Final thoughts
Well it lived up to the hype. Passion, controversy, a red card – yet when the dust settled Perth were somehow still top of the league, despite going seven games without a win. Work that one out. That said, a point tonight will feel like a win for Kenny Lowe’s side considering the barrage they withstood from Victory towards the end – not to mention the touch of good fortune they got from that goal.
For Victory, there can be no doubt it was an opportunity missed. Again. They had chances and possession, but just couldn’t find a killer touch against a resolute Glory defence. Some will say Victory were cheated by the officials, but that glosses over the fact they had an out-of-sorts Perth on the ropes and couldn’t finish them off. Nor was it a particularly bad decision for the opening goal, with replays suggesting Keogh was only marginally offside. Still, it’s a brave man who would pick an argument with Kevin Muscat about that one.
That’s all from me tonight, catch you next time.
Full-time Melbourne Victory 1-1 Perth Glory
Six minutes of injury time but Victory can’t find a way through. That’s it. Glory hang on, Victory will feel they should have won.
90 min+4: Glory just hoofing the ball away. They look shattered.
90 min+3: Vukovic palms one away from Khalfallah! Victory still going for it.
90 min+2: Mahazi on for Geria. Victory being willed on by their fans.
90 min+1: Five minutes of injury time and.... there’s the first red. Nichols is sent off for a lunge on Valeri. So much for that potential record.
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89 min: Now Lowe has a hand in things... literally. He accidentally prevents Finkler taking a quick throw.
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87 min: Perth have had a whopping seven yellow cards. No reds though, that must be close to some kind of record. Harold is the latest to go in the box for a crude challenge.
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86 min: Victory almost caught out on a counter attack... and respond with one of their own. Berisha stretches and slides to reach the ball into the box from Geria but can’t quite make it. A touch and it would have been in.
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85 min: Ansell off for Broxham. The defender picked up a knock five minutes ago and hasn’t been able to shake it off.
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83 min: Hearts in mouths for the home fans. Keogh’s shot is deflected off the hand of his marker. Could have gone any where, and could have been a penalty - but it goes wide and the ref waves away the appeal. Cudda, wudda, shudda.
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82 min: Over 22,000 at AAMI Park tonight. They’ve had their money’s worth.
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81 min: As it stands, Perth are creeping back to the top. They must be sick of draws, but they’ll happily take this one.
79 min: He’s been waiting a while, but Maclaren finally gets on. Paljic comes off.
78 min: Hard to believe but the intensity has gone up a notch. Perth doing their best not to panic and pass it around but Victory smell blood.
77 min: Maclaren warming up for Glory. Just got to wait for a break in play...
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76 min: Khalfallah! So close again. His low, long-range effort bounces just before it reaches Vukovic who manages to palm it away. Great stuff.
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72 min: Oooo! So close! Khalfallah heads wide at the back post under pressure. Vukovic would not have got to it. Victory really trying to turn the screw, Glory just about hanging on.
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70 min: This is turning into a great game. Victory still on top. Another corner into the Glory box but Vukovic plucks it from the air.
67 min: Zadkovich on for Perth. Rosytn Griffiths is the man making way. That’s a blow for Glory, although the time it’s taking for him to walk off is slowing the game down. Perth won’t mind that.
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66 min: A long-range effort from Khalfallah swerves just wide by inches. Vukovic was beaten.
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65 min: Finkler hits the wall from a free kick. Victory well on top now.
GOAL! Melbourne Victory 1-1 Perth Glory
63 min: Pick that one out! Georgievski curls one into the top corner from just inside the box. Relief all round AAMI Park, not least for the referee.
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I still think it’s offside, but it’s not the absolute howler Victory think.
60 min: Ooooo! Goalmouth scramble in the Glory box. Vukovic just does enough to palm the ball to safety at his near-post. Close.
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58 min: Reports suggest Muscat was “apologised to” by the linesman at half-time. I doubt that will cool his jets.
