Thompson on top as Victory oust Wanderers

The return of strike Archie Thompson proved all the difference for Melbourne Victory, getting back on the winners list with an impressive 3-1 win over the Western Sydney Wanderers on a hot Tuesday night at AAMI Park.

It was no coincidence that with the number 10 coming back to the starting XI for the first time since November, Victory would crack their winless run.

Despite the best efforts of the likes of James Troisi and Mitch Nichols in Thompson’s absence, the Victory looked much better organised up front with Archie in the line-up.

During the striker’s injury layoff, the Victory struggled on numerous occasions to bury teams as they wasted endless chances with no recognised target man to aim for.

In the seven weeks Thompson missed due to a knee problem, the Victory only took maximum points on two occasions as the side arguably endured their worst run of form for the season.

That all changed against the Wanderers as the A-League second all-time goalscorer got back in the groove to give the home side the much-needed three points.

The Victory looked like a much better proposition going forward than in previous weeks, thanks largely to Thompson.

It was a slow first half as both sides look to struggle in the soaring Melbourne heat. The temperature hit a staggering 40 degrees at kickoff and hovered around the mid-30s for the entire game. Despite the heat, the Victory were the better of the two sides in the first 45.

The match kicked into life in the 51st minute with the returning Thompson firing the home side to the lead.

The goal came as a result of a nice passage of play as youngster Rashid Mahazi produced a nice ball to find Kosta Barbarouses on the right flank, who then fired off an inch perfect cross to give Thompson the easiest of finishes.

Barbarouses wasn’t done with as he increased the Victory’s lead just nine minutes later with a goal of his own on 61 minutes.

The Kiwi international did well in the goal to beat defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley then sneak his shot past Ante Covic for a much-deserved goal.

Archie's return had a positive impact on the entire squad with his presence helping fellow attacker Barbarouses in arguably his best performance for his team.

It’s been a trying return to the A-League for Barbarouses this year as he has battled to find his form of previous years. It all seemed to come together for him tonight as he capped off a great performance with a goal and an assist.

Tomi Juric had Victory hearts in mouths as he found the back of the net in the fourth minute of stoppage time as the threat of a Wanderers comeback reared its head.

It proved to be little more than a consolation goal as Gui Finkler got the better of Covic two minutes later to put an exclamation mark on the win.

With not only the Wanderers to deal with but also the searing heat and player absences, Victory manager Kevin Muscat was understandably happy with the result.

"I couldn't be prouder of the group tonight, so pleased for them because they worked very hard to produce that performance within a structure,'' Muscat said.

"And some of those goals were first class against a top defensive unit.

"Seven or eight boys were under 21. A lot was made about the seven regulars unavailable but once you start using that it becomes an excuse and the rest of the team starts believing it.”

The Victory created the better chances throughout the evening and were good value for their win but one negative out of the game was the head knock forward Andrew Nabbout copped in the first half.

Defending a corner, the young attacker received a kick to the head by Dean Heffernan and went down immediately. Nabbout lost conscience instantly but did manage to regain it before being stretched off and taken to hospital as a precaution.

For the away side, their busy schedule finally caught up with them as they were second best for much of the contest. The Wanderers looked sluggish during the match as they came off a short turnaround after their Sydney derby win just last Saturday.

Many critics questioned the Victory’s playing style without Thompson as it became clear they were missing him more than expected. Too many times they would get the ball forward with no end result as no player was there to kindly put the ball in the back of the net.

With Archie back in action, that appears to have changed and the Victory’s stuttering run to the championship appears to be firmly back on track.



Melbourne Victory: 1. Nathan COE (GK), 3. Adama TRAORE, 6. Leigh BROXHAM(C), 9. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10. Archie THOMPSON, 13. Andrew NABBOUT, 14. James TROISI, 16. Rashisd MAHAZI, 23. Adrian LEIJER, 31. Dylan MURNANE

SUBS
20. Lawrence THOMAS(GK), 7. Guilherme FINKLER, 22. Jesse MAKAROUNAS, 26. Jordan BROWN, 32. Milos RIDESIC


Western Sydney Wanderers: 1. Ante COVIC(GK), 3. Adam D’APUZZO, 4. Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 5. Michael BEAUCHAMP(C), 10. Aaron MOOY, 11. Brendan SANTALAB, 12. Tahj MINNIECON, 14. Kwabena APPIAH, 19. Mark BRIDGE, 22. Dean HEFFERNAN, 23. Jason TRIFIRO

SUBS
20. Jerrad TYSON(GK), 9. Tomi JURIC, 17. Youssouf HERSI, 21. Shinji ONO, 32. Daniel ALESSI