A Melbourne derby guarantees spice like Fernando Brandan’s hair guarantees mirth. But after two emotionally charged encounters already this season, one could have been forgiven for predicting a more considered affair.
For the A-League itself, the danger inherent in Saturday’s fixture was that all the usual sub-plots, contrived as they are, had largely run dry. Of course, “a derby’s a derby” as many will glibly offer; but this was the third time the teams had clashed in a season not yet halfway done, too far from its commencement for novelty and not near enough its conclusion for deep consequence. The frame of old money versus new money had been sufficiently thrashed so as to blunt that storyline, and even Tim Cahill – 2016s shiny A-League doll – felt familiar to the contest.
It meant the match was shed of much of its marketing cream. It turned out a beautiful thing, and gave way to football that captivated of its own accord. The only things new and old were the schools on show, as both sides brought unrelenting physicality that ran alongside playmaking finesse.
Most fixtures, particularly derbies, take a while to “settle”; it never felt like this one did. Buoyed on by a lively AAMI Park, the result was a contest where both teams laid their best cases for three points. There were flash-points and melees, but it didn’t overshadow the game’s quality. The front-men, Cahill and Besart Berisha, influenced the encounter heavily but it was the Albanian this time who had the final word.
But to focus on the story of two strikers would do a disservice to those who decided the match. Because while Berisha’s winner had significance beyond Saturday’s result, it was the performances of his supporting cast that proved the ultimate difference between both sides. If the Albanian is Danny Zuko, then Marco Rojas and James Troisi are his T-Birds. The latter in particular deserved his man-of-the-match gong with a number of classically silky, telling touches – the simplest of which permitted Rojas the space to score the equaliser.
Earlier, he sent Berisha through on goal with a deft ball rolled in behind with the outside of his left boot. That pass was preceded by a scintillating run from behind the halfway line, via a smooth nutmeg of Neil Kilkenny. Troisi possesses that rare faculty to glide while running; testament to his balance and ability to play with his head up. His man-of-the-match competition came through colleague Rojas, who endured a quiet first quarter before poaching Victory’s first. It’s likely coincidental, but Rojas was instrumental from thereon. Kevin Muscat’s outfit concentrated their play down City’s left side, with Rojas in particular targeting Josh Rose and the left-sided Ruon Tongyik, who endured a torrid evening in his second game. Rose’s substitution on 62 minutes was at least in part due to the New Zealand international inflicting some twisted blood.
Much post-match discussion focused on Victory’s profligacy in front of goal. “It could have been five”, noted some of the commentariat in backhanded-compliment fashion. But to dismiss City’s own attacking threat would be inaccurate. While Cahill rose early, it was in the second half where they looked most likely. Where they lacked urgency in the opening 45 minutes, the Brandan-Luke Brattan-Bruno Fornaroli axis was incisive and penetrative in the second, arguably more so than their opponents.
However the primary difference between both sides lay in the quality of their defensive organisation. Both were asked questions all evening, but the Victory’s defence stood far taller. It’s here that author Malcolm Gladwell’s theory of football comes to mind. Speaking on his podcast, Revisionist History, the Canadian postulates that it’s far more important in football to improve your weakest link than focus on your strongest. Or in his words, “what matters is how good our 11th player is, not our first”. It rang true here. While plaudits and comment will likely focus on both sides’ leading lights, in truth it was Victory’s depth that proved the difference. James Donachie, who for most of the match looked as though he’d commenced an Egyptian embalming process on his face, alongside his partner Alan Baro, were a far more reliable prospect than their City counterparts, who were woefully exposed on multiple occasions, especially in the first half.
We now arrive at a point in the season where, for both sides, the result has implications for momentum more than anything else. For City, an opportunity to reinforce their defence surely beckons, and for the Victory a tight win over an arch-rival away from home is just the sort of tonic that legitimate contenders like to drink at this time of year.
Both sides too can be satisfied with their contribution to a rollicking night’s football. Those who witnessed would have seen crisp playmaking, set piece danger, one-on-ones, a Fornaroli swivel-volley that almost came off, a Cahill special, a Berisha winner and a tinge of testosterone throughout. It underscored the competition’s quality, and should pleasingly go down as a match with greater substance than hype.
