Victory, Reds leave wondering what might have been after Original Rivalry
In the end, both Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United likely left AAMI Park on Friday evening disappointed not to have taken all three points. A game with chances from both but no knockout punch.
In the end, both Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United likely left AAMI Park on Friday evening disappointed not to have taken all three points; the hosts due to their volume of possession in the final third and the chances they created with that, and the visitors due to the quality of looks on goal they were able to muster. But their sides increasingly nestling themselves inside the playoff places and constructing nascent unbeaten runs, both coaches were sanguine about what these kinds of games could for for their teams in the weeks and months ahead.
Fresh off a Juan Mata-inspired, thumping Melbourne Derby win the week prior, Victory fashioned 19 shots across the course of the 90 minutes; the majority of their best derived from a period of early control that was highlighted by Keegan Jelacic’s 26th minute opener or a late charge in which they game became stretch and more opportunities in transition were afforded. The Reds, in contrast, and somewhat reflective of their field positioning, did their best work in the middle-portion of the contest, equalising through Yaya Dukuly in the 35th minute and setting up Luka Jovanovic with a series of chances that, on another evening, give his side a one- or even two-goal lead.
“We had a big chance to win the game in the second half,” Adelaide coach Airton Andrioli said. “If Luka scores that goal, then it puts us in a good position.
“But overall, I guess Victory [has] good momentum as well and we take the point. When we look at a performance like today, I think we’re maturing ... if we go back a little bit earlier, maybe we lose a game like this today.”
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The chance Andrioli was referring to arrived in the 61st minute, when a perfectly-placed trivela from Ryan White left defender Roderick Miranda sprawling and allowed Jovanovic to take a touch around the slide of onrushing goalkeeper Jack Warshawsky and advance in on goal. The Young Socceroo effectively had half the net to aim at as he looked up but, with Jason Davidson desperately getting back, perhaps thought too much about it and sent his effort crashing off the post rather than tucking it inside the bottom corner.
The 20-year-old had another, less optimal chance, in the final moments in the opening stanza when Jonny Yull swung a wickedly bending free kick in from the right that found it’s way to him atop the six-yard-box. His first, poked effort forced a wicked reaction save – or luckily-placed block, if you’re being less charitable – from Warshawsky, with the rebound subsequently coming upon him in a flash and ricocheting off his knee and out for a goal kick.
“If we keep on doing the job like this, I think we’re just going to continue to move forward,” said Andrioli.
Jovanovic’s miss did deny White what would have been one of the best assists of the season, something which would have been a fine reward for a performance in which the lanky midfield was entrusted with pulling the strings in the Reds’ midfield and responded in kind.
The lanky 20-year-old, in the midst of his first season as a regular part of Adelaide lineups, has now started eleven straight games for Andrioli and the Brazilian was bullish about the youngster’s development and what he could be in the future.
“If I could [give] an example of a player that’s consistently growing and getting better and showing different things every time [it’s him],” said the coach. “Because we know what Ryan’s known for is a very good, versatile play. He can be a box-to-box midfielder: he works really hard, he’s extremely fit and can run the whole day. But now we start to see the other side of his game, the composure.
“Playing that pass [for Jovanovic], on the bench, he even deceived me, I thought ‘Wow, what a ball.’ It’s great to see. It’s just another example of these kids need to have time to mature, to learn, doing the job on the pitch in games like this. He is consistently growing and he’s a very important player for us.”
But Victory had their chances, too. Mata’s ninth assist of the season to set up Jelacic’s fifth goal of the campaign – the winger putting defender Panagiotis Kikianis to the turf as he advanced into the area before firing home – was taken amidst opportunities to the likes of Jordi Valadon, Denis Genreau, Charles Nduka and Jelacic again – his 31st minute attempt from an angle probably the sort that should be getting scored.
Brought on as part of a series of changes that saw Victory end the game with an entirely different frontline than the one it started with, Nikos Vergos forced a save out of Josh Smits in the 71st minute. Matt Grimaldi then attempted to control the rebound, only for his attempts to turn to get in the way of Nishan Velupillay’s path to the ball and scupper the attack.
Vergos and Grimaldi would create further chances, the latter having an attempt bounce off Kikianis’ arse – or his Kikiarse, if you will – as would Reno Piscopo in the 91st minute, only for, in something of the tale of Victory’s season, the final shot or the final pass to prove just too blunt.
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Nonetheless, the result did mean that Victory are now unbeaten in four and could vault their bitter Sky Blue rivals Sydney FC next week should Ufuk Talay’s side fail to beat Wellington on Sunday.
“If you look at the chances in the match, I think we probably deserve more out of that. We’ve missed maybe two or three really good chance in that second half. Yeah, we take the point, absolutely. But I think we were good to get all three tonight. But it wasn’t to be.
“It’s something that we’re we’re constantly talking about: keep building, keep picking up points. We’re getting closer and closer and closer to the end there. And the most important thing is we stay as close as we can to the top of the table. That’s what we look forward to every week, we look up there and we say, ‘okay, we’re still in this we want to keep going.’ And in the end, tonight’s going to be a vital point. We can be upset that maybe we don’t win the match, but I think it’s going to be a really, really important point for us moving forward.
Aside from Genreau, who limped off ‘feeling’ something in his quad – a malady which has to put him in doubt for his side’s Big Blue meeting in eight days – Diles said his four other attacking subs were more down to game- and body-management rather than any acute stimuli.
“”Juan was sore as well,” Diles said. “He’s carried a knock all week from last week so it was important again that we managed him and did the right thing like we always do about all our players. Their health and wellbeing always comes first.
“And in the end, we’ve got enough players on that pitch with quality at the end of the match to keep going and get a result.
“We’ll see [with Genreau] tomorrow - he’s just felt something in his quad. “So we’ll get him checked out - didn’t want to keep him on longer because you don’t want to put him at further risk.
“It’s always interesting to see how they’d back up off a short turnaround. We had a big match last week which takes a lot out of you and you’re up for another derby which you’ve gotta be physically and mentally ready for.
“It was important that we’d see how the players would react and respond physicaly and there was some tired bodies out there and a couple of the subs were probably forced with minor little injuries and one or two to avoid injury.”