56 min: Thwaite in the book this time. Crunching challenge on Berisha. He went for the ball but that could’ve been a lot worse.
55 min: Khalfalla curls it over the bar. Wasted.
54 min: Free kick on the edge of the box for Victory. Finkler favourite to take it.
52 min: Now Perth back on the attack. You get the feeling this will boil over again at some stage. Relatively sedate at the minute. The key word being “relatively”.
49 min: Victory on top in the early stages. Couple of corners in quick succession but Perth stand firm. De Silva comes off for Harold.
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48 min: De Silva in the book after bringing down Khalfallah. Bit of “afters” between the players. It’s getting lively out there.
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47 min: Milligan down after an early clash with Griffiths. He looks in trouble.
Second half: Melbourne Victory 0-1 Perth Glory
46 min: Well Victory fans have had 15 minutes to stew on that dodgy goal. I’ll be amazed if the ref doesn’t get swayed into a “levelling” decision at some stage this half.
Half-time
Boos ring out around AAMI Park as the players troop off. To quote Ron Burgundy, that escalated quickly.
45 min +1: Another penalty appeal for Victory gets turned down! The sense of injustice is palpable.
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45 min: Replays show Keogh was just offside when the ball was played into the box. He scuffed it home off a defender. Boos all round AAMI Park. They were angry before, they’re absolutely livid now.
GOAL! Melbourne Victory 0-1 Perth Glory
43 min: Keogh! Oh dear. It was hardly a classic, and there were some big question marks for offside - but Perth are ahead.
41 min: Perth’s turn to attack but this time it’s Victory’s defence who prove stubborn. The crowd are getting restless... especially as a few decisions have gone against Victory.
38 min: Barbarouses fires one from just outside the area and it flies over the bar. Little bit of frustration from Victory - they’re having plenty of the ball but can’t get a clean shot from close-range.
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37 min: Some hopeful penalty appeals in quick succession from the Melbourne faithful. The ref’s not swayed though, and neither am I.
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35 min: Turning into a bit of a midfield tussle (albeit a fairly fluid one). Perth will be happy with that, crowding out the Victory danger men. Can they do it the whole game though?
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32 min: Short-term answer is “yes”. The corner is whipped in but the Glory defence are all over it and the ball gets hoofed away.
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31 min: Another corner for Victory. Can Glory’s defence stay solid under increasing pressure?
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29 min: If the players are feeling any tension they’re not showing it. Coe picks out a hopeful long ball into the box and immediately launches Victory back on the attack. After those early breaks, though, they’re now finding it difficult to find a way through through Perth’s stubborn defence.
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27 min: Break in play as Jamieson goes down. He’s up seconds later but walking a little gingerly.
25 min: Bit early, but Vukovic for keeper of the year? He looks rock solid today. If that hasn’t jinxed him nothing will.
23 min: Glory just starting to get back into it. They’ve not created anything clear cut but a few encouraging signs as they look to push forward.
21 min: Risdon spies an opening on the edge of the box and -(insert swanny whistle noise here) - scuffs it miles over.
19 min: The corner eventually falls for Valeri but he spoons it high and wide.
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18 min: Close! Berisha denied by a diving save from Vukovic. Corner.
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17 min: Barbarouses breaks away on the right but his low, stinging cross is straight at the keeper. Easy for Vukovic.
13 min: Perth just trying to slow the game down before it gets away from them. Smart. Lowe’s back in his chair. Won’t be long until he’s out of it again.
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10 min: Some good football at pace from both sides - but it’s Victory just starting to get on top.
8 min: Oooo! Everyone’s expecting Khalfallah to whip in a free-kick - but instead he smacks it at goal and, for a moment, it had Vukovic’s heart racing.
4 min: Early signs are good. Both teams are up for it. Who knows, this might even live up to the hype... hype which, admittedly, I was party to.
3 min: Up the other end and it’s Melbourne with a corner. It’s a low one and cleared easily. I don’t think he meant to hit it that low. Promising start.
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2 min: Early corner for Perth. Decent cross in but Thwaite can only steer his header over the bar. He was under pressure though.
