Final thoughts
Maclaren is right it’s a point gained, but it’s also two lost given the amount of time City had an extra man. They played some nice football in parts, but lacked the nous to break down a resolute Victory defence and a cutting edge to find the back of the net. When they did find a way past Thomas in goal, on two occasions, they were denied by the woodwork. It wasn’t to be their night. Warren Joyce may well be trying to shut out the noise over his job, but it will get even louder after this result. For Victory, you have to give them credit for fighting back after Neidermeier’s moment of madness, but a point surely isn’t enough for them to sustain a challenge for the premiers’ plate. Indeed, the big winners tonight are Perth Glory, who now seem a sure-fire bet to finish top.
That’s all from me. Let’s file that one away under “forgettable derbies”. Until next time.
Warren Joyce: “We’ve come here wanting to win the game. The only pressure on me is the pressure you put on yourself. [The sending off] disrupted our play and press. [Barbarouses’ goal] is not really a shot. I just think he’s hit it as hard as he can.”
Thomas Deng: “We’re pretty satisfied. We started well. Georg [Niedermeier] was a big loss for us. But the boys dug deep. We needed to move on [from the sending off] and that’s what we did. We were pretty comfortable and didn’t feel stretched by them.”
Jamie Maclaren: “On a personal side you’re happy to put in a goal. It’s disappointing we didn’t create more chances. They only had one shot on goal. But it’s a point gained.”
Full-time Victory 1-1 City
90+4 mins: And that will be that. It ends all square in a derby to forget, to be honest. Final thoughts to follow.
90+4 mins: This might well be it. Jamieson delivers another City corner, but Antonis is there to head clear.
90+2 mins: For the record, Schenkeveld went into the book a few moments ago, for a needless push.
90 mins: Four minutes of added time to be played. Difficult to see City getting a late winner at this stage (commentator’s curse not withstanding).
89 mins: Thomas is quick off his line here, to punch clear another cross into the Victory box. And then noise levels are raised as Toivonen is encouraged to run onto a long ball forward at the other end. Galekovic ventures outside his box to deal with it though.
87 mins: Jamieson swings over yet another cross, but again there’s no one on the end of it. As Thomas ambles about before taking the goal kick, he’s shown yellow.
86 mins: Deng’s header clear isn’t comprehensive and Jamieson picks up the ball before swinging in a cross that gives Thomas a moment of doubt before it lands behind for a goal kick.
Bozza’s F-bomb still the highlight of this #MelbDerby, so far 😝
— DogByte54 🏆 (@DogByte54) February 23, 2019
84 mins: Not yet. Griffiths’ header briefly causes consternation before the whistle sounds for a high City boot. The attendance is announced: 32,431.
83 mins: But here’s Vidosic, who wins a corner off Broxham. Is there a late winner in them?
82 mins: Victory have about a minute of possession before City win the ball back and begin to build from the back once again. To their credit, they haven’t stopped playing the ball about or resorted to long ball tactics. Trouble is, that approach hasn’t helped them so far.
80 mins: But moments later Vidosic has the chance to become City’s hero with his first touch as the ball breaks for him but he blazes high over the bar! What an introduction that would have been!
79 mins: But before the corner is taken, Dario Vidosic comes on and Baccus departs. Once the corner is eventually taken, it doesn’t come to anything.
78 mins: It’s gone a bit flat momentarily. But City win a corner and get a chance to put Thomas under some pressure.
76 mins: City are building patiently, but with no end product at the moment. Berenguer is hauled off, and here comes McGree. At the same time, Victory bring off Honda for Storm Roux. Clearly, Honda’s not ready for a full 90 minutes on his return from injury.
75 mins: Jamieson now, with a cross from the other side of the pitch. Same result though – headed clear. Still City come forward though.
74 mins: Here they go. Wales is released on the right hand side before delivering a super cross into the box. Headed clear this time.
73 mins: Time is running out for City to get their noses in front again. Just over a quarter of an hour remaining.
72 mins: McGree is getting ready to enter the fray.
70 mins: Berenguer picks up a yellow card for... backheeling the ball away. When will they learn?
69 mins: Time for a City change. Off goes Harrison, who’s shown glimpses of talent tonight, but nothing more than that, on comes Wales.
67 mins: Jamieson sees a cross blocked by Broxham as City struggle to unlock the Victory defence. Moments later the ball falls kindly to Griffiths, who attempts a snap shot with little backlift. Wide of the mark.
