By Bobby Freakout
In what shapes as the match of the season thus far, United travel to the Telstra Dome on Friday night to take on the A-League’s early pacesetters.
Form Guide
Both teams sit on 7 points with two wins and a draw, though Melbourne’s positive goal difference of 7 has them leading the league at this early juncture. A clinical 5-0 demolition of reigning championship winners Newcastle in the last round has the Victory’s confidence up, while Adelaide are also coming in to this match on a high, after having easily accounted for Wellington 3-0 in their last fixture.
United head into the game with good form, but a heavy schedule looms. This is the first of five matches in 16 days, a run that includes home and away fixtures in the ACL against Kashima Antlers and another tough away trip to face Sydney FC.
Team News
Melbourne will be missing Costa Rican international Jose Luis Lopez, with the defensive midfielder due to return from national team duty the day before the match. Given the influence he has exerted through he middle of the park, this will be a test for the much vaunted depth of Melbourne’s squad, with Australian youth international Leigh Broxham or Scot Grant Brebner the most likely to fill the vacancy.
The Victory will also assess the fitness of defender Michael Thwaite and midfielder Nick Ward in the lead up to the game. Coach Ernie Merrick is likely to err on the side of caution if there are any doubts about either.
Merrick is unlikely to have Carlos Hernandez, Archie Thompson, Danny Allsopp and Ney Fabiano all in the same starting line-up, though the thought surely tempts him. It is likely that one striker start will on the bench, possibly Archie Thompson, who is still making his way back to full fitness after a run of injuries.
Adelaide have been settled this season and have selected the same squad in each of the first three rounds.
Diego Walsh has been out for a few weeks but is in line to return to the side for this match. The Brazilian midfielder is hoping to get some much needed match practice before the ACL fixture against Kashima Antlers.
“It has been about a month but everything is going well. I’m training with the group and will hopefully be included for Melbourne”.
Coaches’ Notes
Adelaide coach Aurelio Vidmar will be wary of the goal threat posed by the Melbourne quartet of Thompson, Allsopp, Hernandez and Ney Fabiano but has the defensive stocks to make a good fist of containing them. Angelo Costanzo, Alemao, Sasa Ognenovski and Scott Jamieson have been settled at the back this season and have conceded just one goal in three matches. Adept at playing possession football, their focus will likely be on containing Melbourne and exposing them on the counter-attack. To this end, an option Vidmar has is to deploy Costanzo alongside Jonas Salley in a defensive midfield pairing, with Robert Cornthwaite or Cassio to slot in across the back four. Costanzo has previously played this role against Melbourne with success.
Blessed with in-form wingers Lucas Pantelis and captain Travis Dodd, Adelaide will be dangerous if given space in wide areas. Melbourne’s fullbacks will need to stay alert to the danger these players pose when Adelaide win the ball in their own half. Melbourne’s Matthew Kemp will need to be especially watchful on the right side of defence as he seeks to subdue the lively Pantelis.
Melbourne, emboldened by their good form and plethora of offensive options, should seek to dictate terms from the outset. Given space in their attacking third, they are capable of constructing fluid passing movements and have shown a deadly finishing touch so far this season. Their lack of natural wingers hasn’t seemed to restrict them thus far this year, the incisive off-the-ball movement from their strikers and attacking midfielders have so far more than compensated for the lack of natural width.
One can expect a physical match, not in the least due to the bitter rivalry the two teams have shared over recent years. Melbourne captain Kevin Muscat is akin to Ernie Merrick’s loyal junkyard dog whilst Adelaide’s Sasa Ognenovski is an imposing centre-half with a fiery temperament to match. With neither known to shy away from an issue, the extent to which either can assert themselves against their opponents physically and mentally will also be likely to have an affect on the result of the game. Indeed, this match could well be billed as the battle of the defences, with most good judges rating the two team’s respective defensive line-ups as the A-League’s most accomplished.
Players to Watch
Adelaide’s Cristiano, the Brazilian striker signed from Willem II, is coming in to the match on a scoring note after netting a double last week against Wellington and managing another two against the Victory eight weeks ago in the pre-season cup. The influence of Pantelis, Dodd and Alemao on the flanks will have a bearing on his ability to get into goal-scoring positions as he has had some great service so far this season.
Melbourne’s talismanic striker Archie Thompson turned the last week’s match on its head following his introduction midway through the first half. In only his first game for the year he scored one and assisted two others and will be looking to continue in the same vein. Fellow forward Danny Allsopp leads all scorers so far this season with 4 in three games and looks a much improved finisher this year, while Carlos Hernandez has been instrumental at the point of midfield.
Prediction
In front of what is expected to be a big, expectant home crowd, the Victory will push hard for the three points, and whilst Adelaide will do their best to win, one can’t help but feel that they will focus on blunting Melbourne’s attacks and happily walk away with a point.
With one eye already on the ACL fixture in Japan five days after this match, Vidmar may be prepared to accept a narrow loss if it means his squad gets through unscathed, whilst Melbourne have their sights firmly set on their second A-League championship in three years. The quality of attacking play exhibited this season by Melbourne – coupled with the numerous goal-scoring options that they boast – should see them get the points at home.
Melbourne to win 1-0.
1 Comment
September 11, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Heh. The ironic thing is that Adelaide will probably win 3-0, just to spite everyone. Typical Adelaide.
That (my own comment, not this decent column) reminds me of the constant Adelaide-bashing on SBS in seasons 1 and 2: every week someone would predict a loss or draw, and Adelaide would just keep on winning…