The third instalment of this rivalry fixture ended with honours even in Sydney on Saturday, with Mark Milligan and Yairo Yau getting on the scoresheet for Victory and Sydney FC respectively. An entertaining, end-to-end game made this a spectacle, but what was there to take from it?

Melbourne

Nathan Coe: Man of the Match?
Without the formerly Danish-based stopper, Victory could have walked away bruised and with no points in tow. Every save he made proved massive when all was done and dusted. Saves are so much bigger when you look back on them.  He easily takes Victory’s man of the match mantle and that is a credit to Coe himself; he has picked himself up after his performance in Gosford.

Ooooh, Marco Rojas
The pint-sized hobbit lookalike picked a bad night to have a nightmare in front of goal. When the game is as close as this derby was, chances just simply have to stick. THAT one-on-one shot against Necevski was his best chance of the night but it went straight to the keeper. It is easy to pick on the top player and they are there to be shot at, but they are judged on their performances in big games.

The goal
The fourth minute saw Victory grab the early advantage through a well worked play finishing with a Mark Milligan smash in goal. Archie Thompson, in his advanced midfield role, played a pass into Connor Pain on the right whose cross found Milligan who did the rest. That free flowing style captures the Victory ’Angeball‘ style to perfection. If teams choose to sit high against Victory, they run the risk of goals like these.

Unlucky?
They had the moments to take the game and end Sydney’s winning run at home, but they weren’t quite there to finish off after holding a lead for a long time of the game. Nothing is more frustrating and emotionally draining after a draw against your rivals, particularly after a match like this one. The point now blows the chance for second place and an ACL spot, it may not be Victory’s season this year.

Depleted stocks
They are now without Mark Milligan, Nick Ansell, Archie Thompson and Marco Rojas ahead of this Saturday’s home game against Perth Glory. That loss hopefully will be balanced with the return of Adrian Leijer and possibly Marcos Flores. You can argue that Victory is a whole different team with those international representatives in. International breaks do need to happen to prevent weakened teams; it is never good for the whole league to have the best players missing.

Sydney

How do you solve a problem like Vedran?
The Sydney no.1 found himself warming the bench after arriving 20 minutes late to the SFS on Saturday. Unlucky for Janjetovic, Ivan Necevski played a blinder and will make it very tough for Frank Farina to drop him. The small things do matter in terms of setting the culture and discipline around the club. A demotion to the bench may seem harsh or possibly ridiculous, but you can be sure all Sydney FC players will be on time next week.

Angry Smurfs
The first half was a stop start affair with plenty of fouls and tackles flying in, Seb Ryall can consider himself fortunate to see out 90 minutes after being shown a yellow early. The full-back kept sticking some tackles afterward that could have easily led to another yellow. Sydney FC are the worst in the league for yellow cards and fouls conceded, they proved it in a big way in this derby game. However, the home side opened up more and were cautious with tackles in the second half, helping to contribute to an end-to-end spectacle.

The impact of Yau and Chianese
With their pace and ability to play either up front or wide, Yairo Yau and Joel Chianese fit the “impact player” bill. Yau himself lived up to that with an equaliser deep in the second half, while Chianese looked the most likely to get in behind the Victory defence when he came on. They can let themselves down on the ball when passing and crossing; that should come with regular starting football.

Del Piero caught out?
‘Il Pinturicchio’ did not have the impact he has had on other games in this instalment of the Sydney-Melbourne rivalry. His 38-year old legs didn’t seem to fit the game that was played, especially in the helter skelter second half. So good at holding on to the ball no matter how many come at him, Del Piero wasn’t given any time to work on the ball to play that pass or get that shot away. His missed free-kicks and penalty just summed his night up.

Unlucky?
Had it not been for Coe or poor finishing at times, Sydney could have gone that much closer to securing a finals place. They had the most chances of the two sides in the second half, but that didn’t really matter at the final whistle. Draws with your rivals can feel like a loss, they are that frustrating but a point is a point.