Jump to content
Melbourne Football

Melbourne Derby XII - 7:45pm 1st March AAMI Park


GreenSeater
 Share

Recommended Posts

 

 

So Yside weren't up to it last night? Well, GA rocked. I don't think I have seen so many in GA get so loud and stand up (then sit down) before. Well, apart from the fellow who said he was there for the football, not this supporting stuff???

I took a couple of friends and their son. Unlike the people I brought to the last derby who left at half time due to the intensity of the crowd, these people loved every minute of it and want to come again. As they are season ticket holders with Collingwood, I was quietly pleased when they told me that the noise and intensity of the derby was better than anything at the AFL. Of course it is.

And I do think Yarraside were great last night. Well done to the leaders keeping the three bays going strong. It is not easy, so top job.

Imagine if we had that as a starting point every week?

COYBIR.

Wat.jpg

 

 

Being active fans isn't anyones profession, they aren't paid for what they do and there are many circumstances around certain games (derbys in particular) that don't allow for a fluid display during a game. And the 'leaders' usually have their hands pretty full trying to run through the formalities and execute tifo, keep people in-line, etc.

The GA supporters where not quite as great as you think they were, they didn't really get involved early, even with an invitation from the active fans and even after we went up 2-0!

 

Fancy a bloke criticising those active supporters with his armchair view...

 

 

Do you deliberately misinterpret other peoples' posts?

 

I think so. Their are a number of poster's that see 'active area' an just think criticism when none is being given.

 

On a side note I know that yarraside don't wear the kit etc but why would some of them including the mega-phone bloke wear a blue shirt on derby day? I would have thought black or some other colour would have been better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So Yside weren't up to it last night? Well, GA rocked. I don't think I have seen so many in GA get so loud and stand up (then sit down) before. Well, apart from the fellow who said he was there for the football, not this supporting stuff???

I took a couple of friends and their son. Unlike the people I brought to the last derby who left at half time due to the intensity of the crowd, these people loved every minute of it and want to come again. As they are season ticket holders with Collingwood, I was quietly pleased when they told me that the noise and intensity of the derby was better than anything at the AFL. Of course it is.

And I do think Yarraside were great last night. Well done to the leaders keeping the three bays going strong. It is not easy, so top job.

Imagine if we had that as a starting point every week?

COYBIR.

Wat.jpg

Being active fans isn't anyones profession, they aren't paid for what they do and there are many circumstances around certain games (derbys in particular) that don't allow for a fluid display during a game. And the 'leaders' usually have their hands pretty full trying to run through the formalities and execute tifo, keep people in-line, etc.

The GA supporters where not quite as great as you think they were, they didn't really get involved early, even with an invitation from the active fans and even after we went up 2-0!

Fancy a bloke criticising those active supporters with his armchair view...

Do you deliberately misinterpret other peoples' posts?

I think so. Their are a number of poster's that see 'active area' an just think criticism when none is being given.

On a side note I know that yarraside don't wear the kit etc but why would some of them I the mega-phone bloke wear a blue shirt on derby day? I would have thought black or some other colour would have been better. Bizarre observation from someone who said they wouldn't be the slightest bit fased if our club was playing in blue next season.

Edited by FB.
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

 

So Yside weren't up to it last night? Well, GA rocked. I don't think I have seen so many in GA get so loud and stand up (then sit down) before. Well, apart from the fellow who said he was there for the football, not this supporting stuff???

I took a couple of friends and their son. Unlike the people I brought to the last derby who left at half time due to the intensity of the crowd, these people loved every minute of it and want to come again. As they are season ticket holders with Collingwood, I was quietly pleased when they told me that the noise and intensity of the derby was better than anything at the AFL. Of course it is.

And I do think Yarraside were great last night. Well done to the leaders keeping the three bays going strong. It is not easy, so top job.

Imagine if we had that as a starting point every week?

COYBIR.

Wat.jpg

 

 

Being active fans isn't anyones profession, they aren't paid for what they do and there are many circumstances around certain games (derbys in particular) that don't allow for a fluid display during a game. And the 'leaders' usually have their hands pretty full trying to run through the formalities and execute tifo, keep people in-line, etc.

The GA supporters where not quite as great as you think they were, they didn't really get involved early, even with an invitation from the active fans and even after we went up 2-0!

 

Fancy a bloke criticising those active supporters with his armchair view...

