Socceroo Steve Horvat scored with a header from a corner just before the half-time break to give Melbourne Knights the lead they never surrendered in the derby against ten-man South Melbourne at Colonial Stadium on Friday evening.
Defender Steve Iosifidis had been dismissed by referee Craig Zetter midway through the half for an untidy challenge on Joel Porter at the edge of the box.
"Players and coaches get scrutinised, but the question has to be asked about the man in the middle," said a disappointed South coach Eddie Krncevic after the game. "We've got to start to get competent referees."
"But I've got nothing but praise for my players for their gallant effort."
The Stadium's achilles heel - spectators' efficient entry into the venue - was again highlighted as the game was delayed by fifteen minutes to ameliorate the delays in the ticket queues. As it was, the delay was for even longer, and still the patrons were entering as the game was well underway.
But what a stadium - the biggest indoor football venue in Australia, playing host to its first ever football game. It comfortably accommodated the fan and the curious who had turned out in marginally larger numbers than would likely have been the case had the game been played, as originally scheduled, at Bob Jane Stadium the following Sunday.
The pitch played truly, despite another of the problems the venue had experienced during the Aussie Rules seasons with uneven surfaces, and poor grass quality. Other then a few unsightly scars left from the AFL ground markings, the pitch - and the stadium - looked a picture.
South looked to settle the quicker in the contest's hothouse derby atmosphere. Paul Trimboli and Peter Buljan set up a good chance for youngster Ray Sekulovski which brought out a last-ditch blocking save from Martin John just ten minutes in. Shortly after, Buljan intercepted a loose Knights back-line pass from Roddy Vargas and ran direct towards the goal, laying off to Steve Manceski. Manceski took overly long, and Johns again managed a block.
But the game-turning incident arose when Joel Porter made a rampaging run from the half-way line to the edge of the penalty-area and in front of Iosifides, falling after contact between them. After referee Zetter showed Iosifidis the red card, he was surrounded by protesting South players, and was overly-tested by the protestations of Mehment Durakovic, who was booked.
Although nothing came of the resultant free-kick, the seeds of Knights dominance had germinated.
Krncevic withdrew Manceski up front for Marco Santilli wide on the left, brought Fausto De Amicis into his more usual left-back position, and moved Patrick Kisnorbo to fill Iosifides' right-back role in response to the dismissal.
The re-jigging seemed to have held, but Horvat's header just before the break meant that a holding operation would not now be good enough.
"Steve Iosifidis - (Horvat) was his man," said Krncevic, explaining why it was that Horvat had stolen in unmarked for the goal.
Knights was to have by far the better of the play in the second half, cleverly moving the ball around seeking the extra player, and should have extended the lead on a number of occasions. Xheziar Sulemani and Alex Kiratzoglou both squandered late opportunities, Horvat went close to repeating his headed first-half goal with another in stoppage time, and Petkovic pulled off a stunning save after Joel Porter was clean through just before the whistle drew an end to a passionate and high-energy game.
"The pitch was superb - if anything a bit soft," said Knights player-coach Andrew Marth in his after-match comments. "But where were all the soccer followers? We'll get 80,000 to 90,000 at the World Cup Qualifier (in a few days time), why can't we get 20,000 to 30,000 here for a local derby?"
Marth was especially disappointed at what he saw as insufficient support from Channel Seven, "They've got the (TV) rights, they own the stadium, and from Monday they should have publicised it on TV. I think I saw one ad, today, and that's pretty pathetic."