In what is always a fierce rivalry match, Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United played out a 1-1 draw in front of more than 20,000 people at AAMI Park. Archie Thompson would put Victory 1-0 up early, until Adelaide striker Sergio van Dijk equalised early on the second half, ending the game 1-1.

 

Melbourne Victory

1. New era begins
Jim Magilton had his first game in charge and named an unchanged XI, which I wasn’t really surprised about. He named a 4-4-2 and brought Solorzano in the squad at the expense of Rojas in the only change.

It is hard to read much into this performance and what it means for the future as only time will tell as to how Magilton will get this side to play. He is still learning about the players at his disposal and it will be interesting to see how he moulds his team.

2. Wasteful in attack
In what has been the story of their season, Victory had a great opening 20 minutes with several chances that should have been put away. The Adelaide defenders struggled to find their feet, Victory capitalised on that in the sixth minute when Archie snuck one in the net on the back of some great work by Kewell on the wing. But nothing would come afterwards with several chances spurned. It is frustrating watching it every week, and the players need to solve it.

3. Sloppy defending bites
And particularly at the set-piece, but more on that later. Sergio van Dijk’s equaliser came under virtually no pressure as all the Victory defenders did was watch it fall in the net, as they crowded around the keeper. Also, what was alarming was how much time and space the Adelaide front three of Vidosic, van Dijk and Djite were given at times. On the upside, it was better seeing more balls being played from the back early. Signs, hopefully, of improvement.

4. Welcome back Jean-Carlos Solorzano
The Costa Rican was included after his long exclusion from the squad. The reaction he got from the crowd when he came on was amazing and something I won’t forget for a while. He replaced Allsopp up front in the 63rd minute and did well, but I don’t think he was well served by the midfield either.

I’ll back Solorzano to start in the coming games against Perth and Sydney, as I think he offers more with the ball at his feet and in the box. I’ll also like to see him form a partnership with Thompson as well. But then again, its not about what I’d like to see.

5. Fabio, man of the match
I thought the full-back played a great game, pulling his weight defensively and also served as an attacking threat. He is starting to link up well down the left with Kewell. He is a player that works hard for the team and you know he wants to do well, I respect that even though he is prone to mistakes.

Adelaide United

1. Kossie’s team
What Kosmina has done with this Reds team is make it hard to beat, while getting the best out of the front trident of Vidosic, Djite and van Dijk. I think he has done that well in their past five games, deploying his 4-4-2 diamond. Kossie has used the players at his disposal in the right way, and that continued on Friday.

2. Stingy defence
Adelaide’s defence (Malik, Mullen, Boogard, Golec) took a while to get sorted and deal with the Victory attack, but they regrouped to keep Victory out. The centrebacks did not give Archie Thompson much later in the game, but were helped with some poor service at times. They also didn’t give much space or time for the Victory attack, pressing high, a positive step after the disastrous start under Coolen.

3. Impressive attacking trio
Dario Vidosic played one of his better games for his new team as the creative force in midfield behind the strike pair of Djite and van Dijk. He seems to have found his niche in the team under Kosmina. van Dijk bobbed up at a vital time to equalise and Djite was strong running at defence and holding up the ball. They are really starting to gel, which was what Rini didn’t do, leading to Adelaide’s revival.

4. Set-piece threats
Vidosic didn’t put a foot wrong here all game as he landed the ball in the right areas from the set-pieces all night and the Victory defence struggled to cope with it. It led to their equaliser as van Dijk would capitalise on sloppy defending to put a goal away. It suits them quite well with aerial targets like the strikers and tall defenders like Golec and Boogard.

5. Should they have won?
I thought they were the better team in the second half, but started poorly, and on the balance of that they got the result they deserved I thought. They had only one more shot than Victory, which is telling, but they looked like scoring more than Victory did in the second half. Full credit to them for rebouding, but I think they will be happy enough with the result which they deserved.

Kosmina has this side going, it is not always fun to watch, but then again they have climbed the ladder and are gaining momentum. They need to start converting draws to wins, but they can be confident that’ll come if they continue on their path.