Over 42,000 saw the A-League kick-off in great fashion with a Melbourne derby that ended in a 2-1 win for Melbourne Heart. Dylan Macallister and David Williams sealed their side’s win with first half goals; while Marco Rojas scored Victory’s first goal for the season.

Melbourne Victory

Hesitant?
Far too many times, most of the XI out there looked like they didn’t have the confidence/awareness to play a pass through or take a shot. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Victory’s goal came from Archie Thompson taking the opportunity to play the ball in at first touch. Confidence will need to grow from this, and they weren’t given much time or opportunities in their attacking third by the Heart defence.

The defence/press
It was clear what Victory were trying to do, press to keep the ball locked in. Unfortunately that wasn’t well organised or not executed with any confidence as of yet. Another problem is keeper Lawrence Thomas (although he got better as the game wore on) and the defence (mainly in Leijer and Milligan) couldn’t handle the immediate pressure Heart put them under and turned the ball over, which led to goals conceded. Foschini and Traore looked to attack, but at times were caught out of position.

The new boys
Ange added three new players to the starting XI in Guilherme Finkler, Jonathan Bru and Marcos Flores. Two of those players, Bru and Finkler, found out what the A-League is about and will need time to adjust to it. Finkler looked to be targeted by Heart, on the receiving end of some crunching tackles. Flores picked up where he left off in his 71 minutes. Used mainly in the false nine role, he looked Victory’s biggest threat on goal and particularly when on the break. Theo Markelis also made his Victory debut as a sub, and could prove a handful for defences as an impact player.

A striker?
Whether or not Victory accomplished what the manager and his system were trying to do, without a recognised striker, there didn’t seem to be much going forward. This leads me to think that there is definitely room for an out-and-out striker, whether that is Danny Allsopp or Thompson. This is another issue that will flare up over the season.

Taking time
Anyone thinking Victory is top-two material is naïve. This team is going to take time to build up and play the way it intends and needs to. The biggest issue seems to rest on passing, playing out from the back and the press high up. But, as Ange’s post-match comments hint and got me thinking, was this performance an aberration? Were Victory off their game? We’re about to find out, but Victory fans may be in for a frustrating season.

Melbourne Heart:

The team
Heart lined up in a 4-3-3 as follows: Bolton; Marrone, Colosimo, Gerhardt, Behich; Fred, Garcia, Thompson; Dugandzic, Macallister, Williams. This is the first XI, especially after this performance. It was a well set and organised side.

Well-prepared
Full credit to John Aloisi and co. for taking in the clues from Victory’s pre-season performances and forming a plan to nullify what Victory were trying. And, of course, full credit to the players for the execution. It was a different looking Heart, one that pressed on high up to force mistakes, retreated when needed and ceded a 60%-40% possession tally. I didn’t have a problem with the tactics at all, in fact I admired Heart’s ability to learn from their 5-0 pre-season drubbing against Perth. They’ve obviously looked to tighten up and they certainly did.

Ruthless
There was a harder edge to this Heart unit, one that hasn’t been seen from them perhaps ever. The general consensus is Heart can play some fluent attacking football, but have lacked that hardness to close out games and shut the opposition for most of the game. A stingy defence, well balanced midfield which piled on the pressure in Victory’s back four and a front three which put the goals away for a famous win.

David Williams
No real replacement was added for the off-season losses of wingers in Alex Terra and Rutger Worm, which may leave Heart light if injury, form or other strikes. But if David Williams was in the form he was on Friday, a replacement may not need to be worried about. He played with a purpose and was able to convert to score the A-League 2012/13 season’s first goal. Had a year he’d want to forget last season, but get the feeling he will put that past him this season.

Dylan Macallister
Another one that could be in for a big season, after scoring what would be the winner on the 46th minute. He edged Josip Tadic as the starting striker, and adds strength to that front three. His pre-season form has been good, and that earned him a contract at Heart. Not always does pre-season form turn into the proper season form, and he got off to the best start. He fits that strength edge to what Heart needed up front after the departure of Babalj, and he may keep Tadic on the bench for some time yet.