Melbourne Victory have suffered back-to-back losses to begin their Championship defence, going down 2-0 to Sydney FC on Saturday afternoon.
Summary
A sunny afternoon in Sydney set the scene for a significant clash between the two most dominant sides in the Liberty A-League over recent seasons.
A rematch of the two most recent Grand Finals, the game unsurprisingly started with no shortage of intensity.
Sydney started the game more brightly, with Cortnee Vine having two guilt-edge chances within the first 15 minutes.
Victory keeper Casey Dumont started the game brilliantly though, making several impressive saves to keep out the Sky Blues’ early attempts.
Victory were dealt an early blow when injury forced star striker Catherine Zimmerman off the field after 23 minutes, making way for youngster Ava Briedis.
Following the change Jeff Hopkins’ side looked as if they were finding their feet, with Claudia Bunge and the substitute Briedis both coming close with shots on goal.
As the game settled into a regular pattern, the first half seemed destined to finish scoreless.
However, that changed dramatically just before the break as Sydney found the back of the net twice in quick succession.
A wonderful solo effort from Sydney striker Madison Haley opened the scoring with under five minutes of regular time left in the half, before a disastrous own goal doubled the Sky Blues’ lead just minutes later.
Victory headed into the sheds with a mountain to climb if they were to take anything from the game.
The second half though proved to be a difficult grind for Victory, with Sydney content to solidify their defence and threaten on the counter.
Jeff Hopkins turned to his bench again, with Alana Murphy brought on in an effort to unlock the Sydney defence before the hour mark.
Chances though remained few and far between, with Victory struggling to break down a well-drilled opposition.
Ultimately there was no way through, as Victory succumbed to a second straight defeat to start their new campaign.
Implications
Consecutive losses to being their Championship defence means the pressure is on Victory to reverse their fortunes quickly, with the rest of the competition threatening to break away.
Result
Liberty A-League 2022/23 Round 2
Sydney FC 2 (Haley 41′, Dumont (OG) 45+3′)
Melbourne Victory 0
Next up
Victory’s next game is their first home fixture of the campaign as they welcome Wellington Phoenix to City Vista Recreation Reserve next Sunday 4th December at 4:00pm AEDT.
