Having beaten Sydney – by the skin of their teeth – in extra time last weekend in the semi-final, by playing reactive, counter-attacking football, it was assumed Melbourne would have to modify their game-plan against Newcastle.
Sydney made 642 passes against the Victory in their semi final; Newcastle made less than half that in theirs against Melbourne City. Sydney’s calm, yawning possession, their neat, sober passing, would now be replaced by Newcastle’s break-neck transitions, long balls, and wilful ceding of possession; two teams could hardly have more different attacking gaits. Surely Melbourne would emerge a different team in the final, right?
Well, no, in fact they came out with an even more distilled defensive approach, operating almost entirely on the counter, and defending as a team with clenched teeth and steeled nerved. They had as little of the ball as they did in the semi-final, and took fewer shots, made fewer passes and fewer crosses, blocked more shots, and passed in the opposition half with a rate of accuracy nearly 20 per cent worse than they did against Sydney.
This is not to say Newcastle played in any way like Sydney had. O’Donovan won a free kick within five minutes, racing onto a long lofted pass, testing the will of Thomas Deng. The Newcastle air raids had begun. Newcastle aimed long balls a number of times in the opening stanza, targeting Leigh Broxham. Broxham is not a statuesque aerial presence, and Jason Hoffman was seen clambering all over him in one instance, fouling the Victory utility in the process. This appeared to be a concerted tactical effort, at least in the early stages, to test Broxham in the air.
(AAP Image/Darren Pateman)
The wings were set alight with activity. Newcastle were playing with what on paper looked like a midfield three, but settled into a pairing of Riley McGree and Steven Ugarkovic holding dutifully in the middle, and Vargas stepping forward and drifting liberally out to both wings.
Melbourne’s midfield pairing, Carl Valeri and Terry Antonis, were also positioned even more reservedly, largely marshalling and roving, and funnelling balls out to Leroy George and Kosta Barbarouses on the wings.
Only James Troisi was offering central penetration by dribbling or passing in the first half, the rest was happening exclusively out wide. Of course, this makes perfect sense; these teams have thrived this season on sudden transitions, and the wings are a much more accommodating environment in transition. Set pieces – like the one Melbourne were wrongly allowed to open the scoring from – were important too, and frequently occurring, with scything challenges to stop break-neck wing play coming thick and fast.
Newcastle were continually going to Dimi Petratos on their left wing, and he was flourishing, combining well with Johnny Koutroumbis, and occasionally Ronny Vargas. The Victory were doing the same with Leroy George on their left flank, who was also linking up neatly with Troisi. In this way, the teams were mirroring one another.
It seemed as though Merrick’s side, playing at home and buoyed by a vocal, partisan crowd, were almost forced to take the initiative. But Merrick’s caution was still present, and in the first half his midfielders were only advancing when progress has already been made – or possession won after a long ball – on the wings.
McGree and Ugarkovic would creep up the middle, off the ball, to receive lay-offs from their wide players. Only rarely did they run with the ball from deeper areas, leaving themselves open to being dangerously out of position if dispossessed. Let others do the risky dribble-work, and join the attacking fray only when the time is right; this was the brief. Even so, Melbourne were looking frightening at times on the counter, with George and Barbarouses the main bogeymen.
(AAP Image/George Salpigtidis)
The rhythm of the match, then, meant Berisha and O’Donovan were relying almost entirely on the invention and accuracy of others to get involved. Both had clearly been told to stay centrally, to avoid muddling with things out wide, and to wait, poised, to finish once the ball was centred. Berisha finished the match having touched the ball just twice inside the Newcastle box. O’Donovan’s frustration would manifest horrifically, late in the match.
Newcastle were giving Melbourne a stern test though, and Lawrence Thomas showed why he’s the league’s goalkeeper of the season, making four outstanding saves to deny Newcastle an equaliser. His ability to save low-down on either side, and then spring up to meet a follow-up shot is remarkable. A sequence that finished with an astonishing lunging save to deny Hoffman, flinging his body in the way of a close-range shot, was the pick of his efforts on the night.
Essentially, having snatched the lead early – the quickest A-League Grand Final goal ever, in fact – Melbourne were relying almost totally on their defence. Newcastle are at their best puncturing through defences that have overextended; Melbourne’s was anything but, set in a dug-in stance for most of the night, with the full backs rarely venturing too far forward, and the central midfield pair shielding the back line well.
