Arzani, Bruno the difference as Victory hold their nerve to see of Glory
Two goals from Bruno Fornaroli and possibly Daniel Arzani's finest performance for the club has helped Melbourne Victory avoid more late disappointment and down Perth Glory 2-1.
If you carry designs on challenging for a top two A-League Men finish, to say nothing of challenging for a title come the end of the season, then a home Sunday afternoon kickoff against 10th placed Perth Glory side notorious for their struggles on the road is the type of fixture you need to be winning. And dutifully, that’s what Melbourne Victory did on Easter Sunday, downing the West Australians 2-1 at AAMI Park thanks to a Bruno Fornaroli brace.
It wasn’t momentously spectacular by any stretch of the imagination, Victory hasn’t really done much of that this season, but it was enough. And it was deserved. Fornaroli now has 17 goals in the 2023-24 campaign, two clear of Adam Taggart, who himself was kept mostly quiet by the Victory backline. However, Daniel Bennie’s 61st-minute effort to cut the deficit ensured that there would be no clean sheet for that backline or Paul Izzo behind it, the sixth-straight contest in which they shipped at least one goal.
The 17-year-old’s goal, his first in professional football, marked a second half that was nervier than it probably should have been for the hosts, their travails in holding onto leads combining with Glory’s predilection for late madness to leave a somewhat fatalistic Victory fanbase on the edge of their seats. Jarrod Carluccio, who was lively off the bench, had headed over the bar earlier in the half with an effort he probably should have done better with but these were rare decisive chances for the side in purple.
Nonetheless, while their side did what they needed to secure a win and prevent their opponents from fashioning a tide of chances, Victory supporters have watched on as they conceded an equalising goal after the 85th minute on four occasions already this season, so you could hardly blame the home support for feeling some level of trepidation. Nor could one begrudge the hushed pall that descended when the young Glory side came forward late.
“Happy overall with the performance and we got the result we deserved,” said coach Tony Popovic. “It was a little tight obviously with with them scoring the goal but I thought we saw out the game very well.
"From the moment we conceded the goal, we showed no anxiety. I thought we got control of the game back and we didn't give away any clear opportunities. I'm not even sure they had a half-opportunity. Of course, they put us under pressure. They put a lot of players on, a lot of good attacking players, fresh players came on but I thought as a team, we defended very well. “
Just moments after coming onto the pitch, Roly Bonevacia put hearts in mouths in the 73rd minute when he was whistled for a handball just millimetres outside the penalty area, with referee Ben Abraham subsequently called over to the VAR booth to determine if it was, in fact, a penalty. Fortunately for Victory, however, while it was ultimately deemed that the incident had taken place inside the penalty area, the positioning of Bonevacia’s hand didn’t constitute an infraction, leading the set piece to be waved off entirely.
“We were in the game for a long time and probably created... I don't know what the xG was, but I felt like our chances were better,” Glory boss Alen Stajcic said. “Maybe not quantity but maybe just the quality of the chances that we could have finished we're better than theirs. They were the better team on the day but there wasn't much in it.”
Up the other end, Victory had enough chances to make all this redundant but proven unable to find that last touch, that last pass, that last cross, or that last decisive finish to make them count. Daniel Arzani repeatedly put balls on a plate for teammates to finish only to be left disappointed. Zinédine Machach showed flashes but couldn’t find his devastating best. On another day, Fornaroli could have had at least a hattrick but instead had to make do with his efforts on either side of the halftime break.
“We looked very dangerous going forward and the keeper made some great saves, but it could have been a lot more,” said Popovic.
Fornaroli’s first came in the 16th minute when, after Arzani had flicked a driven ball from Damien Da Silva ball back centrally, he effectively took the ball off Machach after the Frenchman's initial heavy touch before swivelling and, with a slight deflection off Riley Warland, burying his effort. Eight minutes into the second stanza he had his second when Glory stood off Arzani on the left and, taking full advantage of the time, the 25-year-old lofted a ball perfectly onto the Socceroos’ head.
Arzani would finish the game with an assist, seven chances created, and six successful dribbles. No other player on the park had more than two in either of the latter two stats. Subbed off in the 91st minute, two minutes after Oliver Sail did incredibly well to deny him a goal to add to his day, it also marked his longest appearance in a Victory shirt since arriving at the club.
Tony Popovic’s side move back into third place on the table with the win, just two points back of second-placed Central Coast and throwing down a challenge that Macarthur will need to answer on Easter Monday when they host Western Sydney. Their focus, meanwhile, will now turn to next week’s Melbourne Derby on Saturday evening, a game that could prove defining for both.
They’ll be hoping that this game is something of a foundation, too. Short of maybe Nishan Velupillay coming in for Ben Folami – the former starting on the bench after returning from Olyroos duty in Saudi Arabia late in the week – this was probably the strongest lineup that Victory could hope to deploy. Adama Traoré’s return meant that the dalliances with Jason Geria at left back could end and he could return to the opposite flank and Ryan Teague was back in the pivot after recovering from a knee injury — Victory a much more poised side in possession with him on the park.