65 mins: Free-kick to Victory. Honda over it. Toivonen lurking in the box. No. The ref spots an infringement and it’ll be a City free-kick.
64 mins: Brattan plays a lovely ball through for Maclaren to run onto... he gets around his defender but it’s too narrow an angle to really test Thomas, who turns behind for a corner. No, the flag was up anyway.
63 mins: City are looking a great deal more composed in possession now. They’re slowing but surely recovering from the hammer blow of Barbarouses’ goal.
62 mins: Oooh! Brattan off the bar! He crashes a beautiful curler from the edge of the box against the woodwork, with Thomas flailing! So close to a second for City.
The crossbar is still shaking after this Brattan effort as City tickle the woodwork again! #MelbDerby #ALeague pic.twitter.com/2p8IIllU5n
— 10 Sport (@10SportAU) February 23, 2019
Updated
59 mins: City are beginning to compose themselves now though, and play the ball around a bit more. Harrison makes the wrong decision though, and the momentum is sucked out of an impressive move when his pass goes out of play.
57 mins: Have City got the gumption to make their extra man count? They haven’t been able to do so thus far. Worrying times for Warren Joyce.
8 - Kosta Barbarouses now has eight A-League goals against Melbourne City; against no other side has he scored more goals in the @ALeague . Rivalry. #MVCvMCY #MelbDerby pic.twitter.com/kDUU5mccN4
— OptaJason (@OptaJason) February 23, 2019
55 mins: Pinball in the Victory box! Berenguer’s ball in causes confusion, it hits Harrison on the face and panic ensues! But the home side survive and we’re still on level terms.
Updated
53 mins: Barbarouses’s goal was Victory’s first shot of the night. And even labelling it as a shot might be generous – it looked like he was trying to find Toivonen in the middle.
52 mins: How City might now be rueing those missed chances in the first half. Victory are in the ascendency now, with the wind in their sails, despite their numerical disadvantage.
51 mins: What on earth did Muscat say at half-time? Replays show that earlier handball shout wouldn’t have been a pen, by the way. It matters not now though.
Goal! Victory 1-1 City (Barbarouses 50)
50 mins: Barbarouses levels things up! Honda plays him in on the Victory right and his cross-shot is diverted into his own goal by Galekovic! Not the best keeping you’ll ever see, but Victory don’t care! They’re right back in this!
Updated
49 mins: Big handball shout for Victory! Barbarouses’ attempted cross appears to strike a hand on its way through! No onfield decision, but VAR may have a look at it...
48 mins: And now Baccus and Toivonen get all tangled up before Baccus fouls Honda moments later. Not at all the prettiest start to the second half.
47 mins: Da Laet wastes no time in getting his name taken by the ref. A leading arm in an aerial challenge with Brown brings yellow for the Belgian.
Peeeeep!
46 mins: Back underway at Marvel Stadium! And that expected change has indeed happened: Ola Toivonen is on, with James Troisi the man to make way. “It’s a minor shift, obviously,” says Muscat. “We’ve got to be really organised. We’re confident we’ll create some chances. Now it’s about trading on chances and taking one of them.”
Back in a bit for the second half. In the meantime, here’s some good reading from the incomparable David Squires:
Half-time: Victory 0-1 City
45+2 mins: There goes the whistle and a few half-hearted boos ring out. It could have been much worse for Victory though, had Griffiths’ shot found the back of the net instead of thumping the post.
45+1 mins: Griffiths! Oof what a hit! He clatters the ball against the upright from outside the box with Thomas beaten all ends up!
44 mins: Two minutes of stoppage time to be played. City build slowly as they look to find a way through.
43 mins: Looks like Toivonen will come on for the start of the second half, most likely to act as an outlet as Victory hope to hit City on the break.
41 mins: Here’s a flash point as Brattan flies into a challenge on Brown! That’s a nasty one and the two “come together”. Brattan is booked before Beana comes over shoves the City player to earn himself a yellow. Needless all around, really.
40 mins: The TV microphones are picking up all sorts tonight! More foul-mouthed shouts ring out and let’s just hope the kids are already in bed.
Updated
39 mins: Honda curls the free-kick into the City box, but it comes to nothing this time.
38 mins: Ironic cheers ring out as Victory get a free-kick. Referee Peter Green is public enemy No 1 at the moment, perhaps unfairly.
37 mins: Muscat is talking to Toivonen on the Victory bench. Looks like he might be coming on.
