The best team in Melbourne? Right now it's City

Who would have thought that Bruno Fornaroli getting injured might work out for the best, or that Melbourne City would be the dominant club in Victoria?

What is going wrong at Melbourne Victory? They were simply awful for long stretches of their 1-1 draw with Central Coast Mariners in Gosford on Sunday, just like they’ve been awful for long stretches of the season to date.

The only shining light has been the form of Leroy George, with the Dutch-Surinamese adding a sensational free-kick to his rapidly expanding highlights reel.

It wasn’t enough to see off the stubborn hosts, who would have won but for the intervention of the woodwork.

Does Kevin Muscat have the tactical nous to rally his troops? It may only be Round 4, but Victory have looked decidedly listless so far.

The same can’t be said for Ross McCormack, who despite looking like he could probably stand to lose a kilo or two, has taken to the A-League like a proverbial duck to water.

McCormack always had enough talent to make a difference for Melbourne City, but so often imports with big reputations end up making little impact, because temperatures are too hot and pitches are too hard and teammates are inconveniently never on the same wavelength.

You can’t say the same of McCormack.

Sure, his three goals so far have all come from dead-ball situations, but the Scot makes intelligent runs, brings his teammates into play and boasts the technique to trouble even the tightest A-League defence.

And with his loan deal set to expire in January – around the same time Fornaroli is expected to return from his ankle injury – City fans will hope to see McCormack bag plenty more goals in the meantime.

Not that there are terribly many City supporters to begin with.

But having the club with the biggest resources in the land dispatch a few would-be opponents is not the worst narrative for the A-League going forward, particularly if it helps breathe some new life into an increasingly moribund Melbourne derby.

And the manner of City’s 2-0 win over Adelaide United in front of a partisan crowd at Coopers Stadium was impressive, not least because they clung on a man down for the final half-hour following the dismissal of Osama Malik.

Could this be the season Melbourne City finally lives up to the hype? Next Friday night’s blockbuster against defending champions Sydney FC can’t come quickly enough.

(AAP Image/David Crosling)

The Sky Blues were the beneficiaries of three penalties in their contentious 2-0 win over Perth Glory to start the round – two of which were converted, another of which looked to have crossed the line, with the other prompting Football Federation Australia to send out a press release the following day.

“This season we have only had three decisions go to referee review out of 16 games, so we should keep last night in perspective but acknowledge it was unacceptable from a time point of view and is being addressed,” said A-League supremo Greg O’Rourke, after it took nearly four minutes for the VAR to make a decision on Sydney’s second spot-kick.

It may only have been used sparingly, according to O’Rourke, but it has caused more confusion than it has cleared up – to say nothing of how much it slows down the action. Let’s hope these issues are addressed soon.

It wouldn’t be right to end without mentioning Brisbane Roar, who showcased the best and worst of their conflicting sides in a crazy 3-3 draw with Wellington Phoenix.

A lesser side might have given up, but the Roar showed real character to fight back from a three-goal deficit.

But they surely shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place?

Wellington’s baby-faced goalkeeper Keegan Smith is probably still having nightmares about Massimo Maccarone’s exocet missile of a penalty.

Still, it could be worse. By the time the Phoenix face Melbourne City again, Ross McCormack may well be on his way back to England.