The Melbourne Derby washup

The Sydney derby layed down the gauntlet last week and as always been the case, the Melbourne equivalent at worst matched spectacle this weekend. Infront of a raucous 26,479 sellout crowd at AAMI Park, the Victory won in the most thrilling of circumstances.

In what was a cagey first half, it was the second period where all the action in the final third livened up. The red side of Melbourne once again stepped up their game and went close on numerous occasions in the early part of the second half. Inevitablely, it was the mercurial Kiwi, Marco Rojas who prodded in the opener after a well worked move. As it has been the case all night, the Heart didn’t let up and arguably got their reward after Celeski criminally left Fred unmarked and from a superb cross by Michael Marrone, the Heart skipper made no mistake.

This pulsating affair looked to be heading for a stalemate before a crucial Adama Traore intercept started the move that would ultimately snatch all three points for the boys in blue. A Traore ball found Rojas who put Thompson through on goal where his chipped shot clipped the underside of the bar and eventually crept over the line. Cue the north end of AAMI Park erupting in a wall of noise. In a week where the passion of football fans across the country had been put into question, it was the Heart & Victory fans at either ends of the stadium that make the atmopshere that makes the Melbourne Derby one of Melbourne’s premier sporting events.

At the end of the night, it would have been the Heart and their fans who would have left AAMI Park thinking what might have been. This derby was one of their more impressive displays this season and if the ever present Nathan Coe didn’t pull off a great save from a Williams volley, it may have been the blue side of Melbourne who would have gone home looking for answers. The third and final instalment of this ever growing rivalry is only a mere six weeks again. Both sets of fans will mark February 2nd down as night which is not to be missed.

From the jubilant scenes experienced by both fans and players, Ange decided against sending the boys out on a blustery and humid Melbourne morning on Monday, opting for the cooler surrounds of the AAMI Park indoor gym much to the disappointment of the 100 or so Victory fans who made the sojourn to Goschs Paddock. Perhaps Ange and his assistants made the call to adequately prepare the players in cool comfort before a big game on Friday.

Both Melbourne sides are in action in the not too distant future as the busy festive football period starts to ramp up. For the Victory boys, they have a date with Emile Heskey’s Newcastle Jets at AAMI Park on Friday night. In the duration of the A-League the Jets have been a tough nut to crack for Victory and if they can keep this run of wins going it will show us that they are serious contendors. After losing the derby in the most dramatic of circumstances, it doesn’t get any easier for the Heart as they travel across the Tasman for a meeting with the Phoenix. Both teams have been on a poor run of late and for the loser, it would be an almighty struggle to make the top 6.

The Melbourne Derby delivered on all the hype and then some but both Melbourne sides will need to be on their game as this run of festive matches could very well determine where the respective sides end up at the conclusion of the season.

What did you think of the Melbourne Derby? Let me know below.

Twitter – @MVFCLR22

 

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