Melbourne Victory have made the perfect start to their 2020 AFC Champions League group stage campaign with a 1-0 win over Thai side Chiangrai United on Tuesday night.
Ola Toivonen’s perfectly-placed penalty midway through the half was enough for Carlos Salvachua’s men in an entertaining clash at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
After coming through two play-off matches to confirm their spot in this year’s ACL group stage, Victory showed they belong in the competition with a professional display.
They had the better of the chances over the 90 minutes, with Victory keeper Lawrence Thomas not requiring to make a save of any great difficulty.
Chiangrai’s disappointing night was compounded late on when Thirayu Banhan was shown a straight red card for a lunging tackle on Jay Barnett.
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After a cagey opening 20 minutes, Victory then took some control with Toivonen forcing a spectacular save out of Chiangrai keeper Apirak Woravong.
The skipper’s next contribution a few minutes later was more telling.
As Victory attacked down the left, Andrew Nabbout sent in a cross and defender Tanasak Srisai bundled Toivonen to the ground.
The referee had no hesitation awarding Victory a penalty which Toivonen converted accurately into the bottom corner.
.@OlaToivonen20 makes no mistake from the penalty spot #MELvCRU #ACL2020 @FOXFOOTBALL pic.twitter.com/Ep1PlII7mF
— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) February 11, 2020
Elvis Kamsoba was the home side’s liveliest player in the first half and it was one of his numerous driving runs that resulted in a chance for Nabbout just after the half-four mark, but his shot was off target.
Nabbout went even closer 13 minutes after the break as his close-range header – from Migjen Basha’s corner – rattled back off the crossbar.
Victory began to sit a little deeper as the half wore on, content to protect their one-goal lead, but Kamsoba should have increased the buffer 10 minutes from time.
Some great play from substitute Marco Rojas presented the Burundi international with a golden opportunity but he somehow scooped his shot over the bar.
The glaring miss didn’t matter in the end as Victory held on to register a priceless three points.
Victory aren’t in action in the Hyundai A-League this weekend due to a bye, meaning their next match will come in a week’s time in the ACL.
The Navy Blues travel to Korea to take on FC Seoul, with kick-off at the Seoul World Cup Stadium at 9.30pm AEDT.
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