Victory escapes with full points

Melbourne Victory have escaped from the Telstra Dome with all three points after prevailing over Perth Glory 1-0 courtesy of a last ditch strike by Scotsman Grant Brebner.

The ex-Dundee United-man rifled home the spectacular winner in the 89th minute after he controlled a ball from the left by Alessandro before unleashing a monstrous 20-yard drive past a hapless Tom Tomich.

The goal capped off a dominant display by a Victory side that sorely missed the guidance of talismanic captain Kevin Muscat and suspended defender Rodrigo Vargas.

But having developed a reputation for its fluency in attack and sharp passing in midfield, Melbourne struggled against a resolute Glory defence marshalled by captain Jamie Harnwell.

Perth transformed the penalty area into an impenetrable fortress, denying Melbourne the opportunity to merely waltz into the penalty area, consequently stifling the league leaders of clear scoring chances.

In the absence of stars Simon Colosimo, Stan Lazaridis and Bobby Despotovski, Perth resorted to a counter-attack approach to thwart Melbourne’s bid for a 10th win of the season, frustrating the league leaders who seemed to lack the creativity to generate an opening.

Glory coach Ron Smith said that without their stars, the side strove to secure a draw against their high-flying opponent and were despondent following the heartbreaking loss.

“That was the plan. I was worried about fatigue affecting us late in the game and in some respects you still work very hard if you defend in numbers,” he said.

“The game plan was to try to get a point out of tonight's game and we almost did it. The boys are a bit gutted. I don't think it's a great way of playing football, but under the circumstances, we had little choice.”

But with the side merely content to place bodies behind the ball, crowding the centre of the park, flamboyant Brazilian Fred came to the fore, dazzling the crowd with his surging runs and incisive passing.

After two minutes, the former Guarini star almost conjured an opening goal for the side, as he weaved his samba magic through the midfield, bamboozling the Glory defence with his impeccable ball control before sending a brilliant through ball that just evaded the oncoming Archie Thompson.

Ever-present winger Adrian Caceres looked ominous on the left flank in the early stages for the home side, but crowd-favourite Thompson struggled to link with league leading marksman, Danny Allsopp.

Victory were unable to contend with the lack of space available in the attacking third of the park as it’s probing attempts to stretch the disciplined Glory outfit proved futile.

But after 20 minutes Thompson found an opening in the area, latching onto a loose ball before spectacularly half-volleying the shot across the face of goal before the Socceroo scorned the best opportunity of the match in the 36th minute as his attempted lob over Tomich drifted high of the goal.

Despite its complete dominance of the contest, Melbourne had to wait to the dying stages of the first period for its first strike on target, an Allsopp effort that was handled with ease by the impressive Glory custodian.

As starlet Kristian Sarkies grew in prominence in the second stanza, the one-time Socceroo crafted a golden chance for Allsopp after streaming down the park before playing a magnificent through ball.

But the attacker was unable to capitalise, succumbing to the pressure applied by Naum Sekulovski as he fired wide.

The electrifying Thompson should have scored his seventh goal of the season in the 78th minute after rounding three Glory defenders but the enigmatic attacker shot wide when off balance.

A long-range effort from Brebner tested the Glory ‘keeper in the 82nd minute before Adrian Webster made hearts flutter when he unleashed a wickedly swerving shot just wide from 18-yards out.

But after Perth provided stern resistance it took a wonder strike from Brebner – a carbon copy replica of his earlier effort – to secure the victory.

Brebner was thrilled to finally secure his first goal A-League goal for Melbourne. He said: “I'm just pleased to get the goal, more so for the boys and the team than for myself. It's so important to stay up there (the top of the ladder). And that's the main thing for everybody in that dressing room.”

Team Line-Ups

Melbourne Victory:
Michael Theoklitos (gk), Daniel Piorkowski, Steve Pantelidis, Fred (Mark Byrnes 90’+3), Danny Allsopp, Archie Thompson (capt), Kristian Sarkies, Adrian Caceres (Alessandro 56’), Adrian Leijer, Simon Storey, Grant Brebner. Subs not used: Eugene Galekovic (gk), Michael Ferrante. Yellow Cards: Pantelidis 68’.

Perth Glory:
Tom Tomich (gk), Ryan Townsend (Josip Magdic 46’), David Tarka, Jamie Harnwell (capt), David Micevski (Jeremy Christie 78’), Leo Bertos, Ante Kovacevic, Jamie Coyne, Adrian Webster, Stuart Young, Naum Sekulovski (Luka Glavas 82’). Subs not used: Aleks Vrteski (gk). Yellow Cards: Townsend 14’, Micevski 29’, Webster 89’, Kovacevic 90’+3.

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