That Melbourne Derby in brief

That was an absolute belter of an A-League derby. “We fought today,” says Besart Berisha in the aftermath. “This is the most important.” He certainly fought. Sometimes literally. He also continues the attack on pitch over in Auckland a few weekends back, when his side lost to the Nix. “Shit pitch,” Berisha says. So not bitter about it then.

Anyway, it’s all about tonight, and that was about as much as you could expect to see in 90 minutes of football. It’s been a blisteringly hot day in Melbourne and both sides produced football to match tonight. The Victory can count themselves a little unlucky because they seemed to have a chance to score every few minutes but they go to the sheds 2-1 losers.

That’s all from me but thanks for joining us for all the live action tonight. It was a barnstorming Melbourne derby.

90 +3 min Mooy is running down the clock deep in attack for City and there’s plenty of feeling out there between these two sides. Finkler sweeps it forward, Berisha has a moment, Khalfallah looms...but City hang in there.

90 +2 min Now Deng hits the deck but his teammates play on without him. At least they’re consistent. City are just trying to hold it up now and waste time. That could be fraught with danger.

90 +1 min Orright, four minutes of added time here. Plenty of chances for either side to score. Khalfallah gets one immediately but his low shot to Sorensen’s right doesn’t have enough power, nor does a chip from Archie Thompson moments later. Breathe, people. Breathe.

89 min The City boys are a bit chippy here because Paartalu falls to the turf injured and his opponents press on regardless to win a corner, but its both cleared and swept back into attack for City. Fornarelli slips clear and looks certain to score, but Vukovic is equal to the task and then a follow up blast from Williams flies wide to the right of goal. This game has A.D.D.

88 min “I just had an idea,” says reader Phil Withall. “At the next Sydney FC tactical preparation meeting Graham Arnold should a recording of this match and say to his players “Hey lads, try playing like this” I think every football supporter in the country would be happy, but wee all know it will never happen...”

Meanwhile, Berisha has just missed another tough chance. He could have scored ten times tonight.

86 min Gawd, replays of that Sorensen charge down the middle reveal how lucky he was not to cough up a goal there to Berisha. But all of a sudden City are pressing for another goal themselves and attacking at every opportunity.

84 min Now City have a corner and Mooy sends in a handy, threatening cross but Victory clear. Can somebody go and check Thomas Sorensen’s vitals? The City keeper has been peppered with attempts in this half. Aaron Hughes comes on for City now and Harry Novillo comes off very slowly, tying his shoes on the way which is a bit of a piss-take. The ref is not impressed.

82 min “This is A-League action at its very best” says Simon Hill, and though I’d normally cringe at such a cliche it is at least true in this case. This game is just bananas. Now Berisha puts one into the side netting after he’d rounded Sorenson. The keeper was miles off his line. Oof, Victory are surely going to score here.

80 min Wow. Ben Khalfallah has just unleashed the best poster of the season when he side foots a sumptuous curving shot past Sorensen but it’s into the woodwork and somehow stays out of goal, as do a series of follow-ups from teammates. City’s goal mouth is copping a hammering but somehow they’r hanging on. Thompson (twice) and Broxham also could have scored there. Madness.

79 min There’s 22,572 fans in at AAMI tonight. A little disappointing, non? I suppose the beach might have been more preferable this afternoon. Novillo gets his umpteenth chance of the game game but his rasping left-foot shot skids wide to the right of goal.

77 min Archie Thompson is finally into the action now and sprints onto the field to replace Kosta Barabrouses. This could be fun.

76 min Patrick Kisnorbo is wild with rage here as Khalfallah charges towards him in the box and feigns for contact before hitting the deck. Kisnorbo wants either a yellow card or a Logie award for Khalfallah but neither is forthcoming as rain starts to come down at AAMI Park.

75 min City are probably going a little early with time-wasting tactics aren’t they? Anyway, it almost pays dividends when Paartalu shimmies wide of Deng and stabs a shot into the left-hand upright. Ooh, that was close to a third goal for City and completely against the run of play.