Kevin Muscat identified his assets in attack – namely, the pace and directness of his wingers on the break – and drained his team of anything extraneous to that, diverting it into the defensive cause; if you weren’t defending, you were one of of the counter-attacking bolters, with almost nothing in between.
Even the bolters weren’t excused from the dirty work – Barbarouses finished with seven times as many successful tackles as he had shots. Muscat knows a thing or two about defending with grit, and he expected just that from the bulk of his team.
It was enough to win, thanks to Thomas’s heroics, and the VAR’s generosity in awarding the goal. The second half saw Melbourne retreat even further into their defensive third. Newcastle tried hard, but their strengths – pace in transition, quick interchanges between players, their ability in the open field – were all dulled by Melbourne’s staunch defensive retreat.
Their long balls were ineffective – over and over Thomas Deng was seen rising with majesty to power away clearing headers. Melbourne employed all the darker techniques of gamemanship. The time ran out, and Thomas, victim of a horrific tackle from O’Donovan, who crashed his studs into the goalkeeper’s jaw in added time, was the hero. He won the Joe Marston Medal.
Melbourne’s approach was the archetypal away performance, and was ideally employed as such, with their fans outnumbered 4 to 1 in the stadium. Muscat forced the opposition to play in a way to which they’re unaccustomed, a way they’re not designed for; this is exactly what a good manager does.
On another day Jason Hoffman scores from close range, and indeed on the night Melbourne’s goal should have been chalked off; this would have undoubtedly changed how Melbourne carried out the remainder of the match.
Ernie Merrick said as much after the match. But it wasn’t, so it didn’t, and Muscat’s team executed their game-plan perfectly. Reactive football, especially against a team not used to taking the initiative, can get results in crunch, one-off matches. It was ugly, but Melbourne secured the ultimate result here.
Cousin Claudio
Roar Guru
You'll be predicting the end of the A-League with your dying breath Pip. The NSL had average attendance of less than 2K per game, never made a profit and had no government assistance and it ran for 27 years mate. Don't assume there won't be any changes to the FFA administration or the A-League set up before next season kicks off.
BrainsTrust
Guest
Release clause triggered two days before making a Socceroos squad that would have doubled his overseas salary and expanded his choice of clubs. So why was he advised to sign. Well his agent is either stupid or something else. If he had gone to a European club then he would have stayed till the end of season anyway. What advice did Merrick give him? I would have totally advised him against Japan because the defenders there are faster than elsewhere. If your good in the air then go to Japan, Kennedy scored most of his goals in the J-league. Even if the transfer had gone through it would have been easy enough to retain Nabbout till the end of the finals, but it would have taken a financial sacrifice on the transfer fee. It was obvious to me that Sydney would come unstuck with the ACL. Once the ACL hit, Jets beat Sydney with Nabbout with 10 men So the Jets were favourites to win the finals if Nabbout had stayed. The Jets let in 39 goals from 29 matches throughout the season. With either Vargas or Rodriguez starting they let in 23 goals in 13 matches. so without them they let in only 16 goals in 16 matches. The one match they both started they let in 5 goals. Now they are desperate to retain them.
LuckyEddie
Guest
We are talking about the EPL.
NUFCMVFC
Roar Guru
lol at the time wasting I remember a Newcastle player taking ages to tie his boots before taking a Free Kick Not to mention the injury time between head clashes and Karate kicks was actually quite justified in the end
NUFCMVFC
Roar Guru
Well done to Muscat Has won the Championship with a team that lost Milligan in midfield/defence and was well short of the 2015 side Normally I wouldn't have considered us as Championship material at the start but this is a good example of how Muscat has managed to get his teams (our team lol) to punch above their weight when it matters The first past the post debate aside, in a Playoffs/Grand Final system it is good to time the team to peak into form at the end of the season, and Melbourne did this And to be fair if looked over the entire Finals series, while the GF might have been "ugly" it is an excellent story of perseverance and psychological perseverance Eg we came from behind in the AUFC and SFC games, managed to pick ourselves up after the Antonis OG, managed to get through the GF without two assistants and with Theoharis injured on top of Rhys Williams so having to really delve into the squad with no options on the bench So while it may not be a testament to Jogo bonito ala Anges Brisbane sides, this Championship win is a testament to the virtues of running a Professional outfit from the top-down but also the virtues of man management side of coaching Very much a template of how to win a Championship from 4th A bit similar to how WSW managed to win the ACL too and punch above their weight with A-League Premierships with a cobbled together side, eg in the ACL a matter of keeping it tight and compact, and nick the required result through 1-0 wins
European
Guest
Aussie Football. The laughing stock of the world. Where one match - one referee decision decides the whole season. How dumb. Dumber than dumb. And only because of the dinosaurs with their rugby brains who think they must have finals... Dumber than dumb. My God, these people are dumb.
