Whilst it was extremely satisfying to thump Sydney last week, the true test of where we are at this season was always going to be with consecutive games against Brisbane and Adelaide.
Despite having an impressive away record in the Queensland capital and having humbled Roar 3-0 in our most recent encounter, this was always going to be a testing encounter. This was a completely different Brisbane outfit to the one we encountered six weeks ago, playing with great confidence and coming off the back of series of impressive results.
Even though we came away from Suncorp Stadium with a somewhat unlucky loss and my disappointment at the time was palpable, there were some positives to take from the match.
Notwithstanding that we were completely outplayed in the first half against a rampaging Brisbane Roar, it was extremely pleasing that we kept the damage to only one goal. That in part was due to the performance of Michael Petkovic, who has finally found his niche and neither of Brisbane's two goals could be blamed on him.
The only part of his game that could do with a little work is his distribution, which at times is woeful. Would love to see him throw the ball out more often, as we really have no one who can win a header from his long kicks out from the back.
Three goals in three games and four in six is pretty impressive by anyone's standards and if Robbie Kruse can maintain this kind of scoring record it will certainly ease the pressure on the likes of Hernandez, Ricardinho and the soon to be returning Thompson. Whilst his celebration after his nicely taken goal just after half time may have seen by many as unnecessary, I think he was entirely within his rights to do so.
Brisbane fans who have a history of not being able to get over players leaving their fold (Alex Brosque anyone?), rained down the abuse on the Melbourne Victory striker both before and after he scored the goal, some of which that had even Roar fans cringing in its crudity. If fans are going to dish it out, they should be able to take it.
Earlier I briefly mentioned Ricardinho, and slowly but surely it looks as if the Brazilian is starting to find his feet in the A-League. Of recent weeks, he has been getting more and more quality shots off and with any luck we should be seeing him hit the back of the net on a regular basis. Scoring against Adelaide next would be a nice start and would truly endear him to the Victory fans.
Whilst Merrick may have finally got the attacking third of the pitch starting to work a lot better in recent weeks, it's the defensive third that is probably causing the most problems. Playing a back three away from home against Brisbane Roar was always to cause issues. Despite Leijer, Muscat and Vargas all having decent games, they all could be at fault for Roar's two goals.
The absence of both Surat Sukha and Matthew Kemp through injury has provided with a huge conundrum and their loss and its impact on the squad cannot be underestimated, as these are probably the two areas on the pitch where there is not depth in the squad. When they both are able to play in the same squad, Merrick will surely be tearing his hair out in an effort to accommodate them all.
And now we look forward to next Friday night's clash against Adelaide as we attempt to make 10 consecutive wins against the league leaders. The mind boggles as to how we have played Sydney, Brisbane and North Queensland twice before getting the chance to take on Adelaide. A win here is a must if Melbourne Victory want to keep in touch with those ahead of them on the table.
