Melbourne rebound with emphatic 3-0 win | Thebigtip

Melbourne Victory got their season back on track when they defeated bitter rivals Sydney FC 3-0 in an entertaining match on Saturday night in front of a respectable crowd of 17,299 at Etihad Stadium.

It was the 20th time in which the two rivals had played out the Big Blue and it was a game fraught with nostalgia as it marked 5 years since Melbourne famously beat Sydney 5-0 at Olympic Park in Round 8 of the 05/06 season; also it was Melbourne’s first game at Etihad since they lost last season’s Grand Final against Sydney on penalties.

Melbourne took to the field in their usual 3-4-3 formation with Surat Sukha and Leigh Broxam missing from the side that was beaten by the Melbourne Heart, they were replaced by Mate Dugandzic and Grant Brebner respectively. The winless Sydney FC went into the game with a 4-4-2 formation, with the midfield four playing in the shape of a diamond. Marque man Nick Carle was on Sydney’s bench after missing up to a month of first class football.

The conditions were perfect for football, the roof was closed and the pitch could not be faulted, a rarity for Etihad Stadium. Melbourne started on the front foot and made their attacking intent known early when Carlos Hernandez hit the woodwork in the 9th minute after he found space inside Sydney’s penalty area.

Exactly one minute later it was Sydney’s turn to attack when Alex Brosque had a shot on goal after Brazilian Bruno Cazarine took advantage of Melbourne’s poor man marking and sent the Sydney hit man into the penalty area, the shot was parried out for a corner by Melbourne custodian Michael Petkovic.

No sooner had Sydney taken their corner and the ball was at the other end when Ricardinho was sent through by Carlos Hernandez in the 11th minute, but the Brazilian could only manage to send his shot straight at Sydney keeper Liam Reddy who collected the shot with ease. This passage of play typified the opening 15 minutes of the match; high tempo end to end football.

Melbourne were rewarded for their tireless attacking play when in the 19th minute Roddy Vargas found the back of the net with a thunderous header thanks to a perfectly weighted Hernandez free kick outside the penalty area. It has to be said that Sydney’s marking at the set piece was abysmal with their defence sitting too deep within their penalty area, leaving Reddy with no room to come out and effectively nullifying any off-side trap they may have hoped to implement.

Sydney’s best chance of the half came in the 39th minute when Shannon Cole let fly with a booming shot from outside the penalty area that was travelling towards the top left corner until a spectacular save from a diving Petkovic sent the ball out for a corner.

If man of the match awards were given at half-time then Mate Dugandzic would have taken the honours by a country mile. Dugandzic was a constant thorn in Sydney’s side in the opening 45 minutes with his dangerous runs up the right flank and his tenacious attack at the ball causing the Sydney defence problems.

The second half started brilliantly for the Navy Blues when Hernandez scored his first goal for the season in the 47th minute after being played inside the Sydney penalty box by a floating Tommy Pondeljak ball, the Costa Rican playmaker had the simple task of heading the ball past a helpless Liam Reddy.  The last time Hernandez scored for Melbourne was in their 2-0 win over North Queensland on the 5th of February this year and the relief was evident as he celebrated.

Petkovic’s kicking game was on show in the 58th minute when he found Hernandez deep inside Sydney’s defensive half and the Costa Rican was able to hold the ball up before sending a cross towards Ricardinho whose shot was saved by Reddy and sent out for a corner. It would be the last contribution the Brazilian would make in the game as he was subbed off for Broxham in the 68th minute and he was unlucky not to score in arguably his best game in a Navy Blue shirt.

With time running out Sydney left themselves open in defence as they chased the game and in the 81st minute Vargas almost scored a brace when his header went over the crossbar off a Melbourne corner. Sydney almost scored off a counter in the 82ndminute when Brazilian Cazarine’s header looked to be going into the top left corner of the Melbourne goal but for a superb sprawling save by Petkovic.

Any hope Sydney had of salvaging any dignity ended in the 88th minute when a Pondeljak through ball found Robbie Kruse who dribbled into the Sydney box before he sent his shot past an outstretched Reddy and in off the far post to make it 3-0.

It’s all doom and gloom for the Sky Blues who remain winless and they have a dismal away record this year having lost all 4 away games. Sydney’s defence is what is most worrying with the defending champion unable to keep a clean sheet in 10 games; it is worth noting that the Sky Blues lost the spine of their premiership team.

For Melbourne it was a much needed confidence boost after some lacklustre performances in the past month. Melbourne has dominated the Big Blue matches played between these two great rivals, with the Navy Blues picking up their 7th win against the Sky Blues. Michael Petkovic was inspirational in the Melbourne goal and he earned a well deserved 6th clean sheet for the year, but man of the match honours have to go to Hernandez who played a pivotal role in the win.