73 min City have their first promising move of the last few minutes when David Williams gallops forward like an untameable steed and then picks out Mooy in the centre, but a series of short passes goes nowhere and Victory clear. Not only that, they transfer quickly to Berisha and he streams forward towards goal and almost could have scored if not for a last-ditch tackle from Clisby.

71 min Another sub for City, who bring on Koen as Paulo Retre limps off. He certainly did his job tonight with that second goal for City. Archie Thompson is also preparing himself to enter the fray.

69 min This has got ‘late equaliser’ written all over it, doesn’t it? Victory have 20 minutes to make their move and nearly do so through Barbarouses, who probably got a little cute when the ball fell to his feet in the box. It ping-pongs around through he and Finkler and City eventually clear.

68 min There’s a flat, hard and very threatening cross sent in by Finkler but a City defender steers it away from danger. That was humming.

67 min At the very least, this game can be held up as yet another example to counteract the doubters who say that the A-League doesn’t throw up enough high standard football. It’s been an absolute belter.

65 min Franjic cracks a crisp cross to David Williams for an early header and it’s a decent effort but again wide of a diving Vukovic and his goal. Having shadowed Mooy for much of the game, Bozanic is subbed off for Jesse Makarounas and his fresh legs.

63 min Archie Thompson is warming up at the boundary and looking very keen to get on here. Don’t blame him. The only thing more fun than watching this would be stepping on the pitch.

62 min Surely they can’t keep up this pace? Mooy steers a beautiful long, low, curling pass around Deng and into the path of Novillo but the latter sends his shot to the right of goal and Vukovic doesn’t need to save.

60 min Aaron Mooy is really starting to work his way into it now and Khalfallah almost saddles him, jumping on the City man’s shoulders to stop him sprting away. The ref pays advantage and City win a corner but Victory hold firm. The tempo of this derby will just not let up.

59 min Stefan Mauk was the man who came off for Williams and just as I’d said he had disappeared, Mooy puts a ball through from which Novillo gets space for a shot but it’s into the side netting.

58 min Yowza. Berisha almost scores again from a dynamite cross by Khalfallah, but his side-footed effort slips across the face. David Williams is on now for City. I’ll let you know who came off for him shortly.

56 min Mooy is totally anonymous at the moment, if you were wondering. That’s a decent barometer of his side because the Victory are roaring back into the game and Berisha almost scores again at close range. Sorensen is being forced to put in a decent shift.

55 min Interesting. Mahazi is off injured and limping badly, which is bad news for the Victory with Valeri still absent. He’s subbed off for Deng, which means Broxham will move into midfield. Sorensen is forced into another acrobatic save from a Finkler free kick gem and nearly makes a hash of the resultant corner but eventually clears.

53 min You’d have to assume that the sapping heat will play a role as this game wears on. It’s oppressive heat out there. There’s plenty of heat from Berisha too when he gets a lovely through ball and hammers a shot at Sorensen but he’s equal to the challenge and blocks a gettable chance.

52 min Phwoar, there’s some pretty spicy tackling now. This game is really heating up. Novillo’s flying in now but escapes a caution. Finkler nutmegs Mauk but it’s the first subdued minute of the half afterwards.

50 min Now there’s a yellow card for Franjic when he frantically tackles Khalfallah to the ground at the edge of the box when the Tunisian does him for pace and trickery. Finkler stands over it, Berisha hovers with intent. Finkler whacks it high and wide and out for a goal kick. Gargh.

49 min The pace from the final stages of the first half has continued unabated here with both sides slashing their way forward in an endless cycle of attacking, genuinely threatening football. City have a corner that Finkler heads away but they come again through Aaron Mooy and Kisnorbo. Novillo is throwing himself at it but to no great affect.

47 min Geria dashes forward and almost gets on the end of a pass that would have allowed him to whip in a cross down by the corner flag but he’s tackled out of it. Moments later Georgevski finds space for a cross but Kisnorbo flicks it out for a corner. The corner is a short and effective one and Finkler finds Barbarouses but his flicked header is miraculously saved by Sorensen.

That Berisha goal

Was it offside? Looked okay to me. He’s singlehandedly dragged his side back into this game, the madcap genius.

