Victory take the honours in a pulsating Melbourne Derby

Within 50 seconds, James Troisi applied a dreamy touch to the ball, sending Leigh Broxham scampering into the box. His cross, skimming just in front of Besart Berisha, rolled through to Kosta Barbarouses, who pinged it into the goal from close range.

It was the fastest Melbourne Derby goal ever, and as quickly as it was crafted and converted, it was scrubbed from the board, as the VAR correctly disallowed it, with Berisha lingering offside as Broxham had crossed. The striker was – while not touching the ball – clearly interfering with play.

Kevin Muscat had erupted with joy, a unbridled reaction from the normally stoic, serious manager. He was forced to swallow that joy, and could not replace it with outrage because this was the VAR working perfectly as intended; the decision, obvious, was made quickly, and Kris Griffiths-Jones immediately ruled accordingly on the field.

(AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

So, with that early palpitation over, the match settled in, a highly intriguing contest indeed. City started Daniel Arzani, Dario Vidosic, Bruce Kamau, and Bruno Fornaroli in attack, but were shorn of Bart Schenkeveld at the back.

Victory, with Leroy Geroge, Barbarouses, Berisha and Troisi in attack, started Thomas Deng at right-back, in place of the benched Jason Geria. Two highly potent attacks – in theory at least – playing against two relatively shaky, pieced-together defences; the sweet aroma of goals wafted through the brisk Melbourne air, buffeted by the jawing of the crowd.

12 minutes in, and Barbarouses had his goal, this time legally delivered to him via Berisha. Again it was Troisi, dangling out a poised leg to toe the ball through the defensive midfield line, who allowed Berisha to gather, turn in possession, and send Barbarouses through with a perfect, reverse through-ball. The Kiwi curled the finish past Dean Bouzanis, and made a mocking VAR gesture as he jogged away, beaming. 1-0 to the Victory.

It was Troisi, in the following minutes, who looked the sharpest player on the pitch, buzzing around between the lines, snapping off passes, beating opponents to 50-50 balls. When alert and active, he is one of the league’s most potent, all-action attackers. City were thrumming along in a lower gear, and were finding it hard to get Arzani into the game, with Victory markers smothering him. Fornaroli mixed rusty-looking touches with his usual soft feet, a player undeniably short of match fitness and sharpness.

But a team can’t keep a player as vibrant as Arzani shackled in muted tones for long, and he provided a flash of colour with his first significant involvement, twisting away from a tackler on the right side of the Victory box and forcing a smart save from Lawrence Thomas. Troisi matched Arzani’s dribbling a moment later, pairing a sudden, muscular turn away from Luke Brattan with a delicious nutmeg through Scott Jameison’s legs.

The Victory nearly scored on a breakaway, with Matias Sanchez setting up Barbarouses, whose cross was deflected wide. The move had started after Troisi harassed Oli Bozanic into turning over possession, deep in the Victory half.

In defiance of the stifling ennui that has hung, like a funereal veil, over this A-League season, this match was providing a genuine jolt to the system, like a small vial of smelling salts might for a foppish dandy, prone and panting after seeing an uncovered table leg.

This match wasn’t just entertaining: it felt almost league-affirming, if I could be allowed to indulge in a bit of positive sensationalism. Meanwhile, Jameison took a smart first touch around Deng, but his spanked cross was cleared. A few seconds later, George, accepting with glee a perfect cross-field pass from Troisi, then drew a fine save from Bouzanis. The tempo, rocking from end to end, was astonishing.

While clearly a little stiff, Fornaroli was nonetheless winning his usual sprawling share of fouls, and earned his team a free kick in a very promising position. Bozanic stuck it into the wall. With a lovely dummy, Fornaroli then put Kamau into a position to win another free kick. Fornaroli, this time, thumped it right into the wall. Unconverted though it remained, this was good pressure from City.

(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

Arzani forced another good save from Thomas, this time shooting from the left side of the box. A few minutes later, Arzani dazzled with a bit of showmanship, wriggling with quick feet through a mass of defenders, winning another foul in another tasty spot. Scott Jameison struck the ball against the bar from the free kick, though Thomas may have had it covered.

Barbarouses was appearing everywhere, popping up in defence, then moments later scampering away in attack. He was the leading disruptive presence, as the Victory, in fits and starts, pressed City over the full length and breadth of the pitch. The half ended with a fiery scuffle, begun by Jameison and Deng, elevated my Manny Muscat and James Donachie, and eventually sorted out by referee Griffiths-Jones.

It took the halftime break to fully realise how little of the ball – 33 per cent – the Victory had actually had in that first half. It would be a dangerous game to play, as the teams trotted out of the dressing rooms, to allow City to hold that much possession for the remainder of the match. 

The Victory had two great chances to start the second half, with George and Berisha both, in one way and another, failing to capitalise when in acutely dangerous positions. George later made a mockery of Jameison with a ball-on-a-string routine; he really is a super player. 

Then City were given a gift by Broxham who, while hurling himself to block a cross in the box, held his left arm out and away from his body. The ball, naturally, struck his arm, and a penalty was awarded. Harsh, probably, but in this case the arm was really dangling wildly, way out in the open air, as conspicuous as could be.

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Fornaroli smashed the penalty past Thomas, surely a satisfying experience; it was his first goal of the season. 1-1, and it was a meaty, mouth-watering morsel of a match now.  

Arzani was seen hurling himself theatrically to the ground from a short corner. Nathaniel Atikinson earned a yellow card after a late tackle on Sanchez. This was bubbling up to something.

Indeed it was, as Leigh Broxham – atoning entirely for his penalty concession – lofted a perfect diagonal cross right onto the onrushing forehead of George. The Dutchman nodded his team back in front, with City on level terms for the best part of ten minutes. Half an hour remained.

Arzani, again going down rather too easily, lay on the grass – no foul given – suffering cramp. His agony was seasoned by Griffiths-Jones booking him for simulation. He was subbed immediately, outshone in this match by most of his Victory equivalents. In fairness, the close-up shots showed his calf very much in mid-spasm.

City were still pushing, searching for a clear chance to equalise. Kamau, with a winding run inside from the right, set up the substitute Marcin Budzinski, but the Pole’s shot was tame. Leroy George departed with a very worrying hamstring problem.

His chances of playing in the Victory’s next ACL group stage game, in Japan on March 7, now seem slim. Kamau, meanwhile, struck a fierce shot from a tight angle on the right, drawing a snap save from Thomas. Time was ticking away, and as haggard as the now Victory looked, they were holding the lead.

Eight minutes of stoppage time were announced, and the Victory supporters’ teeth were worn down to chalky pegs. Harrison Delbridge, a towering defender, was brought on by City manager Warren Joyce as an auxiliary centre forward – a fairly blunt option, with Nick Fitzgerald and Stefan Mauk on the bench too.

It got to the point where Bouzanis romped up the pitch to join in on a corner, as the final seconds wound down. Troisi missed an empty goal on the counter, which would have sealed it, but it didn’t matter. The final whistle went. An exhilarating derby ended, with the Victory victorious.

In the key moments, when the teams were posturing up, with vigour in their limbs and a twinkle in their eyes, it was the Victory that flexed the more impressively. Perhaps if City had had Schenkeveld available, or a mid-season version of Fornaroli, or indeed Ross McCormack instead of Dario Vidosic, they might have scored again in that second half. The teams are now separated by a point, with Victory on a two-game win streak, and City on a three-game losing run.