Melbourne Victory pulled off a stunning comeback against archrivals Sydney FC at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday night, coming from 2-0 down late to snatch a 3-2 win. A double from youngster Andrew Nabbout and a leveller from Archie Thompson cancelled out goals from Pascal Bosschaart and Yairo Yau.

Melbourne Victory

Creative sub
The substitution of Nabbout for Petar Franjic proved decisive, it was an attacking move that tried to get the extra attacking option and Nabbout was indeed that in a big way. Credit to Ange and staff, backing the players to get the win even though they were 2-0 down in a hostile environment shows his willingness to attack no matter what. Part of the coach’s job is to be able to change the game when it isn’t going to plan; Ange did it well with a clever sub.

Ange’s eye for talent
It takes a bit of dare to pluck a kid from the local Premier League and back him to start against the champions in Round 2. Ange has clearly seen a lot to like about Heidelberg winger Andrew Nabbout, who rewarded his coach with a stunning late double to spoil the party in Sydney. Let’s hope that more coaches will be willing to take the punt on youth this season.

Defence conceding silly goals
Did it really have to be that hard? Both of Sydney’s goals came from errors. A defence caught out of position to defend a cross that slid to Yairo Yau’s feet led to the first goal, the second came from not being able to clear a corner which fell to Pascal Bosschaart’s feet. But it is important to share some of the positives too. Adama Traore was tireless up and down the left, while Adrian Leijer was in the wars most of the night in a brave performance.

Winners
I haven’t seen this type of heart and focus from Victory in a while, maybe in about two or three years. Despite being down 2-0 late and coming off a Monday game, momentum was only with one team and it wasn’t the one leading. To see Victory keep probing, pushing, not giving up was something and ensured it was only a matter of time before Sydney buckled. It could be the start of a new winning culture at the club.

Slow start, one paced in midfield
Perhaps it had something to do with the scratchy surface at the Allianz, but the midfield took time to get going to supply that quick ball to the attacking third. One factor that proved decisive was the moving of Archie Thompson (as a result of the Nabbout-Franjic sub) into the attacking midfielder role next to Flores, adding some pace to run at the Sydney defence late on.

Sydney FC

Exploited wide
Had Victory been much quicker for longer exploiting this, it could have been very much worse than a 3-2 loss. It was clear what Victory wanted to do, to feed the Thompson/Rojas duo and use that pace to get wide. The more Victory were able to get into those spaces past Fabio and Rhyan Grant, the more Sydney proved they didn’t have the structure or fitness to deal with it. It is just a small sign into what has been going wrong with Sydney this season.

How did the subs impact the game?
With the benefit of hindsight, a very negative one. Blake Powell, Alessandro Del Piero and Yau made way for Trent McLenahan, Terry McFlynn and Mitch Mallia over the second half. The removal of Yau and Del Piero in particular caused a big stink with Sydney fans, some even confronting Crook about it on the sideline. This was all a bit misguided as many other coaches would have done the same thing, to try and close the game down with defensive reinforcements, it was clear as day they needed it. The management physically of Yau and Del Piero also may have forced Crook’s hand, as well as having only a limited number on the bench.

Yau a find, Necevski a rock
Amidst the wreckage came a couple of positives. Yairo Yau looks a lively type and provided much of the attacking threat whenever he was supplied, while Ivan Necevski kept his team in the game for a lot longer than it should have before all crumbled around him.

Pinned back deep in defence
The more Victory exploited the wide areas, the more Sydney became desperate and was forced to retreat deep into their defensive half. Victory only piled on the pressure more and more to which the hosts had no answers. In the only saving grace, Bosschaart battled in his first game back after a lengthy injury layoff, and has to be commended for playing 90 minutes.

Crook resigns
The reaction from the Sydney FC fans post-game was sheer anger and somewhat predictable with that fickle fan base, they weren’t going to cop losing to their biggest rivals like that. Ian Crook handed in his resignation the morning after. You can only go on what was said from the man himself, and a part of me is surprised that Crook decided to call it quits after just six weeks in to the season rather than fighting it out. But maybe if he didn’t have the passion and had that doubt over whether he was the man for the job, then this is best for all involved. It gives Sydney time to turn their season around, and it is now all on the club to get it right this time.