45 +3 min Berisha is desperate to get back on the field and get on the end of Finkler’s free kick but he’s not allowed, so he starts winding the City fans up as he stands on the sideline. The free kick is a beauty and Delpierre gets a head to it but his effort loops a foot high over the cross bar. This is some cracking football.

45 +2 min Geez, Berisha is on the rampage now and he’s been taken down by Clisby, who irons the striker out with a hip and shoulder as the Berisha charged towards goal. It’s a yellow card and a free kick but if he’s going to take it, Berisha will need to be peeled up off the deck.

42 min Oof. Georgevski skips free close to goal but his chip-cross in to Berisha is cut off and the striker is soon flailing his arms in frustration. There’s more action to come; Barbarouses strokes a pass in to Finkler and the latter blasts towards goal but it’s a little to heavy and high. Better though from the Victory.

40 min Victory are being asked some questions tonight and for now, don’t seem to have a convincing answer. Again Mooy tries to put Mauk through but his touch doesn’t quite match his vision and Vukovic gobbles it up.

39 min Novillo wins back immediate favour with a nice little spin and pass at the boundary but Muscat’s men finally get some nerve-settling time on the ball and wisely seek to slow things down, eventually attacking through Khalfallah out on the right. Not much happening for him though.

37 min Danger lurks everywhere for the Victory at the moment They’ll be very glad to get off the park at half time, you’d think. Again Mooy finds himself stooping over a free kick some 40 yards out from goal but Novillo fancies his chances a little better. How to sum up his effort? Village stuff from Novillo as he just artlessly blasts it over the top for a goal kick.

36 min There’s a corner here for Victory, for whom Bozanic does the honours, whipping in a low and ineffectual cross that Novillo heads away. Moments later Mahazi picks up the first yellow card of the night when he rugby tackles Fornarelli away from the ball. He can’t complain about that.

34 min City continue to press, winning a corner and generally harrying the Victory defenders when they’re on the ball. Mauk nearly strips Mahazi of the ball to gallop towards goal but the Victory midfielder gets a lucky free kick.

33 min Leigh Broxham is furious at the moment, not just at the state of the game but a refereeing decision that sees him cough up a free kick to Fornarelli a matter of inches outside the box, so Mooy steps up and cracks past the wall but Berisha heads it out for a goal kick.

31 min This is brilliant football by City here; their opponents gave them a slim opening when they’d been struggling away and thanks largely to that man Aaron Mooy they’ve not just stepped through but galloped away.

28 min There’s a fair bit of animosity between Berisha and Kisnorbo here and I don’t think I need to tell you which of them is snarling hardest.

27 min The intensity has ratcheted up a notch with the goal and Franjic tricks his way past Georgevski and wins his side a corner down on the right. City prepare another Aaron Mooy set piece – a long ball over the milling pack of would-be headers, but it’s swept out of danger.

26 min There’ll be a decent chunk of added time in this half. We’ve just stopped for a few minutes for Novillo, but also a scheduled drinks break on this steaming hot night.

23 min Now Geria and Novillo clash heads and the latter is writhing in pain on the ground, though the dozen punches of frustration he delivers to the turf indicate it’s perhaps not too bad. Mauk is still smiling about that goal.

23 min The goal seems to have emboldened City here and you sort of wonder what psychological impact it will have on this struggling Victory side, who have had their chances so far tonight and the better of general play, but still find themselves behind.

22 min Mauk is very pleased with himself here and you can see why; how did he find so much space to steer that home? The blame lies not only with the sloppy Victory marking in the box but Barbarouses’ lapse that led to Garuccio rampaging away down the left to deliver the cross.

19 min Aaron Mooy is starting to make inroads now and the little battle between Khalfallah and Franjic continues when the Tunisian barges over his opponent to cough up a free kick just outside the box. Mooy stands over it as players gather for the cross. It’s low, across the face and Harry Novillo gets a clear swing at it but his shot is deflected.

