Melbourne Victory suffered the worst defeat in their history when they lost 6-1 to Sydney FC last May – but was the game just a defeat or a stain on the club that will remain over the next season?
Every A-League fan knows about the Big-Blue. Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory have been the two most successful teams in the A-League’s 14-year history, and when the two teams face they never disappoint. But the most surprising part of Melbourne Victory’s season was not the signing of Keisuke Honda or their lack of consistency; it was it ending in a 6-1 loss.
Melbourne Victory was cruising. They had a great game in the elimination final, prevailing 3-1 against Wellington Phoenix in a match that didn’t seem to get them out of second gear. Kevin Muscat then rested almost all of his players, and they seemed perfectly ready for the biggest game of their season so far.
But from the moment they walked onto the pitch something looked off. There seemed to be a lack of confidence in the side, something that is unusual in a Melbourne Victory team, especially with Muscat as coach.
(Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
But what caused this? Was it the lack of interaction with the head coach due to the Asian Champions League? Or was it something that he said before the game? Did he go too hard in his team talk? No matter what it was, it seemed to affect them massively.
It was obvious from the second minute. A team who hadn’t conceded a goal all year from a corner conceded one of the worst ones in the A-League all season. The ball came in from the right boot of Brandon O’Neil and was lofted up towards Lawrence Thomas. It appeared to be an easy catch for the on-form Victory goalkeeper, but the pressure of big centre-back Aaron Calver was enough to put him off guard.
This was unusual, as usually Thomas is so commanding in his penalty area. It was the first sign of something maybe being wrong.
Next came the most stable and the close part of the game, with both teams contesting in a very close battle, both teams having equal chances, but nothing of note until the 43rd minute, when Alex Brosque’s screaming volley found the bottom left corner of Lawrence Thomas’s goal.
Then the goals started flowing in.
Leigh Broxham scored an own goal two minutes into injury time from Siem de Jong’s delightful cross. Adam le Fondre was taken down in the penalty box in the 61st minute before smashing the penalty home in trademark Alfie style.
Le Fondre added another goal to his tally in the 608th minute before Milos Ninkovic closed the game with a composed finish in the 88th minute.
But the 73rd minute showed what would be the most unusual part of the game. It wasn’t a dodgy VAR call or an open goal miss; it was the substitution Kevin Muscat made.
His team had gone attacking to try and reduce the deficit, but being down 5-0, he brought off exciting winger Elvis Kamsoba for right-back Storm Roux.
(Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
That was when the mood changed in the stadium. It was a moment of triumph for Sydney FC fans but a moment of despair for Melbourne Victory fans. Why? Because after 14 years of coaching and playing for Melbourne Victory, he finally gave up.
For a manager known for believing in his team no matter what, this was massive news for all of the A-League. He has certainly brought on a defender for an attacker before, but never have they been losing while it has happened. And to make it worse, they were down 5-0 against their biggest rivals when it finally happened.
It therefore didn’t come as a big surprise when Kevin Muscat announced his resignation a few days later.
But what kind of stain has Melbourne Victory’s loss caused for the season ahead? They have already lost key players Kosta Barbarouses and Keisuke Honda along with club captain Carl Valeri, imports Raul Baena and Georg Niedermeier. So too has New Zealander Jai Ingham departed. As well as losing their head coach, things aren’t looking too good for Victory.
But recent signings of Marco Kurz as new head coach and Jay Barnett as a scholarship shows that things could be looking up for Victory. But they need replacements for the amazing quality of players who have left and they need them fast. But are people not going due to Melbourne Victory’s new reputation, or is it just a coincidence?
It begs the question: has Melbourne Victory’s 6-1 loss against Sydney FC caused bigger problems than the scoreline suggested?
Brendan
Roar Pro
I enjoyed your article, Jack. We’re currently in the A-League off-season, and I’m glad I can still read stories about football in the quieter periods. The first Big Blue this year will be huge. Surely Victory won’t lose against Sydney FC – they simply can’t. The club is too big and successful for that. Melbourne will be playing for pride.
Beach
Roar Rookie
You and Richard Burton would have got on famously (the Explorer, but the actor) Do you mind me asking in which country you grew up?
Chen Yang
Roar Pro
sold nabbout due to being cheap? you do know that they had no choice right? his release clause was met bu urawa, dont spout opinions as facts please
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
1 attacker for Sydney can play three positions. Plus the others played attacking positions in the course of the season. I am trying to explain why MV lost 6-1 not that they had a hope of winning after the first half. 6-0 win MV had an early send off which explains that plus how many other decisions go there way in that match. Saying the first goal was highly controversial is quite funny in that regard, was it a clear foul no it was a nudge or meeting of shoulders, a referee could have given it and then it wouldn't be overturned on review but it wasn't something that the VAR would overturn the ref on..
