A lethargic Melbourne side managed to scrape a point against the 10 men of Newcastle at AAMI Park earlier tonight.
Melbourne Victory came out of the gates very quickly as they looked to press the Jets high up the park. Kosta Barbarouses was able to getting on the ball and causing problems by running at Nick Cowburn and getting his crosses in. But after 20 minutes Jai Ingham and Barbarouses switched sides, which saw him drift out of the game.
On the 20th minute came the first clear cut chance of the game as the Jets managed to get in behind the Melbourne back four, but Lawrence was able to come out quickly and make a huge save after the ball across the face of the box looked like it would be a simple tap in. Only minutes later Melbourne’s best chance of the half fell to Broxham as he found himself with a free header from eight yards out but failed to hit the target.
The Jets then opened the scoring on the 37th minute as Leonardo got in behind the Victory defenders and managed to get a shot away, but after an initial save Ryan Kitto was jogging on the spot to tap in the rebound. Only minutes later Daniel Mullen was then given his marching orders with his second yellow card of the game after a tackle deemed reckless by Chris Beath.
The Victory came out quickly again in the second-half as they pressed for the equaliser but it was the Jets who again looked the more dangerous going forward. Newcastle were unlucky to not go two goals ahead through Enver Alivodic who couldn’t manage to hit the target from 16 yards and then only moments later Steven Ugarkovic was slipped through but his first touch around the keeper was slightly too heavy.
The Jets would live to rue these missed opportunities as a simple long ball over the top was their undoing and Besart Berisha made no mistake to score his 16th goal of the campaign. Both sides had chances to win the game in the final minutes, but neither had the killer instinct needed.
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Melbourne Victory
Laurence Thomas – 7.5: Communicated very well with his back line and was commanded his penalty area. Made a fantastic save in the 20th minute as he came out very quickly blocked the shot. The only downside to his game was distribution at times, but overall a good performance.
Jason Geria – 5: Looked to be very flat for the majority of the game. He struggled to get up and support the attack and Alivodic was causing him trouble.
Thomas Deng – 5.5: Gave Morten Nordstrand no time on the ball, constantly tried to get out on his first touch and made some crucial interventions. Got caught out for the first goal as he took a chance to win the ball but did not. Was taken off at halftime so that they could bring on a more creative player in Jesse Makarounes.
Matthieu Delpierre – 6: Was commanding at the back when needed and cleaned up well at times.
Scott Galloway – 4: Very soft defending on the first goal. Allowed Kitto to get to the ball first when he needed to just clear his lines. Failed to have any influence on the game going forward and was caught out defensively on occasion.
Leigh Broxham – 5.5: Had a free header in the 23rd minute from eight yards but failed to hit the target. Gave away some sloppy possessions and also a number of fouls in the first half but did manage to limit this in the second 45.
Oliver Bozanic – 7: As a whole he played the box-to-box role very well and looked to be one of the only Victory players with much energy. He managed to get himself into a couple of goalscoring opportunities but failed to test Mark Birighitti. Did have one lapse of concentration when he dwelled on the ball which gifted Alivodic a chance, but luckily he was not punished.
Gui Finkler – 4: For the first 15 minutes he was looking dangerous but then completely drifted out of the game. He failed to have any influence and looked very lethargic.
Jai Ingham – 5: A lot of energy but some poor deliveries into the and gave away some needless fouls to relieve the Newcastle back four. As the ball went down the right hand side a lot in the second half he was unable to have any influence and was subbed off after 67 minutes.
Kosta Barbarouses – 6: Had a poor opening 45 minutes by his standards, but he did manage to turn it on in the second-half. He continued to run at Cowburn and caused him trouble, but his final delivery was lacking.
Besart Berisha – 6: Was caught offside on a number of occasions in the first half and failed to have much influence. He can never be forgotten about during 90 minutes though and he only needed to turn it on for a matter of seconds when needed and he showed his class with a cool finish to equalise.
Substitutions
Jesse Makarounas – 5: Slow on the ball and gave away possession on a number of occasions. Continued to get forward though and had a half chance to score but his shot was blocked.
Archie Thompson – 4: Came on for Ingham with 20 odd minutes to go. Failed to get into the game and was off the pace.
George Howard – N/A: Not enough time to have any influence on the game.
Newcastle Jets
Mark Birighitti – 6: Not given a whole lot to do. Nothing he could really do about the goal and came out and collected crosses when needed.
Jason Hoffman – 6: Poor crosses into the area when he managed to get forward. Defensively he was not really tested as the Victory decided to attack predominantly down the left-hand side, but he kept both Ingham and Thompson very quiet.
Daniel Mullen – 3.5: Was sent off for two very debatable yellow cards. The second was a lunging challenge but he did win the ball first but it was an unnecessary risk to take.
Nigel Boogaard – 6.5: Knew exactly when to come across and help out Cowburn against Barbarouses. With his side down to ten men for a long period he captained the side well and kept his team disciplined and in shape for most of the match. Was, however, caught out by a simple long ball for the Victory equaliser.
Nick Cowburn – 5.5: Had a tough night up against Barbarouses who looked as though he had the beating of Cowburn, but he continued to put pressure on the Kiwi international which forced him to rush a number of crosses.
Mateo Poljak – 6.5: Usually goes unnoticed in games as he does the dirty work and continued to do it well in this match, broke up play on a number of occasions. He did start to tire towards the end of the game and his ball distribution did fall away but overall a solid performance.
Steven Ugarkovic – 6.5: Tremendous workrate throughout the whole match. He continued to get forward and support the attack even when they were down to ten men but he also tracked back well and did his job defensively.
Leonardo – 8: Was the standout player on the night as he continued to cause Victory troubles throughout the game. He constantly found himself in acres of space between the midfield and back four to pick out a number of excellent passes.
Enver Alivodic – 6.5: His workrate was outstanding throughout the game as he tracked back when needed. Had a golden chance to score the Jets second but could not hit the target.
Ryan Kitto – 6: Worked up and down very well and managed to get himself into the right position to score the opener. Was unfortunately the man to be sacrificed after the red card.
Morten Nordstrand – 7: His link up play with Leonardo was excellent and he knew when to hold up the ball and when to run at the defenders. Was unlucky to not get himself on the score sheet in the second-half as he rounded Thomas, yet was unable to turn it in from a tight angle.
Substitutions
Ben Kantarovski – 5.5: Came on late in the first-half after the red card to sure up the back line. Was caught very flat which allowed Berisha to get in behind on the goal but when he was set he defended well.
Cameron Watson N/A: Not enough time to have any influence on the game.
Lachlan Jackson N/A: Only had a few touches of the ball
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