The fourth Melbourne derby took place on Saturday in front of a 39,303 crowd. The tight and tense affair played out into a scoreless draw.
Here is what I learned:
Melbourne Victory:
1. Ditch the 4-2-3-1.
In this game, and in the past two games, Durakovic has deployed a 4-2-3-1. After 270 minutes and zero goals, I think it is time to get rid of it. I argued last week, and I’ll argue again here now, for a 4-1-3-2. Keep the back four as is (with Adrian Leijer back in, of course) and place Isaka Cernak as a holding midfielder. Put Carlos Hernandez in behind Archie Thompson and Jean-Carlos Solorzano with Harry Kewell and Marco Rojas on the wings. Definitely worth a try after what has been served up in the past three games.
2. Solorzano must start.
He came on at half-time and Victory had a 10-minute spell where they could have poached a goal. A lot of that had to do with Solorzano coming on and playing next to Archie. Solorzano looked sharp and threatening, but lacked a shot needed to beat Clint Bolton. Victory look better with Solorzano on, what more does he have to do to get a start? Mehm?
3. Perhaps I was wrong.
Last week I wrote the Victory defence was thin, but the Victory defence put in a good performance. Roddy Vargas led the back four well, Franjic was solid, Foschini was aggressive and confident (traits I love in a full-back) and Fabio had a nervy opening 10 minutes, but rebounded and got forward well. Add to that the sublime performances of Ante Covic in goal, the defence looks better than I thought it did.
4. Midfield needs to lift.
Too many times possession was given away and it looked like Victory couldn’t string two passes together in the front half. As much as of a Grant Brebner fan I am, he hasn’t performed well enough in the past 270 minutes. In this game, he played one good pass and that was about it. His place must come under question.
5. That wasn’t good enough.
Being at the game with close to 40,000 people and with the Victory in need to kick-start their season, but what was served up wasn’t acceptable. In such a derby, the boys really needed to fire and they didn’t. Stand-in skipper Archie Thompson and defender Matt Foschini apologised for the performance after the game, Foschini even labelling it ‘a disgrace’. I appreciate the apology. However, as a fan, I don’t want apologies, I want goals
Final thoughts:
These are hard times, not end times at the Victory. There is time to turn it around. Durakovic said after the game that when Victory get the right system, they well get firing really well. I’m prepared to give Durakovic time, but he needs to learn from his mistakes or else he will be out sooner rather than later.
Melbourne Heart:
1. Unlucky, but wasteful.
Can’t deny they should have won. Covic and the defence denied them, but didn’t make the most of their chances. They didn’t win and they have to ask why not. However, they looked a lot better than what they did against Perth.
2. Matt Thompson is better suited to midfield.
I’ve suspected for a while that Matt Thompson was wasted at centre-back and I think I was proven right on the weekend. He has a class touch and works hard defensively. He played as an attacking midfielder and served the Heart front three of Williams, Dugandzic and Terra well. He may or may not stay there when Fred inevitably returns to the fold, but he should be kept there with Fred, and with Shroj screening.
3. They need Simon Colosimo.
Simon Colosimo returned to the first XI for the first time this season and the Heart defence looked better for it. Especially after they leaked like a sieve in the past two games. Whatever chances Victory tried to build up, Colosimo would snuff it out. He’ll also be important for the young centre-back Curtis Good as he continues in his development. All of this makes the Heart’s decision to strip him of the captaincy and letting him talk to other clubs all the more confusing.
4. Mate Dugandzic will be a player.
Okay, I’ll admit it, as a partisan fan in the crowd, I despised Mate Dugandzic’s move to the Heart. I’ll even admit I booed him at times. But, I have to say, he was probably man of the match. He went head-to-head with Fabio down a wing and probably should have scored. He wanted first-team football at the Heart and he’ll get it. He is fast, he can dribble, just needs to work on his finishing.
5. Front third will be a key.
If the front third does what it is meant to do and score consistently, the Heart can go far this season. Fred, David Williams and Mate Dugandzic are great additions to their squad. Add Alex Terra in there, you have a silky, fast front third. A lot will rely on them. They will get decent service from the likes of Fred et al. if they put their chances away (which they didn’t against Victory), look out.
Final thoughts:
They took away a moral win over their neighbours and rightly so. They need to capitalise on this to start winning on a consistent basis. The line-up looks settled, but Rutger Worm and Jason Hoffman will knock for a start and Fred will come back in when ready. There shouldn’t be too much change.
There is no excuses for the Heart to not play finals this season.
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