Melbourne Victory put their cross town rivals under intense pressure for the first twenty minutes, but they just couldn’t make their first half dominance count on the scoreboard.

The second half was a much more even affair. Ross McCormack came on and Melbourne City suddenly started to threaten.

However, Dean Bouzanis decided to gift Mark Milligan the game winning penalty. At this time of year, dressed in red gloves, it would have been wrong for him not to give out a gift. 

Dean Bouzanis 5.5 – Usually very assured with his feet, however, he couldn’t hit any of his targets for the first 20 minutes. He made a few good saves, which were a credit to his positioning, but his mistake lost City a point.

Nathanial Atkinson 7.5 – Did well against Leroy George, which was a big ask for the kid, and he was involved in a lot of City’s best attacks. The youngster has a bright future.

Scott Jamieson 6 – Solid performance at left back. He probably didn’t get forward as much as he would have liked, but Victory attacks down the wings, so the fullbacks always need to concentrate on their defensive roles.

Iacopo La Rocca  6 – Kept Besart Berisha quiet nearly all game.  

Bart Schenkeveld 6.5 – Snuffed out a lot of promising Victory breakaways. He’s given a lot of steel to this season’s City defence.

Osama Malik 6 – Was very deep for much of the game. His positioning and presence did a lot to stifle James Troisi.

Michael Jakobsen 6.5 – The Foxsports boys were very generous to give Jakobsen the NAB $500, but he was one of City’s best. His work rate was excellent.

Luke Brattan 7 – His passing was simply outstanding, and he deserves another chance in Europe. He rarely loses the ball, but might need to cover more ground and get further forward.

Stefan Mauk 4 – Utterly uninvolved and made way for McCormack on 50 minutes.

Bruce Kamau 6 – Like the entire City forward line, he was largely anonymous in the first half. His combinations with McCormack after the Scot came on were excellent.

Nick Fitzgerald 5 – He’s been one of City’s most dangerous players this season but tonight was not his game.

Substitutes

Ross McCormack 6.5 – His introduction made this into an even contest. Without his hold up play City couldn’t relieve the pressure in the first half. Shows just how much they rely on him, and have no backup plan.

Melbourne Victory

Lawrence Thomas 6 – Rarely called into action, but made one lovely, acrobatic save that he’ll put onto his highlights reel.

Stefan Nigro 5.5 – Nigro isn’t playing with the same energy he had when he was first breaking into the team. Now that he’s been getting solid minutes under his belt his performances are sliding. Tonight he was nervy and missed a few passes.

Rhys Williams 7 – Deserves a Socceroos call up on his current form. He has been outstanding for Victory so far this season.

Thomas Deng 7 – Another good performance from the young lad. If he keeps this up he’ll be the next Victory centre-half to head overseas.

Jason Geria  7 – Regaining the form that saw him win a Socceroos call up. He was excellent during Victory’s dominant first half. City worked hard to keep him quieter in the second half.

Matias Sanchez 6 – His best performance to date for Victory. He played a few very nice balls forward, but he didn’t do enough to keep Milligan out of the team.

Carl Valeri 6 – Led his team well tonight. Completely controlled the midfield in the first half, but let City back into it in the second.

James Troisi 5.5 – Largely peripheral tonight. Muscat wanted Troisi to get more of the ball in the second half, but it didn’t come to him in any dangerous areas.

Leroy George 6 – Should have had a first half goal, but got denied by the crossbar. Atkinson kept him very quiet in the second half.

Kosta Barbarouses 6.5 – Was involved in a lot of good Victory play in the first half.

Besart Berisha 6 – Few chances came Besart’s way tonight, but he didn’t get as frustrated as usual. Showed uncharacteristic discipline to hold his position, and not chase the ball as he normally does when the chances are few.

Substitutes

Mark Milligan 5 – He was very unhappy to start from the bench tonight, and when he did finally come on he wasn’t at his best, missing passes and making bad decisions. Still, he won and converted the game winning penalty.

Christian Theoharous 5.5 – Didn’t get many minutes to make an impact. But from what he did show tonight, and what he has shown so far this season, the kid deserves a chance to start.

Jai Ingham – A late cameo and few touches.