KEEPUP followed along LIVE to bring you all the goals, highlights, up to date scores and biggest talking points from the first leg of the semifinal between Western United v Melbourne Victory on Tuesday night.
WESTERN UNITED 0-1 MELBOURNE VICTORY
MATCH REPORT: ADVANTAGE VICTORY IN SEMI FINAL
Two teams vying for a spot in the Grand Final. Locked at 0-0 with a quarter of an hour on the clock. Two teams equally stringent in defence, and just as eager to make the most of a half-chance in attack.
But for 74 minutes at AAMI Park on Tuesday night, there was nothing to split Western United from Melbourne Victory.
Until Jake Brimmer struck from range.
His volleyed attempt stopped spinning as it left his boot, dipping and weaving on its way past Jamie Young into the back of Western’s net.
It was a showcase of what Network 10 football analyst Andy Harper describes as the great separator in big finals – the key moments, and which players are prepared to make those moments their own.
“You get into the first leg of a semi, a tight game, you get few chances… the goal that separates the team is the thing that separated players from the masses, and that’s technique from Jake Brimmer,” Harper said post-match.
“Everyone else tonight, when they had the moment, couldn’t find the spot – on both teams.
There were times either side were through and they couldn’t find the pass, or the touch on the dribble, or the angle.
“This was the moment. The one time when everything in training… all these years. He’s got a great technique, Jake, we talk about it week after week.
“This is the coalescence of all that work. That’s what separates the teams, and it’s right that it was a moment of pure technique.”
The Mark Viduka Medal winner, as man of the match in Victory’s FFA Cup final win , now has four goals in his past five games.
“Jakey is doing something now that probably he needed in his game,” Popovic said.
“He’s always assisted goals but now he’s scoring and he’s scoring in big games.
“We’re very happy with how he’s playing and hopefully he can produce another special moment on Saturday.
“He’s always had the talent and now he’s a lot more consistent in his play.
“He’s one of the players in our squad that didn’t miss (pre-season) training. He wanted to be the best every day.
“When you work that way and you have the talent Jakey has, the rewards can follow.”
‘More of a penalty every time I see it’: Referees under fire for penalty no-call
It was the moment of contention just minutes after kick-off at AAMI Park which could have a telling say in the final result after 180 minutes of semifinal action between Western and Victory.
On an early foray forward, Western winger Lachie Wales went down under pressure from Victory full-back Jason Davidson.
Shielding the ball’s drop zone in the box, Wales felt contact from behind and fell to ground. It was a clumsy piece of defending by Davidson which deservedly received its fair share of scrutiny in the post-match discussion.
The entire Western bench “jumped to their feet,” in the words of Network 10 commentator Robbie Thompson. “Pleading, screaming, howling for a penalty.” But referee Alireza Faghani kept his whistle in his pocket.
What was more perplexing to Network 10’s Harper, was why Video Assistant Referee Kris Griffiths-Jones didn’t usher Faghani over to the sideline monitor to review his decision.
“That is more of a penalty every time I see it,” Harper said. “Match officials look at that and blame the attacking player for putting themselves in that position and trying to win the free-kick. It’s a redundant argument, because Lachie Wales had front position.
“He’s entitled to stop and prop and control the ball, which is very, very difficult when someone pushes you in the back to do that.”
Alex Brosque added: “I’m with ‘Harps’.
“They should’ve called the referee over to at least see, or give him the chance to see something he may have missed. We all saw it, and we all agree – it was a penalty.”
RECAP: WESTERN UNITED 0-1 MELBOURNE VICTORY
Full-time at AAMI Park, and Victory win via Western’s favourite scoreline – 1-0 – to take the advantage at the midway point of the two-legged semifinal!
74′: GOAL! Brimmer (0-1)
How about that from Brimmer!
It was always going to take something special to beat Young tonight, and that’s exactly what Brimmer produced, volleying his strike into the top-left corner from range.
64′: CHANCE! Lacroix (0-0)
Leo Lacroix is left alone in the box to head a Ben Garuccio corner on target; the ball flies straight at Ivan Kelava to Victory’s relief.
60′: Half an hour to go at AAMI Park (0-0)
… and nothing to split the two sides heading into the final 30 minutes of play.
46′: SECOND HALF (0-0)
We’re all square as the two sides emerge from the sheds for the second half.
44′: CHANCE! Brillante (0-0)
Josh Brillante finds himself in a rare position, bombing toward the byline to play a cross to D’Agostino lurking inside the penalty area.
Tomoki Imai gets across quickly to close the space and concede a corner.
41′: CHANCE! Brimmer (0-0)
Brimmer from range gives Young a scare, with a dipping, swerving effort off the left looking for a moment as if it might squeeze into the top-right corner. Instead it fizzes over the crossbar.