Nemesis
Guest
What are you on about? The Salary Cap rules are universal. Even if Muscat had an "unrestricted cheque book", which is not true, he used it to grab marquees: Berisha & Milligan. Hardly players who require "an unrestricted cheque book". ALeague teams are allowed 4 outfield subs. MV went with: 1 DM, 1 full back, 1 attacker, 1 general midfielder. Sydney's bench was: 1 attacker, 1 full back, 2 general midfielders. If you think MV lost the game because we didn't have another attacker on the bench, then you delusional. We lost because we copped 1 highly controversial goal early on, which is normally called a foul on the GK; then a wicked deflection set up the 2nd Sydney goal; the 3rd was an own goal. 3-0 down at HT, would take a miracle to come back from that, even if MV had been playing well, which they weren't. Sydney won. MV lost. That's the only take away message for me. If Sydney FC fans & players want to dwell on that win for the rest of their lives, good on them. MV beat AUFC 6-0 in the 2007 Grand Final. Means nothing to me when I watched MV vs AUFC over the ensuing 12 years.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Beach If you hang around long enough you will see me occasionally using one or two my mother tongues. But I prefer not to because: 1. I don't like showing off; but more importantly 2. I am invariably hit with racist taunts, or at least commentary which has racist ovetones. I am happy to make one concession to you, my third and fourth languages are roughly equivalent (which includes English). As a side note, let me say that I can probably read a newspaper in at least a dozen languages, probably closer to 20 languages.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Well part of being coach is choosing the right squad. He had only one attacking player on the bench and it was someone he could only replace Toivonen with. You have the salary cap and all sorts of exceptions, Marquees and then they brought in a special rule to write off the salary of someone on long service at some point which was of special benefit to MV because of Archie Thompson. First season he won the double because he had Milligan and Berisha as marquee players plus Barbarouses, then you add Valeri, Finkler, Del Pierre, Ben KFallah . Second championship he was lucky and got through two tight matches against teams that were crippled, one because Arnie can't handle the ACL period and the other against Newcastle who gifted Muscat the title when they sold Nabbout due to being cheap. The FFA cup 2015 he only lost Milligan of the big names.
Beach
Roar Rookie
I won't contact Sam Elliot just yet
Beach
Roar Rookie
Now how do we substantiate this..
Moey
Guest
Your a Sydney fan commenting on Melbourne Victory losing to your club 6-1 claiming that there will be a hangover? If anything the club is going to want revenge? And when they do they usually get it. This is just another article to get under the skin of your arch rivals. We don't have to have the squad that you have to beat you again. Mark my words. The next time Sydney play Melbourne, Sydney will be in trouble.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
I hope you have an appetite.
Beach
Roar Rookie
RF here in alter ego MF. As the cowboy says to Jeff Lebowski in The Big Lebowski, I like your style, Dude. And if English is your fourth choice language, I'll eat his ten gallon hat.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
RF That's a lot of big words for someone of non-English speaking background, such as I am. Conversely, one could argue that the locals speak primarily Australian English, not always, but predominantly.
Justin Mahon
Roar Rookie
The stain is immeasurable.......
Nemesis
Guest
Melbourne Victory won't play their opening match in A-League for another 14 weeks. FFA Cup match is 4 week away, but our Coach is the equal most successful coach in FFA Cup history, so I'm sure he knows what he's doing for this comp. And, for ALeague, there's no rush to do anything. Most MV signings over the years occur late Aug-late September. The coach only arrives at work next week.
AussieIrishman
Guest
No. It was a one-off. When you're 3-0 down in a winner-take-all game, you've got to take risks, which might leave you further behind. But if you're not in, you can't win. By the time you're 5-0 down with limited time left, you might as well shore up your defence. The biggest mistake was probably not starting Valeri.
Chen Yang
Roar Pro
What victory need right now are new signings. Theyve lost quite a few players, what with Honda, Barbarouses leaving and Valeri retiring. Yet theyve been quiet in the transfermarkt. They need some exciting fresh blood, such as the likes of Brattan and Najjarine to reinforce their squad
Chen Yang
Roar Pro
Good article jack, you made it seem like a story, very enjoyable read. I see your point that the psyche of the players can be affected. Psychology is a big part of football. However, as others have said, the impact would probably be mitigated by a new coach
Nemesis
Guest
I'm not attacking the writer; I'm attacking the content of his writing in this discussion piece. This discussion piece is attempting to use a heavy loss in a knockout match last season, to hypothesise that the next season of 27 matches will be a failure. This is a nonsense for anyone who watches football & I'm sure it's a nonsense for any sport. In 2007, Melbourne Victory won the A-League Grand Final 6-0 against Adelaide Utd. If anyone had suggested that win meant MVFC were going to be superstars, or AUFC were going to be failures, the following season I'd have dismissed it as nonsense. In the end, both Melb Victory & AUFC who played in the 2007 Grand Final were were utter failures the following season.
Bruz
Roar Rookie
No need to attack Jack personally nemesis, he’s just simply brought a big result in the favour of the opposition in a a rivalry and touched on how MVFC are going to bounce back after such a heavy defeat. You claim he should remain anonymous due to his poor writing skills but here you are with the name “nemesis” very hypocritical if you ask me.