Cousin Claudio
Roar Guru
Rellum, thanks for helping to double the ratings for A-League this season. Much appreciated.
Cousin Claudio
Roar Guru
The flag should have gone up straight away, so no need for a VAR call. In a post match interview with grand final linesman Con Barbarouses from Melbourne he added, "The goal looked fine to me and I could see no offside." Con is also an expert repairer of Hawkeye offside equipment.
Cousin Claudio
Roar Guru
Lynch writes for the Age and Herald and has a history of making things up and "paraphrasing" things people say to make up a story - your typical journalist with an agenda. Ernie has taken offence a number of times to what he has made up as "Sokkah" stories. Enough said.
stu
Guest
The Grand Final was not a good game along with numerous orindary 'Finals' games around the globe. In the case of the A-League grand final it is not just the game that has been noted as ordinary, but our typical Australian fear of what other people think. The Italian experience has been highlighted here, the reaction of the fans was not what people following RU may think it was based on what they as fans expect. Grow up, support your team, be vocal to your club about what is expected.
chris
Guest
Rellum what rubbish. Noone cares if you liked it or didnt. Stick to whatever sport you watch and just go away.
sammy
Guest
Seriously there are enough people that are really pissed by this that you might just see crowds affected and TV audiences down next season and if that happens, the clubs will struggle and all because the FFA have admitted they got it horribly wrong when it really mattered. But for them to say the laws of the game don't permit a replay (which is what a groundswell of support is now demanding) from happening is odd..considering a high profile example in the UK shows that it most certainly can be done https://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/ars-ne-wenger-offers-fa-cup-rematch
Barca4life
Guest
All the post-match would be about VAR which is fair enough as it decided the game with the possible offside (which FFA admit it was) But overall it was a very poor game, both teams struggled to complete more than 2 to 3 passes, too many long balls from both teams too. I expect better given the good players both teams had. The atmosphere was excellent, great turn out from the Newcastle faithful.
Nemesis
Guest
VAR was used this season in Bundesliga SerieA Ligue1 Next season, it will be used in LaLiga. So, that makes 4 of the Top 5 domestic leagues in the world using VAR. It will be used at the FIFA World Cup.
Griffo
Roar Guru
And a sports betting agency have refunded punters who bet on a Jets win or a draw due to FFA technical glitch.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Completely agree Onside. Perhaps he has a very convenient scapegoat but that would be a seriously poor (lack of) call given his position from a dead ball situation without the VAR. With it just makes it worse.
Nemesis
Guest
No problem. Stick to watching what you enjoy & leave us in peace to enjoy what we enjoy. If Roma plays a crap, boring match I won't bother taunting you with it. I've watched enough football to know that happens. And, aren't you one of those casual sports fans who watches AFL, NRL, etc? Been hearing ex-players from those sports lamenting that the games are unwatchable. And, of course, cricket is never boring. That's why they have BMX bikers, jugglers & swimming pools to keep the crowd entertained. Maybe, you can watch My Kitchen Rules? Lots of excitement every episode apparently.
Rellum
Roar Guru
The last 30 minutes of the GF was the only A-League I watched all season an it was shocking to see. I wouldn't describe what the Victory was doing as football. Unless a second Brissy team comes in I won't be watching next season either with if that is the style of football that is winning Grand Finals.
LuckyEddie
Guest
The EPL is big enough to tell FIFA to go away.
Cousin Claudio
Roar Guru
Why did Besart Berisha cross the road with the Chicken. To elbow Roy O'Donovan in the head. Poor old Roy copped a big black eye and broken cheekbone because he couldn't duck the elbow from that turkey in time. That's fowl! Boom, boom!