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In the sixth installment of the Melbourne derby, both teams were missing three players to Olyroos duty but many suspect that those losses would affect Heart more, especially with the added losses of star midfielder Fred and on field general Matt Thompson. In the end neither team looked anywhere near their best and the game was played with opportunities at a premium.
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| Jim Magilton is now in a race against time. |
Jim Magilton now faces a race against time to get his new team into a finals spot and keep his job at Victory beyond the trial period.
Victory were again outplayed by Heart and if not for in-form goalkeeper Anté Covic could have found themselves two or three down. Covic was again Victory's best player and made several outstanding saves, the best of which a long range shot from man of the match and Hyundai A-League debutant Craig Goodwin.
Goodwin, who was plucked from Victorian Premier League outfit Oakleigh Cannons after being overlooked by Adelaide United, was fantastic in his first game and the left winger/left back slotted ever so comfortably into John Van't Schips 4-3-3 system.
Former Victory played Kristian Sarkies had the best opportunity of the night when he went one on one with Covic but sent his shot way into the Yarraside fans.
Magilton though was full of praise and positivity after the game, saying the the efforts of Marcos Rojas was excellent and that the team is taking the shape he wants them to take - albeit slowly. The Northern Irishman faces a difficult challenge, needing to bring in some fresh faces to the dressing room but is up against salary cap pressure and players that have contracts with some time yet to run. He will need to find some midfield presence as early as this week after Grant Brebner once again added to Victory's poor disciplinary record when he was shown a straight red card for a studs up challenge on giant Heart striker Eli Babalj.
The derby draw was of no help to either team as now Heart have not won since December last year and only taken three points from a possible twenty one. The Victory on the other hand are now four points behind sixth placed Sydney who have a game in hand. Speaking in the press conference after the game Magilton said "Momentum in football is massive", that momentum will need to get rolling soon with only seven games left in the season. Magilton's coaching career in Melbourne surely rests with games against the top two teams, Central Coast Mariners and Brisbane Roar coming up.