Forget the Sydney and Melbourne derbies, for the second time this season Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory have produced a pulsating 3-3 draw to remind A-League fans that the original big rivalry, the “Big Blue”, still captures the imagination.
While the largest talking point will understandably be the decision by referee Strebre Delovski to award Sydney’s second penalty, to focus solely on this is to detract from an excellent encounter; a fascinating tactical battle marginally shaded by Graham Arnold, and two strong team performances, with both sides proving up to the challenge.
Lining up in a flat 4-4-2 against Melbourne Victory’s customary 4-2-3-1, Sydney showed their game plan early on – stop Gui Finkler. If Alex Brosque lacked the influence he’s displayed across previous games it’s because Arnold sacrificed his captain in a bid to neutralise Victory’s hugely influential No10.
Defensively, instead of the front line of two that Sydney so often defend with, Brosque was asked to drop deeper onto the deepest of Victory’s two holding midfielders, invariably Carl Valeri, with Milos Dimitrijevic then picking up Mark Milligan and Mikael Tavares asked to play a man-marking role on Finkler.
So effective was this strategy that the Brazilian hardly touched the ball in the opening 10 minutes, as Tavares smothered Melbourne’s playmaker. A slick passage of play following an errant ball from Milligan led to the opener, Jason Geria’s clumsy challenge conceding a penalty following good movement from Brosque and Bernie Ibini in the lead up.
So far, so good – Sydney leading 1-0 could afford to sit deeper, stifle supply to Finkler and put the onus on Victory to respond.
Starved of possession, Finkler began to roam – Tavares at one stage during the ninth minute was pulled further forward than Brosque, as Melbourne’s attacking midfielder dropped deep into his own half. In the 15th minute we saw Finkler drift wide left, doubling up with winger Fahid Ben Khalfallah, in a move that saw the Victory expose Sydney’s defence for the first time, with only desperate scrambling defence from Sebastian Ryall stopping Valeri.
Stop the clock on 30 minutes, and despite one or two moments of pressure, you’d say Arnold would have been incredibly happy with how his side had controlled proceedings.
Unfortunately for Sydney fans though, with a front line that boasts not just Finkler, but Ben Khalfallah, Besart Berisha and Kosta Barbarouses, it’s hard to fashion a plan that will entirely neutralise the Victory. And so, with seemingly little on, a moment of excellent combination play from Barbarouses and Berisha saw Melbourne draw level, through Barbarouses’ stylish curling shot.
Such is the quality of Melbourne’s attackers that the only time in the opening 45 minutes when Finkler evaded his walking-wetsuit, Tavares, he scored. Again, excellent work from Barbarouses and Berisha was key, with Jason Geria’s tackle on Ibini catching Sydney in transition, and Barbarouses drawing the attention of two defenders to leave Finkler unmarked to stroke home.
Hard luck on Tavares, and Arnold’s plan – successful for 44 minutes, but found wanting for less than a minute; Victory proving more than good enough to punish the shortcoming.
In many games the players alone prove the difference, but chasing the game 2-1 at half-time it was Arnold’s decisive tactical adjustment – bringing on Terry Antonis for Chris Naumoff and switching to a 4-3-3 – that shifted the odds back in Sydney’s favour.
Just as Melbourne were asked to respond following Sydney’s opener, and proved equal to the task, so too now Sydney demonstrated the ability to step up. Yes, Ryall’s theatrical stumble wasn’t deserving of a penalty, and Victory fans have a right to be aggrieved. But the reality of the preceding 25 minutes was that all the momentum was with Sydney – with the hosts fashioning seven good chances either side of a solitary Adrian Leijer headed attempt. The majority of these originated down Sydney’s left, where Brosque was returned to a more attacking role, and FC’s impressive young left-back Alex Gersbach was encouraged further forward to trouble an already yellow-carded Geria.
As Arnold proved when the two sides last met, the Victory can be found wanting out wide, such is the limited coverage their two wide forwards provide their full-backs.
The penalty was dubious, yes, but in the three minutes proceeding it both Nathan Coe and Geria made terrible errors at the back, demonstrating the pressure the Victory defence found itself under.
In a game in which momentum swung consistently to the side that had just conceded, both teams proved resilient and capable of meeting each other’s challenge.
Victory’s attack was at times sublime, but Sydney FC have shown that after their pre-Asian cup injury crisis, this is now a side that will definitely figure in finals contention.