36 mins: Antonis lofts a long ball forward to Barbarouses, who for a moment looks like he’ll get a run in on goal, but the flag is up on the far side, and he’s called offside. Replays don’t really back up that decision, hence Barbarouses’ frustration.
34 mins: Here come City again, with Harrison. Lovely skills from the on-loan Tottenham player, who completely does Deng when he comes inside. Deng is thankful to Donachie though, with the sub making a crucial block as Harrison shoots.
32 mins: City start playing the ball about now, using their man advantage to good effect. Harrison looks to run onto a neat flick from Brattan but the ball’s quicker than he is and it runs out of play for a Victory goal kick.
31 mins: For a moment it opens up for Honda as he pulls down a long ball forward. Da Laet sees to it that the Japanese player goes no further. He brings him down, and gets away without a booking, much to the chagrin of the home crowd.
30 mins: Berengeur’s corner is deep, too deep to cause any major concern for the Victory defence. Half an hour gone, and City are well on top now, following Neidermeier’s moment of madness earlier.
29 mins: Donachie now struggles under pressure and concedes the free-kick. No yellow? Surprising. City win a corner from the free-kick.
28 mins: Ooh! Maclaren sees Thomas off his line and tries his luck from 40 yards out! He hasn’t got his radar tuned though and his sliced effort flies well wide of the mark.
26 mins: This is going to be a real test of City’s character now, just as much as Victory’s. You’d expect them to put the game beyond Victory’s reach before it gets to squeaky bum time later on. Whether they’ve got the wherewithal to do so is another story.
Updated
25 mins: City win a corner off Brown which Berenguer takes. De Laet goes for it but it’s headed clear by the Victory defence.
22 mins: Harrison links up with Baccus who fires on goal from the edge of the box! But his side-footer is off target and the ball flies well wide of the frame of Thomas’s goal.
21 mins: Honda now goes into the book, albeit for what looks like a soft one on Berenguer. The Victory fans don’t like that one bit and we’ve got an atmosphere inside Marvel Stadium now.
Updated
19 mins: With so long to go this match, you fear for 10-man Victory. But this is a derby, and as we’re constantly told, you can’t take anything for granted in a derby...
17 mins: Well, well, well. A nightmare for Victory, but could this prove to be Warren Joyce’s saviour? Victory are forced into a change, bringing off the unfortunate Kamsoba and bringing on Donachie.
Goal! Victory 0-1 City (Maclaren 16)
16 mins: Maclaren makes no mistake from the spot to notch his third in three game since signing with City! What a stroke of fortune for City! And what a calamity for Victory!
Jamie Maclaren converts from the spot to open scoring in the Melbourne Derby!
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague) February 23, 2019
📺: Watch LIVE on @FOXFOOTBALL and @10BoldAU #ALeague #MELBDERBY pic.twitter.com/nYwKSL7dTn
Updated
Red card! Niedermeier
15 mins: Here we go! The derby erupts into life as Niedermeier loses his bearings completely! Maclaren capitalises to race onto the goal and bear down on goal. Niedermeier is all over him and Maclaren tumbles! Penalty to City and a red card for the German!
Updated
14 mins: Good is under pressure from Troisi here, but the City defender does, um, good to get himself out of trouble.
12 mins: Not much of real note to report so far. Niedermeier does his best to ignite things with a sliding challenge on Maclaren which is deemed late by the referee – and worthy of the game’s first yellow card.
Updated
10 mins: Victory enjoy a nice but brief bit of short passing on the near touchline but the move is eventually broken up by City.
9 mins: Jamieson overcooks a cross into the Victory box now, and the home side will look to play the ball out of the back.
7 mins: Honda looks to slip it through to but no dice this time. Each team just feeling the other out at the moment as the game begins to settle into a rhythm.
6 mins: A good header from Deng repels Brattan’s dangerous cross into the middle and Victory look pretty solid at the back so far.
5 mins: CONFIRMED: It was Bozza with the expletive earlier.
Apologies everyone for my use of foul language on air...it was wrong and will not happen again.xmb
— Mark Bosnich (@TheRealBozza) February 23, 2019
4 mins: Victory play it neatly out from the back but when the ball is played upfield, Barbarouses falls over and City are able to claim possession. The Kiwi looks pleadingly at the ref but there’s nothing doing.
Updated
3 mins: Deng clips it forward to Honda, who mis-controls, uncharacteristically. A bit of ping pong ensues before Victory get the ball down and look to build from the back.
