Melbourne Victory made a long-awaited return to the winners’ circle with a 2-0 triumph over the Central Coast Mariners in Gosford.
The visitors took an early lead through Besart Berisha, but they struggled to kill off the match, with Berisha and Mahazi missing wonderful chances to score a second. The Mariners were clearly lacking in ideas going forward though, and found themselves down a man after Michael Neill received a second yellow.
Matched up against an outnumbered opponent, the Victory were not punished for their poor finishing and Fahid Ben Khalfallah was able to seal the points in the final minutes.
Central Coast Mariners
Paul Izzo – 5.5: Not tested aside from the goal for the first hour, but did produce a good double save in the second to stop the Victory from sealing the points until Fahid Ben Khalfallah’s late goal.
Harry Ascroft – 6: One of the few bright spots for the Mariners, using his impressive stamina to great effect at right back and central midfield.
Tomislav Uskok – 5.5: Continues to adjust to the speed of the A-League, but did not distinguish himself in his side’s fifth straight defeat.
Josh Rose – 5: Struggled to contain Berisha despite the striker producing one of his poorer performances for the Victory.
Michael Neill – 4: Saw red for two yellow card challenges on Jai Ingham, symptomatic of his club’s lack of experience and discipline this season.
Liam Rose – 5: The youngster struggled to impose himself in the middle of the park, brought off early after Neill’s red card.
Jake McGing – 5.5: Covering for the suspended Nick Montgomery, McGing did show his defensive capabilities but his lack of attacking threat ceded initiative to the Victory.
Luis Garcia – 5: Continued his recent string of quiet performances as a starter, clearly struggling in the humidity in Gosford.
Fabio Ferreira – 5.5: The occasional burst of pace and trickery looked promising for the Portuguese winger, but it was far from his best night in yellow.
Mitch Austin – 4: The winger produced a single dangerous run down the left flank before succumbing to a muscular injury before half-time.
Roy O’Donovan – 5: The Irishman was lively in his return to the field after his eight-week suspension, rushing across the park to press defenders and create turnovers. Clearly lacking sharpness though, not producing any effective attacking plays.
Substitutes
Brad McDonald – 5: Produced nothing of note in almost 60 minutes on the field.
Jacob Pocoliero – 5.5: Strong performance off the bench.
Josh Bingham – N/A: Failed to inspire a late fightback.
Melbourne Victory
Danny Vukovic – 6: Nothing to say about the Victory keeper, who was literally unchallenged as the Mariners failed to produce a shot on target for consecutive matches.
Jason Geria – 6: Only passed by Austin once before his early injury, but able to bomb forward in the second half without any defensive pressure.
Matthieu Delpierre – 6.5: Comfortably kept tabs on O’Donovan throughout the match to preserve a clean sheet.
Thomas Deng – 6: The 18-year-old had a relatively easy night, but showed his growing experience at A-League level.
Scott Galloway – 5.5: Not strongly tested by Ferreira, but did not offer much in attack when supporting his winger.
Rashid Mahazi – 6: Anchored the midfield without much notice, closing off space well in the centre of the park. Missed a sitter after a late run into the box.
Leigh Broxham – 6: An unspectacular performance from the captain, but kept the key men of the Mariners quiet.
Jai Ingham – 7.5: Had a very patchy first half, with an assist soured by some poor decisions and a yellow card. Really stepped up in the second period, constantly driving at the Mariners defence and creating chances for his teammates, assisting Fahid Ben Khalfallah for the second.
Gui Finkler – 5.5: Produced an unspectacular performance despite being at full fitness due to his ACL exclusion. Muscat would have expected more from his playmaker against the league’s worst defence.
Fahid Ben Khalfallah – 5.5: Attempted to use his superior dribbling to cut through the defensive line, but struggled to get past Ascroft and Poscoliero without pace. Did score a late goal to seal the points.
Besart Berisha – 6: Made a return to the scoresheet after a minor form slump to put his side ahead in the first half. However, the second 45 was one to forget for the Albanian, with a series of misses that prompted an early withdrawal for Archie Thompson.
Substitutes
Archie Thompson – 5: Given a good spell on the pitch and found space in the box, but failed to notch a goal.
Jesse Makarounas – N/A: Not on the field long enough to impose himself.
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