A Nick D’Agostino screamer secured Melbourne Victory a hard-fought point away from home against Adelaide United on Saturday night.
SUMMARY
Tony Popovic made four changes to his starting lineup, highlighted by Matt Bozinovski and Noah Smith making their starting debuts for the club. Leigh Broxham and Chris Ikonomidis also returned to the XI.
Victory came into the game in desperate need of a positive result having lost their previous three matches, but it was Adelaide who came out firing.
An excellent piece of play from Ben Halloran was eventually finished off by Craig Goodwin, handing the Reds an early lead after just 6 minutes played.
Adelaide were in control for the period following the goal and forced Matt Acton into a smart save at his near post a few minutes later.
Victory though gradually worked their way back into the contest and were able to generate some chances of their own after 20 minutes played.
Jake Brimmer’s shot from close range prompted calls for a handball in the penalty area, but VAR ultimately decided against the award of a spot-kick.
As the first half drifted into injury time, a clever cross from Nick D’Agostino found Josh Brillante making a daring run into the box, but the captain was unable to steer his shot on target.
A series of Victory set-pieces closed out the opening half, but they were unable to trouble the goalkeeper as Adelaide maintained their narrow lead heading into the break.
Victory came into the second half needing a moment of magic to reignite their hopes in the game, a moment which was duly delivered by D’Agostino.
Brillante was again involved when he received the ball whilst making a forward run, before teeing up D’Agostino who unleashed a rocket into the top right corner from outside the box.
A breathtaking strike at a pivotal moment which pulled Victory back level in the contest.
The visitors were evidently energised by the equaliser, enjoying their best period of the match following D’Agostino’s goal.
However, clear-cut chances remained hard to come by against a resolute Adelaide defence.
Jay Barnett and Rai Marchan were both introduced off the bench as the second half progressed, although Marchan was unfortunately substituted off just minutes after coming on having suffered a serious blow to the head when defending a long-range strike.
Consequently, Will Wilson was brought on as a concussion substitute, before fellow youngsters Lleyton Brooks and Nishan Velupillay were also given opportunities in the final 10 minutes.
Velupillay and Brooks were both involved when Victory almost snatched the lead in the final minute of regulation time following a fast break, but Brooks was unable to hit the target with his shot.
Despite eight minutes of injury time being played, neither side could find the winning goal.
A 1-1 draw means Victory take a much-needed point away from Coopers Stadium after a difficult few weeks.
KEY MOMENT
Nick D’Agostino’s strike was an Original Rivalry goal for the ages…
PLAYER IN FOCUS
Matt Bozinovski was dealt a difficult hand on his starting debut, asked to contain the towering Hiroshi Ibusuki amongst the creativity of Craig Goodwin and Ben Halloran.
Bozinovski though performed admirably, appearing composed throughout in a solid defensive display despite the challenging circumstances.
WHAT THEY SAID – NICK D’AGOSTINO
“It was a tough, physical game…I don’t think I’ve ever cramped like this to be honest.”
“We haven’t had the greatest start to the season so we had to come out here and put in a good performance.”
“The boss keeps telling us that we face adversity every week so we’ve got to overcome that. I think we did that [tonight].”
IMPLICATIONS
A first point in four games lifts Victory off the foot of the table as they remain just five points outside of the top six.
RESULT
Isuzu UTE A-League 2022/23 Round 12
Adelaide United 1 (Goodwin 7′)
Melbourne Victory 1 (D’Agostino 49′)
NEXT UP
Another difficult away trip awaits Victory as they travel to Macedonia Park to take on Perth Glory next Saturday 21st January at 10:30pm AEDT.