2 mins: De Laet makes a dart down the right hand side but he’s challenged and the ball deflects back off his boot and balloons downfield to Thomas in the Victory goal.
Peeeeeep!
1 min: OK, here we go then! The referee’s whistle toots and the first half is underway at Marvel Stadium!
Updated
Here come the teams, to the strains of Stand By Me and a sea of Victory scarves. Kick-off was supposed to be at 7:50pm, by the way.
Just earlier, we had a slight, um, mishap on Fox Sports. Unfortunate.
Tell me someone else just heard Bozza off camera yelling ‘WOT THE FUK HAPPENED’ when the graphic didn’t come up on screen? Quality stuff we’ve come to expect from the @FOXFOOTBALL coverage 🤡 #MelbDerby
— Muller (@MullerAUS) February 23, 2019
Just before we get underway at Marvel Stadium, there’s just about time to have a read of Luke Henriques-Gomes’ dispatch from a rather important event at Pascoe Vale last night.
It hardly mattered that Hakeem al-Araibi didn’t make it on to the pitch for his homecoming match. The Bahraini refugee, whose recent imprisonment in Thailand shone an uncomfortable spotlight on the intersection between human rights, diplomacy and sport, was always going to be the focus of Pascoe Vale’s first home game of the season.
Here’s Warren Joyce, asked if the speculation over his future this week has had any impact on him: “No, you’ve got your own standards. I’ve got my things I wanted to do when I came to this country.”
Here’s AAP’s Ben McKay with the latest on the pitch, post last night’s AFLX. Spoiler: it’s not great.
I mean you wouldn’t call the #MelbDerby pitch ideal. Add on the 20min wait for corporates to get in tonight and the fact last night it hosted one of the lamest events in Australian sports history, Marvel is having a shocker. pic.twitter.com/lF4ufbgZ0I
— Ben McKay (@benmackey) February 23, 2019
Wellington Phoenix 0-1 Sydney FC
The full-time whistle has just gone in tonight’s other game: an Adam Le Fondre penalty midway through the second half was enough for Sydney to pick up all three points away at Phoenix – in Campbelltown. Lacking the usual perks of playing at home (even though the fixtures list stated this was a Phoenix home game), Wellington were unable to break down Sydney, who leapfrogged Victory into second with the win. How will Victory respond?
Updated
It’s been a week of intense work on the training ground for both teams in preparation for tonight’s big game. And mucking about in dodgem cars for some Victory players.
Team news
Here’s confirmation of Honda’s eagerly-anticipated return. Terry Antonis also returns from suspension, with Kenny Athiu dropping to the bench.
Look who's back in the XI! 🇯🇵 Great to have @OlaToivonen20 back in the match day squad too #MelbDerby #MVFC pic.twitter.com/687bI7CQtD
— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) February 23, 2019
And for City, hamstrung Harrison Delbridge misses out and Rostyn Griffiths comes into midfield. Dario Vidosic and Iacopo La Rocca return to the bench.
Our team is in for the #MelbDerby! pic.twitter.com/uDyb3BmOWF
— Melbourne City FC 🏙️ (@MelbourneCity) February 23, 2019
Preamble
Twenty-four hours ago at Marvel Stadium, it was all painted faces, “banter” and schoolyard games. Tonight, things get rather more serious with the circus of AFLX packed up for another year. Bragging rights and three A-League points are up for grabs in Docklands (side note: will be interesting to see how the pitch pulls up), but perhaps most crucially, the third Melbourne derby of the season could well make or break City coach Warren Joyce, upon whose shoulders the pressure has been gradually mounting in recent weeks.
Just one win in his last seven outings have shone the spotlight on the coach’s contract, which expires at the end of this campaign and is yet to be renewed. Not that Joyce himself is concerned. “There’s no more pressure than the first day I arrived in the room; the pressure’s on yourself to win games and win the league,” he said during the week. Yep, that seems to have been the problem, Warren. A first defeat to their local rivals after a win and a draw in the two games between this pair so far this season, coupled with a poor performance, may see City’s top brass really consider their options.
Victory, in contrast, enter the game in buoyant mood. Kevin Muscat’s side sit in second and welcome marquee man Keisuke Honda back into the starting lineup for the first time in two months. An added bonus comes with the return to the bench of Ola Toivonen after three weeks out.
An intriguing evening of football awaits. Please do get in touch on email (mike.hytner@theguardian.com) or on Twitter (@mike_hytner) with any thoughts on tonight’s game. Back shortly with the confirmed teams.
