New chapter, same old story for Victory

Melbourne Victory season of draws has continued another week, this time denied by John Kosmina’s Adelaide United, who are yet to lose under their new boss.

It seemed Jim Magilton made an immediate impact on the Victory bench as it only took his side six minutes to take the lead courtesy of an Archie Thomspon tap-in after great work down the left from star player Harry Kewell.

It was a perfect start for Magilton; a dream start. It seemed that this momentum was going to continue throughout the match as the home side continued to apply the pressure and create several chances. The same however could not be said for John Kosmina’s side who although had much of the possession, they clearly struggled to do anything with the football.

And then the second half begun …

Despite a huge save from Galekovic sixty seconds into the half, Victory seemed the team of old and because of this it only took the visitors eight minutes to find an equaliser. A Mullen header from a Vidosic corner came off the bar and fell kindly to the feet of an unmarked Sergio Van Dijk who had no problem placing his shot past Ante Covic. With this goal Adelaide upped their tempo, seemed more confident and finally started to attack with intent and this showed in the next fifteen minutes as they stamped their authority on the game.

Vidosic was dangerous from set-pieces as he came closest to finding a second for Adelaide as his corner was goal-bound only to be denied by a last ditch headed clearance by Rodrigo Vargas. As Kosmina stated in his post-game conference if Victory were to win the game they could only rely on individual brilliance rather than a team effort. His comment was spot on as the closest the home side came was through a powerful Harry Kewell strike which cannoned of the bar.

Adelaide finished the game better team although neither side had any major chances. Nonetheless coach Kosmina was proud of his sides performance.

“In the second half I thought we were outstanding and as a unit we were fantastic” he said.

The Reds manager could have no complaints as the South Australian club is yet to lose under his leadership and are showing a real sense of competition for the rest of the A-League.

His opposite number however still has plenty of work do despite the pleasing effort put in by his players.

“I’m very pleased with the performance, with the attitude of the players. We had a very strong performance in the first half, but obviously could have done better in the second half.”Magilton stated.

Magilton could have done better indeed in the second half, as this was Victory’s seventh game of the season where they have failed to hold onto a lead.

This Melbourne Victory team has struggled with consistency all season, with seven draws in 15 games one of the key concerns. The Northern Irishman however has the players that are capable of not only making the Finals Series but also winning the prized possession. If results continue to go pear-shaped expect an angry response from the Victory army of fans.

The Victory gaffer has a tough task in front of him and he acknowledged that as he summed up Friday night's performance.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day”.