Melbourne Victory fough back in a thriller against Melbourne City to secure a 1-1 draw in the Christmas Derby.
The highly-anticipated Melbourne Derby had the scene set by fan-favourite violinist Evangeline Victoria performing in front of a buzzing AAMI Park as the players entered the field.
Victory were led by new interim head coach, Arthur Diles who introduced Kasey Bos and Reno Piscopo back into the starting XI, with Socceroo Nishan Velupillay making the bench after recovering from injury.
Melbourne City started the game keen to enact revenge following their previous Melbourne Derby defeat, pressing high up the field.
City won the territorial battle in the early stages, while Victory showed the ability to beat the press and threaten on the counter-attack.
Despite chances falling to either side, City opened the deadlock in the 16th minute. A lofted ball from Steven Ugarkovic found Yonatan Cohen on the right wing – who cut inside onto his left foot and produced an unstoppable strike past Jack Duncan.
After a disappointing start to the game, Victory managed to progressively grow into the first half.
Daniel Arzani and Reno Piscopo were constant threats on the wings for Victory, driving past City defenders and linking up with teammates to create several chances for the Navy Blue.
Victory created the majority of chances, firing 12 shots and forcing Patrick Beach to make multiple top saves in City’s goals heading into the half-time break.
Victory came into the second half unchanged and a task to bring themselves back into the game.
However, The City Blue nearly doubled their lead just a few minutes after the restart, finding Medin Memeti through on goal who was unable to finish past Jack Duncan.
Following this early scare, Victory started to take control of the game. Controlling the majority of the ball, chances arose to but ultimately weren’t converted by Kasey Bos and Reno Piscopo.
Pinning the City defence deep, Arthur Diles called upon Bruno Fornaroli and Nishan Velupillay to provide some spark in the 63rd minute – and provide a spark they did.
Almost immediately after entering the field, an excellent through ball by Velupillay led to a powerful strike by Fornaroli at Patrick Beach, earning a corner for Victory in front of the Northern Terrace.
Ryan Teague’s corner delivery into the box was misjudged by Beach, missing the ball and resulting in a golden opportunity falling for captain Roderick Miranda – scoring his first goal of the season. The Portuguese defender celebrated in front of the electric crowd, scoring a crucial equalising goal for the Vuck.
Chances came on either end of the field, with heroic saves from both shot-stoppers keeping the game even.
Adama Traore and Clarismario were introduced in the final stages as Victory had the momentum late on in the match.
The game seemingly had a winner in the final minutes following an excellent line-breaking pass played by Velupillay to Fornaroli, who rounded the ‘keeper but had the ball cleared away from him in the nick of time by City’s captain, Aziz Behich.
The referee shortly after blew the final whistle, cementing a one-all draw in the Melbourne Derby.
While Victory will feel as though they could’ve won – notably finishing with more than double the total shots and expected goals of their opponents – the side remains third on the Isuzu Ute A-League Men’s ladder heading into Round 10.
Looking to next round, Victory will have yet another massive fixture – facing Sydney FC away in a doubleheader on December 28.
