Melbourne Victory have broken their five-game winless streak with a 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets at Hunter Stadium to finish round 13 of the A-League.
Victory started brilliantly and were attacking openly. Despite this great start they could not convert it into goals. As the half progressed the dynamic shifted and the Jets had a good period of attack which was played almost exclusively in their attacking half.
While the match became an end to end affair, neither team looked very threatening. At the restart, there was still no real potency in either of the attacking line-ups.
It took a counter attack from the Victory to change the complexion of the game.
Fahid Ben Khalfallah broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute after a brilliant move down the right flank. A fantastic, cross-field ball from Kosta Barbarouses, evaded the Jets defence and fell to Khalfallah perfectly. The goal was the Tunisian’s second of the campaign.
The Jets looked to find an equaliser but could not breach the Victory defence and slumped to their fifth loss of the season.
The win was Victory’s first in Newcastle since October 2009.
The resurgence of Victory’s wide men?
Victory’s run of poor results also saw an unexpected shortage of goals. The lack of involvement from Melbourne’s wide players, namely Barbarouses and Khalfallah, was only part of the reason Victory couldn’t find the back of the net, but a very noticeable one at that considering how important they were last season.
While one performance, and against this Jets side with all due respect, isn’t enough to declare that these players are ‘back’, it is a good start in what Victory fans can only hope is a mid-season revival.
Jets need goals
Newcastle need to put the ball in the back of the net. It is both as simple and as difficult as that. The Jets have not scored since round eight – that was through Ben Kantarovski in the 71st minute – and during today’s game broke a club record for longest streak without scoring.
Long gone is the side which scored three against Melbourne City and had won three in four games at the beginning of the season.
Their attacking options have been few and far between. In particular, their imports have left plenty to be desired with their main striker, Milos Trifunovic, only scoring four goals in 12 games. As a whole the team has only scored nine goals; they are the only team to not yet crack double figures in goals for so far this season.
While the January transfer window is now upon us, the Jets may not be able to participate in it as much as they want, or need, to.
Too little, too late?
While this win is very welcome and relieves some of the pressure on this Victory side, it is hard not to acknowledge that the previous five matches needed to be won.
Victory’s 2015-16 campaign is jam-packed with Asian Champions League commitments impending. The busy schedule will take its toll on the team and their domestic form may suffer.
Melbourne would have been much more comfortable and content heading into the ACL knowing they were in touch of a top-two spot but the winless streak severely hurt their position on the table.
They have now made the second half of this A-League season even more difficult for themselves as they try to rise up the table and juggle the increased number of games coming their way.
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