Melbourne Victory and Perth Glory shared the spoils in a gritty 0-0 draw but it was an Isuzu UTE A-League battle not without controversy.
While Victory dominated for large periods, they were unable to breach a spirited Perth side at AAMI Park on Easter Sunday.
There was one standout moment at the death after Victory substitute Lleyton Brooks went down inside the penalty area in the seventh minute of stoppage time, under an apparent challenge from Jordan Elsey, who stuck out his boot.
It sparked a small melee as Glory players reacted angrily to Brooks’ appeal amid a VAR review, which denied Victory a last-gasp penalty in what is shaping up as a nail-biting race to the finals.
Perth defender Mark Beevers was sent off for a second yellow card as a result of his role in the chaos.
“For me it was a penalty,” Victory forward Bruno Fornaroli told Paramount+ post-match after last season’s semi-finalists were left bottom of the standings and four points outside the top six with three games remaining.
“But I’m surprised. I don’t know what they’re doing in the VAR – are they checking or not checking?
“It was a clear penalty.”
The man at the heart of the controversy was Glory’s Elsey, but he gave little away afterwards.
“Every game I play there is controversy so I need to stay out of it,” he said when asked about the incident as the Glory stayed seventh and just a point outside the finals spot.
While Glory boss Ruben Zadkovich added in the press conference: “I haven’t seen a replay clear enough but at the time I didn’t think it was a penalty.
“But you’re always going to get that big 94th-minute appeal, 25 Melbourne Victory people out of their box down the sideline.
“But it’s nice the referee stayed out of it to be honest. I thought it wasn’t worthy of being a game-changing moment.”
For Victory head coach Tony Popovic, it summed up another frustrating outing for his side and highlighted an ongoing issue – scoring.
While Popovic felt it was a penalty that could and should have been given, he provided another aspect, with Victory scoring the least amount of goals (26) across the competition this season.
“I saw it again and it can be given. There’s no doubt it can be given,” he told Paramount+.
“But the referee and VAR decided not to give it. For me, it should be a goal before it gets to that. Brooksy should go straight for goal there and be decisive, which pretty much summed up the game.”
In the Paramount+ studio, the crew were in agreement over what they thought of the penalty incident.
Analyst Bruce Djite said: “I agree with what Bruno Fornaroli said post-game, I think it’s a penalty.
Was there enough contact? I don’t know. I’m assuming VAR checked it but to me, even in slow motion, that looks like a penalty. Kicks his leg out and trumps him over.”
Daniel McBreen added: “I agree… He throws that leg out trying to clear the ball but kicks him to the legs.
“There is definitely motion there that I think is enough for it to be a penalty.”
Fornaroli’s assessment of Victory’s woes and dig at Glory
Victory huffed and puffed, but they couldn’t score at home to the Glory.
The hosts had their chances, yet they could not breach Perth in their faltering pursuit of finals.
There has been a reoccurring theme for Victory in 2022-23 – their inability to score regularly. They have only found the back of the net just 26 times in 23 games this campaign, the least amount of any team.
As Fornaroli dissected Sunday’s result and where Victory are going wrong, the former Glory captain said: “I think only this (not scoring).
“We try all game and I think we control the game in every aspect.
“They just come here to play long balls and win that point (draw).
“We couldn’t score but I think we played fantastically. We couldn’t score, that’s it.”
Perth, meanwhile, are within a solitary point of Sydney ahead of their blockbuster meeting in round 24.
The Glory could leapfrog the Sky Blues into the top six if they are victorious next weekend.
“The way the table is, any point is valuable at the moment mate,” Elsey reflected.
“That was like going to war tonight to be honest. Obviously Melbourne Victory are a top side and the table doesn’t reflect that. A lot of respect for them.
“We dug deep and got the clean sheet.”
Can you do it on a cold afternoon in Melbourne?
Melbourne shivered through what was expected to be the coldest Easter in 80 years, while the pitch was looking worse for wear after Wednesdays’ resumed Melbourne Derby, Thursday night’s NRL game and a Super Rugby doubleheader on Saturday.
But the seventh-placed Glory dug deep to frustrate Victory and return home to Western Australia with a valuable point.
“That was a real game of football,” Glory head coach Ruben Zadkovich told Paramount+. “A proper old school, s****y pitch away from home against a good team and a big club.”
He later added in his press conference: “It wasn’t until I walked across the pitch at the end of the game that I could see just how bad it was in some areas.”
The Glory came into the contest with just one win from their last 20 trips outside of WA, though they had won three of their past four league games against Victory.
Perth were resolute and on the back foot for most of the match away from home.
For Zadkovich, he was proud of the playing group.
“I think to come away and get a point at the business end of the season, there’s some positives there,” he said.
Adam Taggart started on the bench but entered the action in the second half, and the Socceroos forward almost snatched all three points late.
It was a golden opportunity for a Perth side that had to weather a big Victory storm.
Taggart’s introduction in the 68th minute was significant.
“He is carrying a slight groin strain and he’s basically put his hand up to play with a bit of a niggle,” Zadkovich said.
“For our main man up top to show that type of character and to come on and work his a*** off, even when he is hurting, there are a lot of positives there.”
In the midst of a four-match unbeaten streak, Zadkovich’s Glory travel to Sydney to face the Sky Blues in a mouth-watering context next week.
“They’re right there with us. We’re excited for this part of the season. Our team has been building nicely and there’s a lot of hard work done by a lot of people,” he said.
“There’s been a big, big rebuild. If people knew just how big it was, it would be a different story.”
