How good was it to see the strike force of both Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City scoring in the first round of A-League Season 10?
Besart Berisha was as imposing as ever in his debut for Victory. He was composed on the ball and was just as impressive pressing defenders when without it.
His debut was full of energy and vigour, and he was involved in almost every attacking foray that Victory put forward.
WATCH THE LATEST A-LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
It is this kind of performance that will have Brisbane Roar fans moping all season long. Not only was Berisha dynamic when on the ball, setting up Archie Thompson for a cool finish, but he also scored a crucial penalty.
The Albanian ace did exactly was he is paid to do, score goals. While having such an imposing forward frees up space for Victory’s mobile attack (Thompson, Kosta Barbarouses , Gui Finkler), Berisha was also viciously determined to get on the score sheet himself.
His penalty oozed confidence and his emphatic celebration showed Victory fans that this foreign marquee means business.
Berisha’s salute to the fans sent them into raptures and the Victory board will be licking their lips at the performance of the man they have undeniably promoted as the new face of the club.
This is a man who plays for the badge, a pure goalscorer, a presence and a man that wants to win, stating that anything but winning the grand final would be deemed a failure. Besart Berisha and the Melbourne Victory look the real deal, and their forward line will have defenders of every other team quaking in their boots.
Meanwhile, in Sydney, it took David Villa just 15 minutes to score coming off the bench for Melbourne City. The team were imposing in the first half and were unlucky to not have been ahead at the break. What they lacked though was the presence of a poacher – a genuine number nine.
Enter Spanish superstar David Villa.
Villa was at his brilliant best when placing the ball into the back of the net in the 63rd minute, making it 1-1. FFA officials couldn’t have asked for a better script when he scored in front of the 25,525 who turned up to catch a glimpse of the man.
For all the possession that City had, they failed to score. Damian Duff would have been buoyed by Villa’s entry into the game and finally his constant work on the wing was rewarded. Duff’s majestic ball was put away calmly by Villa, who showed once again the importance of putting away chances.
Hats off also to Sydney FC’s Corey Gameiro, who produced a finish that made Villa’s look routine when putting Sydney 1-0 up in the 54th minute.
Berisha and Villa created a presence that cannot be substituted with formation tweaks or players that can simply play a particular role. They are what every great team needs, pure number nines.
They create space, lure defenders in, spread the play and most importantly score crucial goals.
Victory have ditched the false nine that looked dysfunctional at times last season, and Melbourne City have brought in Villa for 10 games. Both will reap the rewards.
What Victory does have over City is the upper hand. Berisha is here for two seasons, David Villa is only here for a 10-game guest stint.
I have no doubt that City is scouting the globe for their next striker, Socceroo Joshua Kennedy anyone?
In the mean time let’s embrace these two poachers and be certain that both Melbourne teams will be delivering goals aplenty.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Yes, fair point. I've been supremely critical of MVFC's defending over the past 4-5 years. But, on Friday night, apart from Jason Geria having a nightmare 1st half on the right side, I thought Georgievski & Del Pierre were outstanding; Leijer competent. Last season I was convinced MVFC would concede at least 2 goals/game. This season, I'll make the bold prediction: * MVFC won't ever concede more than 2 goals; & we will concede 2 goals very rarely.
TomC
Roar Guru
You're right, Fuss, but I'm just making the point that if your defenders are shaky you can easily lose games despite having the better of the play.
Ben
Guest
Berisha's assist to Thompson was pinpoint and he was as hungry as ever to get himself on the scoresheet. He has great balance between being selfish and playing his teammates in. MVFC are a force with Bes as the spearhead.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
"While the Victory had the better of the game, the result easily could have been 3-2 Wanderers" For sure, WSW could have scored 2-3 goals. But, if we are engaging in such hypotheticals, MVFC could have scored 8-10.
TomC
Roar Guru
It's an interesting observation that Berisha is being promoted as the face of the Victory. I've thought a lot in the last few years that the original culture of the Victory under Merrick was one of pure pragmatism, and to hell with looking good. And then that seemed to wane a little with the change of the board, and the recruitment of players like Kewell. Berisha seems to represent a lot of what the Victory originally represented: practicality, confidence and effectiveness. That's a pretty good set of qualities to sell in a Melbourne market that loves a winner. It seems very clear that Muscat has focussed pretty heavily on set pieces in the off-season, which also ties in with this pragmatic mentality. Of course, they're going to need to improve pretty dramatically at the back if they're going to keep winning. While the Victory had the better of the game, the result easily could have been 3-2 Wanderers.