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There are some games of football that leave you speechless. Last night’s Melbourne derby was one of them. The electric atmosphere at AAMI Park and the quality of the match itself coalesced to deliver an A-League Christmas cracker.
Melbourne Heart fans will long remember the night where they came from behind to outplay Melbourne Victory and record a famous 3-2 win.
The first 20 minutes suggested a much different outcome, with Victory’s Carlos Hernandez forcing a brilliant save from Clint Bolton in the keeper’s 450th national league match, before Archie Thompson showed great panache to score with a lob, after a ball direct from route one.
And then, the transformation happened.
All it took was Heart manager John van ‘t Schip to change from the unconventional back three with which he started, to a more conventional back four.
This freed Michael Marrone, who was initially shackled on the right of the back three, to push further up the field in his usual position as right back. The team became more offensive, they played with width and took control of the midfield.
The dual threat of Harry Kewell and Thompson up front might have prompted to van ‘t Schip to start with such caution, but circumstances forced his hand early in the match. He made the necessary adjustment and was rewarded for it.
The great irony of the Heart comeback was that a player van ‘t Schip had mistakenly groomed as a centre back, Matt Thompson, became the hero of the derby as he scored two goals in two minutes. It was ample reward for his gut-busting runs from midfield.
For the vanquished manager Mehmet Durakovic and the increasingly frustrated Victory fans, the derby was yet another indication that this league will not be won on the back of Hernandez and Archie Thompson. Melbourne Heart’s superior team play in the derby made it an even more bitter pill to swallow.
Last night I went to the derby as a fan with my friends and rode the emotional rollercoaster that only football can provide. In this case the red side of Melbourne went home happy, the blue side in despair.
But as we all know football is a capricious beast.
In the spirit of goodwill will I have written a Christmas carol to cheer up all A-League fans, especially the fans that are doing it tough right now.
The incompetent referees, the clueless managers, the hapless players, they are all threatening to turn the festive football season into a season of fear and loathing.
For the sake of your family and friends you can’t allow the form of your team to ruin it for everyone.
So whether you are a morose Adelaide United fan, a pensive Perth Glory fan or a frustrated Melbourne Victory fan, it’s time to put aside your team’s troubles and share some Christmas goodwill.
To help you on your merry way I am asking you to join me in singing the A-League Christmas Carol.
The Twelve Days of A-League Christmas
On the twelfth day of Xmas the A-League gave to me:
Twelve drummers drumming
Eleven players playing
Ten beers a-drinking
Nine capos singing
Eight flares a-smoking
Seven cards a-flashing
Six studs a-showing
Five derby wins!
Four blogging nerds
Three dodgy pens
Two keeper’s gloves
And a hopeless blind referee!
Merry Christmas A-League fans.
Athas Zafiris is on Twitter @ArtSapphire
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