Melbourne Victory and Adelaide fought out a brilliantly entertaining draw where the focus should be the football, writes Tom Smithies.
It’s the flashes of heat that will always take the headlines, but the many moments of cool should live longer in the memory of a night to showcase football’s allure – and specifically, Australian football’s allure.
As Melbourne Victory wake on Sunday wondering how they didn’t defeat Adelaide, and United marvel at finding uncommon resilience to earn a share of the spoils, the rest of us can just enjoy the cumulative effect of a cracking contest – and the promise of what might be to come.
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“It’s a derby but I don’t think we should focus on that,” said Victory coach Tony Popovic afterwards when asked about the feistiness of a game with two red cards. “If you watch the game it was an excellent game of football.” He wasn’t wrong.
At its very best, football marries technique with tempest as players find moments of great skill and lose their heads. The previews of the Original Rivalry were all about the potential for acrimony and there was plenty of that at the end, but only after a thrilling, absorbing encounter that was driven by players given the freedom to attack and make things happen.
Already these look like two teams with a determination to play a big role in the Isuzu UTE A-League title race, and it’s because of key individuals who are cruising into form three rounds into the new season.
There is great excitement about the new wave of faces coming through, the fresh Australian talent, and one or two of the new faces from overseas – but there were moments at AAMI Park where the veterans took centre stage and fired off reminders of their enduring worth.
Chief among them was Bruno Fornaroli, whose sixth goal in three games came in front of his visiting mother. Maybe she’s used to his startling finishing ability after a lifetime of watching but the way the Uruguayan-cum-Socceroo struck Zinedine Marchach’s cutback into the top corner was Fornaroli-being-breathtaking all over again.
At 36, his passion and drive remain unquenchable, and Victory coach Tony Popovic has surrounded him with youthful legs. It leaves Fornaroli free to do the things he does so well, specifically his positioning to receive the ball as Victory break and build bridgeheads in the opposition half, and then to find space in the penalty area away from defenders who should know better. His ruthlessness is also as sharp as ever.
But there was another figure even older than Fornaroili, albeit by only a few months, who refuses to buckle to the pressures of time. Isaias was key to Adelaide hanging on grimly as Victory threatened to run away with the game in the first half, and occasionally unfurled one of his favoured raking balls over distance for the younger legs ahead of him.
The common denominator here is technique. As the crowd roared and the teams traded attacks, there were constant vignettes of quality from players willing to treat possession like precious metal. Zinedine Machach has pace and power but also close control, all of it combined to drive defenders witless. He may yet prove one of the signings of the season.
Just a few months older and rather more understated, Zach Clough had such an effective game for Adelaide through his workrate and understanding of space. His close control is also adept as he turned with the ball away from Victory’s press, or joined the dots of Adelaide’s attacks.
And then of course there are the kids, many still learning the consistency required but also trying things from the impudence of youth that can make a crowd gasp. Daniel Arzani was everywhere at the start but faded, in part as his on-field choices grew erratic. Asked to praise Nishan Velupillay, Popovic noted acidly that his winger should have scored five – “and five is probably being kind”.
Others caught the eye less but only because their output was fastidious rather than just flashy. Jonny Yull is a prodigious talent whose eye for space will only grow through experience. At the heart of Victory’s midfield, Ryan Teague and Fabian Monge played like they were old before their time, relentlessly driving Victory forward despite boasting four A-League appearances between them.
In front of a crowd of more than 15,000, these two teams lived up to the promise of the occasion. The evidence is growing that they will live up to the promise of the season.
