Wearing suspiciously blank away playing strips, Victory nevertheless hosted Daegu. However, it was the visitors who proved the smart bet after the Korean club put on a defensive and counter-attacking master class. Victory actually played well tonight but they were just outdone 3-1.

It’s unusual for an A League side to dominate possession in an Asian Champions League game but Victory did just that. Daegu were very well organised as a team and when Victory did break through, the Daegu goalkeeper was just too good.

Cesinha was an absolute star and proved to be the difference on the counter attack. He scored an absolute cracking goal and then turned provider for his team mates to knock in the next two.

Lawrence Thomas 6

He couldn’t do much about any of the goals tonight. For the rest of the game he was mostly a spectator but did well when called upon.  

Leigh Broxham 7

He was a defensive rock down the left for Victory. He could have done more in attack but played his part well. He moved into the centre after Thomas Deng left and he proved to be the only Victory defender to outmuscle the massive Edgar da Silva.

Thomas Deng 7

He led the Victory defence superbly tonight. His positioning was excellent and his passing was assured but he wasn’t physically strong enough to stop Edgar scoring Daegu's third. The effort to contain the big Daegu forward proved too much for him and he came off with an injury.

James Donachie 5.5

He looked a little rattled tonight. Could have been lacking a little confidence after his red card on the weekend. Luckily this didn’t hurt Victory too much in the first half. He just missed a couple of touches and had to awkwardly recover them.

Storm Roux 5.5

His butt proved a potent attacking weapon for Daegu after they used it to loop the ball over Thomas. In possession he was rushed and unsettled.

Raul Baena 5.5

Threw himself into tackles all night. Won the ball back many times and enjoyed the referee’s relaxed style. Couldn’t keep up with Cesinha and ultimately it hurt his team.

 Terry Antonis 6

He was better tonight, after a disappointing trip to Geelong. He was just a bit wider than he and Victory would have liked. Only had one real sight of goal.

Keisuke Honda 7

Was constantly trying to find the angle to break the Daegu lines. He could have scored in both the first and second halves too but only found the keeper.

James Troisi 5

He was involved in a lot of good Victory attacks but he didn’t provide the telling ball in any of them. He didn’t get any openings for himself either. His team needed more tonight.

Kosta Barbarouses 6

Nearly defied his stature to head home in the twelfth minute but his header hit the cross bar. 

He turned creator for Toivonen’s deft finish later in the first half. He looked dangerous when he had the ball at his feet and could run at goal but he couldn’t find the space to shoot.

Ola Toivonen 8

Showed early just how much Victory miss his link-up play. 

His first-half finish was an even greater example of what Victory miss when he’s gone. He was just too good for the Daegu defence tonight it was just up to his teammates to find him more. Alas, they could not.

Subs

Corey Brown 4

A forced change for Deng, Brown tried to hit more forward passes than is probably his natural game and Daegu were on the end of a lot of them.

Kenny Athiu 4

It’s a shame he has no reserve games to play in, to bang in some goals and get his confidence up, because at the moment it’s just not working for him.