An Archie Thompson goal was enough to give Melbourne Victory its first win of the A-League season in a tight encounter against Newcastle Jets at Olympic Park on Sunday evening. The game was in balance until the last, with Victory having the better of the second-half after Jets had shaded the first.
Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick said he was delighted with the way his side went about its task. "All around it was a really good performance against Newcastle (which) played well also. We settled first and we just went from strength to strength."
Jets' Football Manager Richard Money was also upbeat, despite the loss. "It was a top game between two really good teams. I'm never happy to lose, but I'm quite happy with the performance," he said.
Archie Thompson's goal came just before the mid-point of the second-half from a Kristian Sarkies free-kick. Paul Kohler had committed the foul against Thompson in his attempt to chase the fleet-footed Thompson who had been making good ground down Victory's right. Sarkies swung in a ball to the front edge of the six yard box. Thompson was first to meet it and guide it low to Jets' goalkeeper Liam Reddy's left, but Andy Vlahos was also in a good position with the Jets defenders having lost both men.
"We were talking before the match that we needed to capitalise on our set plays," said Thompson. "We just went out there really hungry."
Thompson had a chance to make it two deep into added time when he took advantage of Jets' need to push up, running from the half onto a clever through-ball from Michael Ferrante which set him up to face only Reddy with a chasing Jets defence in pursuit. Reddy pulled off a great save ¬‚ one of a number he was called upon to make during the match ¬‚ to turn the ball around which would otherwise have sped into to the net by his left post.
The first half had been an arm-wrestle between two evenly-matched sides in a high-energy and passionate affair. Despite the half ending scoreless, there was plenty for the fan to enjoy.
"Because Newcastle attacked us, we could attack them," said Merrick explaining the open nature of the game.
Ante Milicic had the ball in the back of Eugene Galekovic's net just six minutes in after running on to a long clearance from Reddy. Milicic's first touch turned the ball under Galekovic, but the instant he'd touched the ball the far-side assistant referee's flag went up as Milicic had started his run from an offside position. The new offside law requires an assistant to still his arm until the touch is made, meaning it was several seconds before Milicic and the healthy Olympic Park attendance had spotted that it had been disallowed.
"I'm looking forward to seeing it (on a replay)," said Money when asked to provide his assessment of the decision. "At this moment, I can't believe it's offside, but it is because he's put his flag up."
It was an early turning point, according to Money. "That makes a big big difference," he said. "(Melbourne has) come into the game needing three points, and if Ante scores and makes it 1-0 then suddenly it's a different ball-game."
Just minutes later Daniel Allsopp created the first of a series of chances when he took a through-ball in his stride and set loose a shot which hit an arm of the Jets defender and rebounded. Allsopp was first to the loose ball and his squared ball was to Vlahos who was quickly closed down by an alert Jade North.
Archie Thompson, Vlahos, and Allsopp were posing problems for the Jets' defence as Victory piled on the pressure. But the Jets too showed it could prove dangerous in the counter-attack. Labinot Haliti skipped by a missed tackle by Geoffrey Claes just before the half's mid-point after Kevin Muscat had been slow out in the attempt at springing an offside trap. Haliti's shot went across Galekovic but just wide of the far post.
Reddy came to Jets' rescue on the half-hour with a sharp save low at the post after Vlahos had crossed into space filled by the ghosting run of Michael Ferrante.
The second half balance tipped in Victory's favour, but even after Thompson's goal, the win was never in the bag until the final whistle. Reddy was compelled to make some last-line stops including from a late Sarkies free-kick and the last-gasp save from Thompson.
Matthew Thompson required Galekovic to be on his toes with a fine save just before Victory took the lead, and ten minutes from time a sustained period of pressure required another scrambled save from Milicic in combination with Nick Carle. From the resultant corner, Carle found Milicic who finessed a back-heel which wrong-footed the Victory defence as it fell for Haliti, but Haliti put over from close-range.
An intriguing side battle was the one waged by Carle and Muscat who often found themselves opposing each other. Neither gave way despite some bone-jarring encounters, and often the two would acknowledge the quality of their opponent as the ball moved away.