The Victory were twice able to claw its way back from a goal down to earn a 2-2 draw with 10-man Melbourne City earlier tonight.
Bruno Fornaroli’s first-half brace stunned the A-League champions, who equalised firstly through Fahid Ben Khalfallah and Guilherme Finkler.
In a typical point derby controversy, Finkler was denied a second goal after the referee and his assistant missed his sweetly struck free-kick crossing the line after crashing off the underside of the crossbar. City midfielder Anthony Caceres was sent-off for the second time since joining the club in January, setting up a frantic final 15 minutes where Victory enjoyed total control, but could not find a winning goal.
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Melbourne City
Thomas Sorensen – 6.5: Arguably at fault for Victory’s second goal but produced a few excellent saves, particularly on Khalfallah midway through the second period.
Ivan Franjic – 6: Involved in a great, evenly contested battle with FBK. Unable to get forward with his usual desire as his side struggled for fluency.
Alex Wilkinson – 7: Solid on his debut. Will improve in the lead up to the finals series.
Patrick Kisnorbo – 8: With his team under great pressure, particularly in the final 35 minutes, Kisnorbo led the defensive line as a captain should.
Ben Garuccio – 6: Defensively troubled, and lucky to have avoided a second yellow after a cruel lunge on Kosta Barbarouses.
Osama Malik – 6: Solid enough. Showed his defensive prowess with a few excellent headed clearances.
Aaron Mooy – 8: Another showcase of the midfielder’s creativity notching another two assists. Quiet after the break, but remained a threat on the counter-attack.
Anthony Caceres – 5: Could have cost his side the game after being sent-off, and failed to impress prior to that.
Nick Fitzgerald – 5.5: A so-so performance from the former Mariners man. Still adjusting to life in Melbourne.
Harry Novillo – 6: Did not carry his usual spark, but did dazzle sporadically.
Bruno Fornaroli – 8: Showed his class with a brace, but like his team, faded badly after halftime.
Substitutes
Michael Zullo – 6: Forced to operate in a defensive role after coming on late in the game.
Paolo Retre – 5: Brought on for Wilkinson with 25 minutes to play. Worked extremely hard in closing off Victory’s passing avenues.
Jack Clisby – 6: Did little other than defend after he was brought on after 80 minutes following Caceres’ sending-off.
Melbourne Victory:
Danny Vukovic – 6: Cannot be faulted in either of the goals. Had a relatively quiet night despite the nature of the contest.
Jason Geria – 7: Bombed forward with aplomb, and gave Garuccio/Clisby a lot to contend with. Defensively solid, too.
Nick Ansell – 6: Did well in his one-on-one battles with Fornaroli, but will regret a few moments of complacency.
Matthieu Delpierre – 6.5: Very solid after halftime. Less-so prior to that.
Scott Galloway – 6.5: Stood up relatively well in the face of City’s attackers. Did his best to support FBK in attack, too.
Leigh Broxham – 6.5: The veteran will not want to see a replay of Fornaroli’s opener after leaving the Uruguayan unattended. Improved greatly after halftime.
Oliver Bozanic – 6: A quiet-ish performance in a game that needed the presence of the departed Mark Milligan, or absent Carl Valeri.
Guilherme Finkler – 7: Missed a highly presentable chance minutes prior to Fornaroli’s opener, but atoned for that error in netting just after half time. Denied a second after his free-kick, that would have put his side 3-2 ahead and crossed the line, was unseen by the referee and his assistants.
Fahid Ben Khalfallah – 7: Took his goal superbly, but was unable to stamp his authority on the contest as he did so frequently last season.
Kosta Barbarouses – 7: A lively performance. Had a huge part in his sides opening goal and gave Ben Garuccio a torrid time throughout but could not break through regularly enough with City defending deep.
Besart Berisha – 7.5: A typically dogged performance from the striker. Might have dominated this match with greater service.
Substitutes
Daniel Georgievski – N/A: Brought on in second half stoppage time for Scott Galloway.
Archie Thompson – N/A: Introduced on 85 minutes with his team pressing forward, but could not make a telling impact.
Rashid Mahazi – 6.5: Introduced to the action on 80 minutes and retained possession well.
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