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Kick-off
1 min: And off we go. The crowd sound well up for this one. As well they should.
Well this game has been hyped up as a battle between the top two all week, and now we’re here it’s second v fourth. What a rip. Well just to get you in the mood, here’s the highlights from their last clash back in January. Cracker.
And Melbourne’s line-up...
Perth’s line-up tonight...
Pre-amble
This is what it’s all about people. A crunch clash between title rivals at the business end of the competition, with the glory of being top of the table on offer for the winner, and the ignominy and shame of, well, not being top for the loser. Whatever the result, if this season’s other clashes between these two are any guide, we should be in for a few goals tonight (we’ve had nine in two matches so far). If “Eye of The Tiger” isn’t playing in your head now (preferably to a montage of Kenny Lowe bellowing spittle from the sidelines and a few “meaty” challenges from Kevin Muscat’s playing days), you must have a heart of stone.
Yet despite my shameless aggrandising and the clubs’ high-flying positions on the ladder, Victory and Glory haven’t exactly been setting the league alight in recent weeks.
Depending on if you’re a “stadium half full” or “stadium half empty” kind of person, the Glory haven’t won in six OR they’re unbeaten in three. A win today and Kenny Lowe can shrug his shoulders Fonz-style and say “what slump?”, but another loss would leave him tugging his collar like Ralph Malph.
It’s tempting to say Victory have never had a better chance to take the ladder lead – but they had one last week and blew it, somehow conspiring to lose 3-2 to Wellington despite dominating and going ahead twice. In fact it’s been a season of near-misses for Victory, you only have to look back at their last game against Perth at the end of January for evidence. With 15 minutes to go they were 3-1 up, but ended up being dragged back to 3-3.
“There are moments in games when we have to be switched on and more concentrated on what we are doing,” said Muscat in the build-up to tonight’s encounter. “This week [at training and in team meetings] has been about that, and hopefully we can do that [against Perth] for longer than the 70 or 75 minutes we have done for previous weeks.”
Easier said than done against Perth, but it’ll be happy days for Victory if they can pull it off. If Perth win, they’ll be “top guns” in the A-League; if they lose, then Kenny Lowe-gins will be in “the danger zone”. And just to be clear, I make no apologies for any contrived puns in this blog. You have been warned.
With top-of-the-table on the line and the chance to get one over on a title rival before the finals, there’s no doubt this is the pick of the round’s games.
Perth are desperate for a win after watching their lead at the top drip away as they stumble from one mediocre result to the next. Meanwhile, the Victory are seething after throwing away three points in a home defeat to temporary leaders Wellington last week and have already stated their need for revenge.
Richard Gadsby will be here shortly to catch every moment of the action from AAMI Park, but until then here’s Paul Connolly’s preview of round 20.
For weeks now, leaders Perth Glory have been graciously holding a door open for those behind them to enter, yet no-one has taken up the invitation. After Perth’s sixth-straight game without a win, Melbourne Victory last round had the chance to step past Perth and into the paradise of the premiership lead — a paradise where the grass is greener and 72 dewy-eyed virgins polish your boots, press your kit and comb brilliantine through your quiff ahead of kick-off. Instead, like klutzes, Victory squandered their dominance over Wellington, walking into the door frame by losing 3-2 at AAMI Park. On Saturday, however, another chance beckons for Victory. Enticingly for us punters, the chance comes against Perth, in what is the third fixture between the two teams in the past eight rounds. While they are hardly in red-hot form (Perth have now gone six games without a win, while Victory have just one win from their past four) their match promises a good deal because they share the belief that they belong on top of the table, and the winner will edge ahead in the chase for the Premiers’ Plate. How will Victory’s defence hold up (three times in their past four they’ve conceded three goals), can Perth rediscover the cutting edge that has allowed them the luxury of dropping points but not places on the ladder, and who will win the hair-off between Andy Keogh and Kosta Barbarouses? All eyes on AAMI Park.
