IN MY first blog post for au.fourfourtwo.com a number of weeks back I expressed concern that if the ill discipline that at the time was present during the previous five or six weeks continued it could very well see a promising season derailed.

Four weeks on not only has the spate of red cards ended, but Victory have managed to string together three impressive wins on the bounce, two of them away from home and they now sit three points clear on top of the table.

Whilst I won't deny that Friday night's result wasn't without its fair share of luck, thanks mainly to an overzealous linesman, it was a win for a team who were out there to play football and not to batter its opposition into submission.

The was exemplified by the fact that Victory's performance was typified by the performances of the skilful Pondeljak and Celeski whilst it seemed the Mariners appeared more interested in imposing themselves physically on their opposition.

It was quite clear how Central Coast wanted the match played early on as John Hutchinson flew in with a heavy challenge on Celeski, who appeared to be a target for the Mariners.

This attention was also the catalyst for much amusement on my behalf as Celeski took out his frustrations on Adrian Caceres, with the former Melbourne player responding in kind.

It was like the two of them had something to prove. Caceres trying to show his former coach that he did have a defensive side to his game, whilst in contrast Celeski looked to be trying to prove to Caceres that he was doing a better job in his former position.

Although it wasn't so amusing when Celeski gave away the free kick that resulted in the Mariners' first goal, thanks mainly to a large moment of indecision by Theoklitos, who for the most part was very decisive in the air.

For me, the key moment of the game came when Central Coast had five consecutive corners late in the first half, making use of their height advantage and some questionable tactics from Sasho Petrovski.

Fortunately for us Victory fans, the only result was some anxious moments and an opportunity to mock the Mariners' attempts when Victory finally got a goal kick.

For the third match in a row, Merrick got it tactically right as he replaced a clearly tiring Brebner with Nick Ward at the half. I have to admit at the time I thought it may leave the midfield a little exposed to the physicality of both Hutchinson and Jedinak.

But to Ward's credit he played probably his best game of the season so far and nullified the effect of those Mariners. There was also a touch of nervousness in that we might see that famed Mariners' comeback, but in the end it didn't come and Victory probably should have put the game beyond doubt but for some poor finishing.

With three impressive performances behind them, Victory now have an opportunity to consolidate their position on top of the table as they pick up some hefty frequent flyer points with trips to Wellington and Perth in the next two weeks.

Neil Zimmerman has been a Melbourne Victory fan since the beginning and has only ever missed two Victory home games. He has very little footballing talent but does use what little he does have for his indoor soccer team on a weekly basis. In his spare time he is also the editor of the84thminute and also runs the Victory In Melbourne site. He is also currently growing a very bad moustache as part of Movember.