Melbourne Victory claimed a point from their opening round clash with Central Coast Mariners, playing out the majority of the second half with 10 players.
Report
The new A-League Men’s season kicked off in Gosford on Friday night, as Victory looked to get off to the perfect start in Patrick Kisnorbo’s first league game in charge.
Defending champions Central Coast though were always likely to pose a significant test to open the campaign.
Victory showed some early signs of promise, as Zinedine Machach often found himself on the ball in the Mariners’ half.
Victory’s best early chance came soon after the 20th minute, when a quick breakaway saw Nishan Velupillay in plenty of space down the right wing, but his cross into the box was intercepted at the vital moment.
A major incident seemed to have arisen just prior to the half-hour mark, when Jason Geria was shown a red card for a challenge which brought a Mariners counter-attack to a halt.
However, upon VAR review, the decision was reversed, with both teams retaining their full complement of 11 players.
The half appeared certain to end 0-0 as the final minute of first-half stoppage time arrived, but in a late twist, the final attack of the half saw Bruno Fornaroli fouled in the penalty area.
The veteran striker stepped up to take the spot-kick, but his effort rebounded off the post and out, ensuring the game remained 0-0 at the break.
Velupillay was presented with a golden chance to open the scoring early in the second half following a superb touch and cross from Kasey Bos, but yet again Victory saw their chance go begging.
VAR would soon be involved again, however, this time it was not to Victory’s benefit.
Roderick Miranda was shown a red card following a review on the hour mark, leaving the visitors with a numerical deficit for the final 30 minutes.
The Mariners seized control of the general play following the red card, but Victory’s defence held firm under heavy pressure.
Josh Rawlins, Nikos Vergos, Jing Reec and Santos were all brought on during the final 30 minutes of action.
Ultimately though, neither side were able to score the first goal of the new season, as Victory’s defence held off the barrage of attacks to secure a point, 0-0 the full-time score.
Next Match
Melbourne City v Melbourne Victory
Date: Sat 26 October
Time: 7:35pm
Location: AAMI Park, Melbourne
