Ange Postecoglou’s first match at the helm of Melbourne Victory ended in a 4-1 defeat to visiting Greek powerhouse Olympiacos, giving the new coach food for thought as he starts his tenure.
Ange Postecoglou’s first match at the helm of Melbourne Victory ended in a 4-1 defeat to visiting Greek powerhouse Olympiacos, giving the new coach food for thought as he starts his tenure.
Ioannis Fetfaztidis, a Petar Franjic own-goal and David Fuster’s brace handed the touring club a convincing win, with a patched-up Victory – missing key men Harry Kewell and Adrian Leijer – offering some consolation to their fans through stand-in captain Archie Thompson’s penalty.
A full-strength Olympiacos played like a team that had just won its third-consecutive Greek Super League title; Victory like a team in need of reinforcements.
Postecoglou probably did not need a reminder of the challenge ahead of him at two-time Hyundai A-League champion Victory, who failed to make the finals in the 2011/12 campaign.
But he got it after just nine minutes, when Fetfaztidis turned smartly in midfield and delivered a perfect through ball through a porous defence for Spanish attacker Fuster.
Fuster rounded Victory shot-stopper Lawrence Thomas with ease before passing the ball into the net for the first goal of the game.
With regular right-back Matthew Foschini in the middle of defence alongside Franjic and with Adama Traore starting his first competitive game after his move from Gold Coast United, it was a makeshift defence for Victory.
They showed the disappointing crowd of 16,879 they were struggling to handle the cultured play of Olympiacos when Belgian Kevin Mirallas – a constant threat on the left for the visitors – hit a pin-point cross from the byline for an unmarked Fetfaztidis to head past Thomas.
Three minutes later it was 3-0, when Algerian forward Rafik Djebbour skipped by two defenders and Franjic diverted the cross past Thomas.
A careening run from Mirallas nearly ended in Olympiacos’ fourth, but it was instead Victory who next found the net.
Danny Allsopp is looking for opportunities under Postecoglou, and it was his perfect ball past left-back Jose Chovelas that fell into the path of Archie Thompson as he furrowed into the area.
Chovelas brought Thompson down as he warmed to shoot, and the striker converted the ensuing penalty past Balazs Megyeri.
Thomas needed to be on his toes to keep out efforts from Fuster and Djebbour, while he was not required when Melbourne-born Greece international Avraam Papadopoulos sent a long-range shot fizzing just over shortly before the break.
Despite their struggles, the fingerprint of Postecoglou on the Victory side was already visible, with his men playing the ball along the ground at every opportunity and looking to work rather than clear their way out of defence.
A raft of changes from Olympiacos at the break looked to have taken some of the fluency out of their play, while Julius Davies’ injection at the expense of Diogo Ferreira on 53 minutes gave Victory fans something over which to be excited.
The hosts had a chance to draw a goal back on 76 minutes when Allsopp’s free-kick was palmed into the path of Thompson, but the Australia international – among his side’s best – shinned his effort wide.
Victory handed game time to a clutch of youngsters as the game petered out, and Damir Lokvancic could have made a name for himself when Marco Rojas’ cross found him at the near post.
But the youngster prodded wide, and it was instead Olympiacos who rounded out the scoring when Thomas’ clearance sold Sam Gallagher short and Fuster looped a header in.