17 min Ouch. Leigh Broxham has been absolutely poleaxed by his teammates Delpierre here when they both move in for the header and the Frenchman effectively shirt-fronts his skipper. The ref stops the game briefly, clearly deems Broxham fit enough to continue and calls for play to resume. That didn’t seem scientific, I’ll be honest.

15 min Victory are really pressing now with a pair of corners, from which City again fail to inspire confidence. Finkler finds some more space and hits Barbarouses out on the right but he can’t dance around his man to deliver the cross. Those two are the ones to watch at the moment though.

14 min Ivan Franjic finds himself in acres of space down the right but his cross is a bit tame and Victory rebound with savage intent and Berisha gets the best chance of the game when he swivels onto his right, cracks a searing shot and forces Sorensen to parry it over the crossbar.

12 min Geez there’s some loose defence here from City when Finkler just kind of waltzes about in the box but his left-footed shot cannons into a defender and Berisha is wrongly deemed offside from the rebound.

11 min City are just lumping it in from the aerial route at the moment and that suits the Victory defenders just fine. Mooy is still a non-factor at the moment but when City finally do have a good moment it’s with a few dinky passes from the left-footer.

9 min Berisha thinks he’s been fouled when he barges back into Patrick Kisnorbo but the ref has other ideas, awarding a free kick against him when the ball glances his hand. That’s literally the only interesting thing that’s happened in the past minute, I promise.

8 min It’s not a packed house at AAMI Park tonight but those who have turned up are making plenty of noise. Aaron Mooy finally gets a touch after an anonymous start to the game but there’s not much happening for City at the moment. Too much finger pointing, not enough action.

6 min Simon Hill’s just called Delpierre “the cultured Frenchman”. Is there any other kind? The only culture on display between Khalfallah and Ivan Franjic is the WCW variety when they tangle at the boundary. The Tunisian is not impressed.

5 min Now Khalfallah is making a bit of a dash down the left but nothing comes of it. No matter, Victory win back possession and again tap the ball about looking for an opening.

3 min Victory aren’t creating any chances early but they’re certainly dominating possession and territory. There’s an ambitious long ball from Mahazi out towards the corner flag but not even Barabrouses can real it in and it’s out for a goal kick.

2 min There’s no real rhythm to play yet but Georgevski slips loose to whip in a low cross for the Victory. Much ado about nothing so far though.

We’re minutes from the kick-off now

...and nobody seems to be able to agree on how hot it is. 31 degrees is the latest update. I’m sweating just watching it on the screen.

Huge scoop here

Can’t believe the Victory social media team managed to get hold of this exclusive. Investigate journalism lives!

A bit of weather chat

It’s been blisteringly hot in Melbourne today – 40 degrees plus – but thankfully for the players involved tonight it’s cooled off a little after showers swept through town briefly, and now sits at 27 degrees. Still warm though. The Victory boys are out there now for their warm-ups and in a touching tribute to their recuperating skipper, all are wearing the name ‘Valeri’ across the back of their strips. Great stuff.

Bozza update

Preamble

Hello A-League fans and welcome to tonight’s live coverage of the much-anticipated second Melbourne derby of the season, with in-form City suddenly discovering some swagger and their boastful older brother, Melbourne Victory, suddenly not looking quite so dominant with a couple of losses on the bounce.

Archie Thompson is ‘back’ for the Victory, though not in their starting XI tonight and they’re also still without captain Carl Valeri as he continues to struggle with balance issues. Otherwise they might have made a rod for their own backs tonight in claiming during the week that City can’t be taken seriously until they knock off a real contender. Based on what we’ve seen in the last few weeks they look perfectly capable

...and our starting line-ups

Melbourne Victory: Vukovic, Delpierre, Broxham (c), Geria, Georgevski, Bozanic, Finkler, Mahazi, Barbarouses, Khalfallah, Berisha

Melbourne City: Sorensen, Franjic, Garuccio, Retre, Paartalu, Kisnorbo, Novillo, Clisby, Mooy, Mauk, Fornaroli

I’ll be back with more shortly but we’re just under twenty minutes from kick-off.

Russ will be here shortly. In the meantime, please, do yourself a favour and take a look at David Squires’ brilliant Star Wars-themed cartoon: the farce awakens.