Melbourne Victory woes continue

To the surprise of many pundits, both Melbourne sides have failed to pick up three points in the opening three rounds of A-League football this season. What is more fascinating is the fact that the blue side of Melbourne have failed to find the back of the net even though they possess the best attacking line up in the country.

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With the likes of Kewell, Thompson, Rojas, Hernandez and Solorzano, Durakovic has more creativity and fire-power at his disposal than any other coach in the league could ask for. Yet he is still struggling to find the best attack to lead his side. Firstly it must be said he will not find it by playing Harry Kewell as his lone striker which we saw last week in Adelaide, and he most definitely won’t find it by leaving Hernandez and Solorzano out of the side, which we saw last night. For Solorzano it is an ongoing story as he is yet to find a starting birth this campaign.

Last night, Durakovic yet again stated – “Harry is still not 100%, he is still not match fit” well if this is the case, wouldn’t it have better to replace Kewell with Hernandez rather than Rojas? Durakovic woes do not look like ending anytime soon, as next week they make their way to Wellington while in two weeks time they wait for the arrival of the unbeaten and current A-League champions Brisbane Roar. If Victory fail to gain three points from either of those games, it is very likely that Durakovic will not be at the helm by the time round six comes around.

On the red and white side of Melbourne, things look just a tad more brighter after last night. The Heart unexpectedly took the game to their rivals, creating plenty of chances and were unlucky not to leave with the three points. Former Victory midfielder Mate Dugandzic was by far the best player on the pitch as he constantly created problems for the host’s defence. He was definitely out to prove a point.

Coach Van’t Schip summed the match up perfectly post-game, stating – “ I’m very happy with my team , today we played without fear and deserved to win the game. There is plenty to take out of today’s performance.” The return of Colosimo and Bolton allowed Matt Thompson to move into his desired midfield position, which definitely worked out well for them. Colosimo did an outstanding job coming back after missing the opening two games as he managed to hold his own, while Marrone did well defensively and could have even opened the scoring deep into the first half.

What is missing for the Heart is a true target man who has an eye for goal and who could have created further problems for the Victory last night, as Alex Terra is more of a winger than a pure striker. Van’t Schip however firmly believes that man can be Brazilian import Maycon who may take time to adapt to the A-League.

Ultimately, both sides will be disappointed with their league positions in these early stages, however based on last night’s performance, Heart will be the happier of the two sides after a great display which was deserving of three points. While for the Victory, performances must improve if they are to have any hope of picking up points against Wellington and Brisbane in the next fortnight.