind win in a classic at Etihad Stadium ended Adelaide’s own 13-match unbeaten streak, though the Reds remain top of the A-League ladder.
But United – who went into the match in the form of their lives – still couldn’t find a way to beat their bogey team despite grabbing an early lead.
Defender Iain Fyfe’s headed goal from a Paul Reid free-kick inside the first 60 seconds suggested the Reds would be every chance of breaking their run of defeats stretching back more than three years and including the grand final two seasons ago.
In a tense match which simmered with niggle and end-to-end action for the full 90 minutes, the Victory chased down the Reds to level up with a Robbie Kruse long-range strike on 21 minutes.
They then ran them over on 68 minutes with a neat move down the right involving the outstanding Kruse, Tom Pondeljak and finally Carlos Hernandez, who banged in the winner to shatter the visitors.
The Reds lost star striker Mathew Leckie inside the first 20 minutes with a knee injury – the victim of a crude and heavy foul from Victory defender Surat Sukha in a match where the tough challenges flowed along with plenty of chances.
Just as Kruse was involved in everything for the Victory, United skipper Lucas Pantelis and midfielder Adam Hughes worked tirelessly setting things up for the Reds.
But the Victory eventually climbed to third place on the table once Hernandez struck following a frenetic last five minutes when both Pondeljak and Adelaide substitute Inseob Shin hit the post.
Victory’s 10-game winning streak over the Reds is now the most consecutive wins by one club over another in Australian national soccer league history.
But United coach Rini Coolen shrugged off the Victory hoodoo in the wider scheme of things, saying the Reds would not be derailed by the defeat.
“It’s nothing to worry about. We’re doing well, we’re playing well, we’re dangerous,” Coolen said.
“You can lose sometimes. It happens. We just have to look forward to the next game.”
Victory coach Ernie Merrick was thrilled with Kruse’s man-of-the-match performance and his side’s second half performance – especially a dominant 20-minute period – against the league’s top team.
“He’s on fire Robbie. He’s playing terrific football,” Merrick said of the former Brisbane Roar player, who has now scored in his past four matches.
“He’s gone from being a winger to a goalscorer and he’s really thrived in our environment. Every time Robbie got the ball I thought we’d get something out of it.”
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