Melbourne Victory have opened their Asian Champions League campaign in style, edging past Chinese side Shanghai SIPG in a thrilling duel in front of 9,701 fans at AAMI Park on Wednesday.
The game ebbed and flowed with chances aplenty, but it was Victory who ultimately held on as Besart Berisha’s late penalty cancelled out Wu Lei’s equaliser.
Dario Conca saw a corner cleared off the line on 10 minutes, with Elkeson trying his hand soon after, launching a fizzing strike from 30 yards that flew just wide.
With Victory appearing on the ropes, it was them who struck first. Former Hume City winger Jai Ingham secured his first Melbourne Victory goal after dancing his way inside from the left following a sensational release from midfield by Olly Bozanic on the counter.
Shanghai again came close twice at the close of the half. Played in by Asamoah Gyan on the stroke of half time, Elkeson forced Danny Vukovic to leave his area and sweep up brilliantly, with the follow-up strike by Wu cleared by Daniel Georgievski.
Gyan then tried his own luck, only for Vukovic to again be equal to it.
The visitors would not have to wait long for the equaliser after the break, however. An inch-perfect Elkeson cross found the gap between Vukovic and Georgievski, with Wu finishing at the back post.
Shanghai thought they had doubled their lead after a clumsy Nick Ansell error set them away. The ball nestled in the goal, but the referee chalked off the goal with a second ball on the field.
That moment was costly. Kosta Barbarouses was slipped in, only to be brought down by substitute Lu Wenjun. First contact appeared to be outside the area, but the referee pointed to the spot, with no card brandished. Berisha converted with ease.
Berisha could have sealed the deal only minutes later, played in behind the defence by Jason Geria, only to drag his shot past the oncoming Yan in goal. Connor Pain could have done likewise, only finding the post after being slid in by Barabrouses on the break.
A sublime strike from Dario Conca also found the woodwork a matter of moments later.
Victory held on, however, securing the all-important opening three points.
Plucked from Hume, scoring in Asia
Melbourne Victory signed 23-year-old Ingham from NPL Victoria club Hume City in the January transfer window, likely with an eye on the Champions League and this specific role for the winger: a starting berth on the continental stage.
He became all the more important after Fahid Ben Khalfallah was excluded from the squad.
Muscat’s decision to start Ingham over Connor Pain was vindicated when, on the half-hour mark, the Olympic FC product danced his way around the Shanghai SIPG defence to thunder past Yan Junling after Bozanic excellently slipped him through.
Controversy aplenty
Once more, on the hour mark, Victory were on the canvas.
The pressure appeared to tell, as Ansell’s backward header broke to an onrushing Shanghai runner. He was away, and struck the ball cleanly into the net, but it was disallowed after a second ball had strayed onto the pitch from the crowd.
It had Shanghai players incensed and despite mass remonstrations with the referee, the goal was not allowed to stand.
A critical moment in the 90 minutes with Victory in trouble and Sven Goran Eriksson’s side pressing.
With 20 minutes to play, Barbarouses found himself through on goal, cut down by Lu. However, replays suggested the initial contact came outside the box. yet referee Al-Jassim pointed to the spot, with Berisha accepting the invitation.
Asian football at its best
Superb performances from Matthieu Delpierre, Vukovic and Geria kept Victory in the game and in the lead. Those names were quite possibly the best afield.
A number of stunning saves from the gloveman, married with some fine last-ditch interventions from the defensive pair, saw the hosts resist the Shanghai barrage.
It was in attack where more thrills came from, however, when, in the final 10 minutes, Berisha and Pain both squandered guilt-edged chances to seal the deal. Following those opportunities, Shanghai’s Argentine star Conca thumped the post with a long-range howitzer that had the former Perth custodian stranded.
This contest epitomised all that is great about the ACL, with Asia’s premier club competition living up to its billing and showing why it should be taken seriously.
One counter is all it takes
As the opening half approached its death knells, Victory looked on the ropes. Misplaced passes were a regular fixture, and they were happening in dangerous areas.
Then, Victory did what they do best. A dynamic counter from a blocked Elkeson strike was finished off by Ingham, and in a moment, Victory had the lead after a poor period.
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