Melbourne Victory ended its home-and-away season with a two-nil win over Wellington Phoenix at Docklands Stadium on Friday evening which guarantees it at least second place and a Finals double-chance, and eliminates Wellington from further participation. It also confirms the Finalists as Adelaide, Queensland, and Central Coast, but leaves the positions of all but the Mariners in fourth, still in flux.
Kevin Muscat converted from the spot five minutes before the interval after Matthew Kemp had been barged down by Emmanuel Muscat as Kemp ran into the Phoenix penalty-area.
After continual Wellington second-half pressure, Archie Thompson took advantage of space Phoenix had conceded at the rear, to speed away and net in the game's last minute.
"I thought we left it a little bit late," said Victory coach Ernie Merrick after the game. "I thought we had several chances in the first half (where) we could have gone a couple ahead. But football's football ? sometimes it doesn't come off for you."
"The most important thing is that although we didn't play our best, we came away with the full three points, we had a clean sheet, we scored two goals, and we pulled in a fantastic crowd behind us," he said.
"The pressure's on Adelaide now," said Merrick, aware that the South Australians need to at least match Melbourne's margin of victory to regain top place and the Premiers Plate.
"I think at least (a point)," was Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert's assessment of his team's just reward following the game. "It was a very good performance by us tonight. In the second half we probably controlled the game."
"I'd question the (penalty)," he said. "It was on the line a little bit, and I think in a game of this nature, it was disappointing to cop. At the end of the day, it's swings and roundabouts isn't it, and the call is made. We thought it wasn't (a penalty)."
The win may yet present Melbourne with the Premiership, and the significant accompanying prize of automatic qualification for the 2009 AFC Champions League, unless Adelaide matches Melbourne's result in its Sunday game away to Central Coast. However, Mariners' coach Lawrie McKinna was reported as being prepared to field a weakened side if Melbourne won, which ensured his side's place in the Finals. But Melbourne's Finals place cannot be lower than second, which provides it with two avenues to the Grand Final.
As might have been expected when the stakes were so high, the early part of the contest was a bit of an arm-wrestle. Neither side was allowed to play flowing football, as anxiety plagued both teams' players.
But a few sporadic chances were created. Billy Celeski had been set up with a finely-weighted pass from Carlos Hernandez four minutes in, but his sliding shot was battered away for a corner by Phoenix keeper Glen Moss. The defeat meant Moss played his last game for Phoenix, and will play his next for Melbourne, having signed for the Australian side before the end of the season. Despite this, Moss showed he was suffering no conflict of interest, and stood in the way of a more comfortable Melbourne win, denying later a Nick Ward shot which would have vied for goal of the year had it hit the net rather than been tipped over for a corner by the Kiwi.
"Tonight was a glimpse for myself," said Moss after the game. "The set-up here is unbelievable. I wouldn't have taken this step if I didn't think Melbourne Victory would help me get to that next level, and really improve my game."
"Glen is a fantastic guy with an incredible future," said Herbert. "(He's) a fantastic recruit for Victory. I wish him all the best. I'm disappointed he's leaving, but he's got a great future in front of him."
"His performance (tonight) was a testament (to) Glen's character," said Herbert. "There was no discussion of making a change in goal (for this game)."
Michael Theoklitos, the man Moss might need to displace next season, was as effective at the other end when he deflected away a goal-bound effort from Daniel. Shortly after, exciting Wellington youngster Costa Barbarouses twinkle-toed his way around Kemp and Rodi Vargas before wasting a crossing chance with a wild shot from an acute angle.
Midway through the half, Kevin Muscat turned over possession deep in his own half allowing Shane Smeltz to cross to an unattended Michael Ferrante. Ferrante's volley went over Theoklitos' bar to spare the Victory captain's blushes.
Then, as the 29,000 in attendance steeled themselves to a barren first half, Kemp took advantage of being permitted to run at the Phoenix defence after he gained possession in his own half. As space opened up in front of him, the Wellington defenders backing-off rather than closing-down, Kemp suddenly discovered he'd entered the penalty-area and still had space to exploit. As he burst through the last line, Manny Muscat barged into him from the left as Ben Sigmund closed in from the right. Their combined attentions were enough to send Kemp sprawling and for referee Strebre Delovski to blow for the penalty.
Kevin Muscat, Victory's penalty-taker for the whole of the club's existence and rarely a failure from twelve yards, stepped up and banged his shot low to Moss' right.
"We couldn't have a better penalty-taker in the league," said Merrick as Muscat sat alongside him at the after-match media conference. "He does a fantastic job under pressure."
Nick Ward almost embroidered the game with a second, minutes before the break, when he curled in a shot from 30 metres. It was headed for the top left corner until Moss dived spectacularly and stretched an arm to divert it over for a corner.
When asked his assessment of Moss' agility in the save, as Moss sat alongside him at the media conference, Herbert deadpanned "He could have caught it."
Moss later made a point-blank save preventing Danny Allsopp from netting on the hour, and was happy to see Hernandez send his follow-up well over the bar.
Being a goal down meant Phoenix had to play a more expansive game for the second half if it was to earn the win needed for it to retain its hopes of Finals football, and so it proved, committing resources to attack. Indeed, after a foul by Kemp, Wellington pressed large numbers forward and began a game of pin-ball for a time. Sadly for the visitors, successive goal-bound shots were blocked by Smeltz. Kevin Muscat blocked the first effort from Barbarouses, then Ben Sigmund and Jonathan McKain watched Smeltz unwittingly get in the way of their on-target shots.
"Shane's pretty good at scoring," said Herbert ruefully. "But we didn't need to play against another defender. They were good chances. It just wasn't our night."
Leo Bertos brought out a fine save from Theoklitos ten minutes from time after he'd launched a powerful shot to the top corner following good set-up work on the right from Barbarouses. Both Bertos and Barbarouses posed difficult questions for Melbourne and needed to be watched closely all evening.
Continual Wellington pressure was exerted in search of the season-extending goal, but it was resolute defence from Melbourne, marshalled effectively by seasoned campaigner Kevin Muscat, and saves like that one from Theoklitos, which prevented the dividend Phoenix deserved and so desperately needed. But by committing so many to the quest, the New Zealanders left gaps ripe for exploitation by quick Melbourne counters.
And so it was to script that a last minute poacher's goal from talismanic front-man Thompson, after he'd run onto a header from substitute Ney Fabiano and out-sped Tony Lochhead, brought up Melbourne's win-confirming second.
"We're going into the Finals (with) five wins from (the last) six matches, and clean sheets in the last two games. And we've got a double chance," said an optimistic Merrick.