24′: CHANCE! D’Agostino (0-0)
Nick D’Agostino has entered the contest.
Receiving the ball from Brimmer’s whipped cross off the right flank, D’Agostino attempted a first-time volley off his left boot, with his shot sailing into the stands instead of troubling Western keeper Jamie Young.
21′: CHANCE! Rojas (0-0)
An excellent advantage applied by referee Faghani after Risdon’s challenge on Brimmer allowed Victory to attack down the left through Davidson, whose delivery to the back post just evaded the head of Marco Rojas arriving at the back post.
8′: SAVE! Kelava (0-0)
A Western corner finds Aleksandar Prijović all alone in the box, who nods his header from the far post toward the back.
Ivan Kelava gets down to save, and Victory clear before Western could tap home the loose ball.
5′: NO PENALTY! (0-0)
Lachie Wales goes down in the box, bundled over from behind by a clumsy Jason Davidson.
Referee Alireza Faghani elected not to award the spot kick, and the VAR did not instruct the on-field official to take a second look at the sideline monitor.
2′: CHANCE! BRIMMER (0-0)
Victory win an early free-kick, and Jake Brimmer steps up to take it for Victory. He angles his curling strike toward the bottom-left corner, but the ball skids off the surface and past the post for a goal kick.
1′: KICK-OFF (0-0)
We are underway at AAMI Park!
TEAM NEWS
After succumbing to injury in Western’s 1-0 win over Wellington Phoenix on Saturday night, Rene Krhin drops out of his side’s starting lineup, vacating a hole in central defence.
Josh Rison is the player slotting into the Western XI in his absence, making Tomoki Imai the likeliest option to join Leo Lacroix in centre-back, with Risdon at right-back.
PRE-MATCH
Melbourne Victory are rested as they gear up for a showdown with Victorian rivals Western United.
Victory come into the opening leg of Tuesday’s semi-final on the back of a week off and the league’s most in-form team amid a club-record 15-game unbeaten streak. Tony Popovic’s Victory were pipped to the Premiers Plate by a solitary point.
Their semi-final opponents – the highest-ranked Elimination Final winner – Western edged Wellington Phoenix 1-0 on Saturday, with another clean sheet further highlighting their defensive strength.
Western have won more games 1-0 in a season than any club in Isuzu UTE A-League history. They recorded their seventh against Wellington at AAMI Park.
John Aloisi’s Western return to AAMI Park, this time trying to halt the momentum of Popovic’s resurgent Victory.
KEY STATS
- Melbourne Victory are undefeated in their last four A-League Men games against Western United (W3,D1) and have never lost against them at AAMI Park in the competition (W2, D2); this will be the first post-season meeting between the two teams.
- Western are undefeated in their last six ALM games at AAMI Park (W4, D2) while Victory have not lost in their last eight games at the venue (W4, D4); in fact, Western’s last defeat at the venue came at the hands of the Victory (3-1, 26 December 2021).
- Victory are undefeated in their last 15 straight ALM games (W9, D6); only twice in the history of the competition has any team gone longer without a loss (Brisbane Roar FC – 36 games from 2010 to 2011; Sydney FC – 20 games from 2016 to 2017).
- Western (67% – W2, L1) and Victory (63% – W15, D2, L7) have the two best win rates in A-League Men finals games of any teams in the competition, with the Victory’s 15 post-season wins more than any other team in the competition’s history.
- Victory (20) and Western (19) have scored the opening goal of the game on more occasions in the 2021-22 season than any other teams, boasting nearly identical records from those fixtures (Victory – W13, D6, L1 and Western – W13, D5, L1).
- Western (51%) are one of only two teams with a shooting accuracy of 50% or higher in the 2021-22 ALM season (Central Coast Mariners – 51%), with their current rate the best of their three seasons in the competition.
- Victory have had 12 unique goal scorers in the ALM this season, their most in a single campaign since 2013-14 when they had 12; in fact, they’ve had 10 players score two or more goals this season – only once in ALM history has any team had more (Perth Glory – 11 in 2009-10).
- Western goalkeeper Jamie Young has made the most saves (101) and has the highest save percentage (77%) of any goalkeeper (min. 10 games played) this season and has prevented five goals thus far (30 goals conceded, 35 xGOT).
- Victory star Jake Brimmer has been directly involved in five goals across his last four ALM appearances (three goals, two assists) and has scored one goal and made two assists across his last four games against Western.
- Melbourne Victory duo Marco Rojas (16) and Ben Folami (13) have made more take-ons in the opposition box than any other players in the 2021-22 ALM season; Connor Pain (10) is the only Western player to have made more than four.
