Prepare for derby drama! Which team will be victorious and which will experience a nightmare before Christmas?
Melbourne Heart v Melbourne Victory
Friday 23rd December 8.00pm
Prepare for derby drama! Which team will be victorious and which will experience a nightmare before Christmas?
AAMI Park hosts the ultimate Christmas cracker on Friday. But therer will be no festive spirit on display as these two fierce local rivals go at it for the second time in the Hyundai A-League 2011/12 season.
The atmosphere is set to be absolutely incredible – it always is when these two meet – so get yourself an early Christmas gift by securing a ticket today and experiencing Hyundai A-League rivalry at its best. You’d be mad to miss it!
Both teams will be looking to get the upper hand with regards to bragging rights after the previous outing ended in a draw. The stalemate represented Heart’s first point of the season and, were it not for some fine goalkeeping from Ante Covic, they could have emerged with the win.
Mate Dugandzic, playing against his old team, almost found the net early and late in the game, while Alex Terra, Michael Marrone and David Williams also went close.
However, that’s not to say that Victory weren’t in the game. They very much were, indeed enjoying the majority of possession but without carving out the chances to seal the three-points. In the end, a draw was a fair result but both sides will go into this rematch knowing that, if they can just raise their game slightly, they have every chance of claiming a win against their neighbours.
The bigger picture shows, again, that honours are even between the two rivals. On top of this season’s draw, there was nothing to choose between the sides in the Hyundai A-League 2010/11 season.
Heart set this fledgling rivalry alight by winning their inaugural battle thanks to goals from John Aloisi and Alex Terra in front of a massive, noisy crowd. Victory got their own back later in the season, with a 3-1 triumph before the two teams played out a volatile, thrilling 2-2 draw which saw Heart claw back a two-goal deficit to steal a point.
Every game between these clubs is played at breakneck speed, with no player even considering backing out of a tackle, while opposing fans try to out-sing each other from the stands!
Last time these two sides met at Etihad Stadium, nearly 40,000 fans made incredible noise, so now it’s time to set AAMI Park alight with a similar vocal display.
There isn’t much in Australian sport that can compare to a Melbourne derby so make sure you secure your ticket early and get ready to be part of a fantastic occasion.
You won’t see a finer example of the passion, commitment, intensity and excitement that the Hyundai A-League can bring than at AAMI Park on Friday.
Can your team get one over their bitter rivals and, equally importantly, secure three crucial points? Be there and find out. Sing your Heart out as your team goes for Victory!