 

 

Do you deliberately misinterpret other peoples' posts?

 

I think so. Their are a number of poster's that see 'active area' an just think criticism when none is being given.

 

On a side note I know that yarraside don't wear the kit etc but why would some of them including the mega-phone bloke wear a blue shirt on derby day? I would have thought black or some other colour would have been better.

 

 

I spend all my money on cocaine and strippers I'll be happy to take a red t shirt donation

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

 

 

So Yside weren't up to it last night? Well, GA rocked. I don't think I have seen so many in GA get so loud and stand up (then sit down) before. Well, apart from the fellow who said he was there for the football, not this supporting stuff???

I took a couple of friends and their son. Unlike the people I brought to the last derby who left at half time due to the intensity of the crowd, these people loved every minute of it and want to come again. As they are season ticket holders with Collingwood, I was quietly pleased when they told me that the noise and intensity of the derby was better than anything at the AFL. Of course it is.

And I do think Yarraside were great last night. Well done to the leaders keeping the three bays going strong. It is not easy, so top job.

Imagine if we had that as a starting point every week?

COYBIR.

Wat.jpg

Being active fans isn't anyones profession, they aren't paid for what they do and there are many circumstances around certain games (derbys in particular) that don't allow for a fluid display during a game. And the 'leaders' usually have their hands pretty full trying to run through the formalities and execute tifo, keep people in-line, etc.

The GA supporters where not quite as great as you think they were, they didn't really get involved early, even with an invitation from the active fans and even after we went up 2-0!

Fancy a bloke criticising those active supporters with his armchair view...

Do you deliberately misinterpret other peoples' posts? I think so. Their are a number of poster's that see 'active area' an just think criticism when none is being given.

On a side note I know that yarraside don't wear the kit etc but why would some of them I the mega-phone bloke wear a blue shirt on derby day? I would have thought black or some other colour would have been better. Bizarre observation from someone who said they wouldn't be the slightest bit fased if our club was playing in blue next season.

 

That's right I'm not fazed by the colours. I would like to stay red but not going to get upset about it. But then I haven't been going on about how we must stay red and making a banner about it either. What is bizarre is when people claim they want the colours to stay and then wear blue to games and more importantly on derby day. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Lmao at the Victory scarf being lit on fire. A cop walked into the bay to tell some people to step off the seats and he didn't even notice that the scarf was on fire even though he was a meter away from it!

told me to get off the seats twice haha

 

 

Isn't that the securities job to tell people to get off the seats?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's definitely not their job to push people off seats...still got a huge graze on the back of my leg.

 

You that dude that was pushed off the concrete barrier from that boldy dude that doesn't smile? Poor kid went flying. My friend was on the concrete barrier but seeing we are not skinny little teenagers he said in a polite voice "Can you please get down?"

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A-League tactics: How the Heart used extra man to humiliate rivals

 

Heart exploited their advantage ruthlessly and bamboozled Victory with the introduction of Kalmar as substitute

 

Kate Cohen

 

3 March 2014

 

5b73c568-7b80-4d8c-bc5b-ef5e318dfae6-460

Melbourne Heart continued their remarkable resurgence with a huge win over their cross-city rivals.

 

The 12th instalment of the Melbourne Derby brought goals, a red card and plenty of drama, with almost everything going the way of Heart. The 40th minute red card to Victory’s Nick Ansell did little to alter the outcome of the match, with Heart already having a 2-0 buffer and looking the more dangerous side, but both team’s response to the send-off was an interesting point of discussion.

 

To begin, Victory lined up in their customary 4-2-2-2 formation with no recognised striker. Heart continued with a 4-3-3 formation with a dynamic midfield of Jonatan Germano, Orlando Engelaar and Massimo Murdocca.

 

Defensive issues have long been the problem for Victory and in recent weeks manager Kevin Muscat has tweaked his system defensively in an attempt to stop them from leaking goals. Instead of pressing high up the pitch in a 4-2-4, Victory’s two wide players dropped back into the midfield line to add stability and to form a 4-4-2 – no longer were they able to ‘cheat’ defensively and remain high up the park.

 

This meant when in possession, Heart’s two centre backs Robert Wielaert and Patrick Kisnorbo were pressured by Victory’s front two of Tom Rogic and Gui Finkler. In order to facilitate playing out from the back, Germano, the deepest of Heart’s midfield, dropped back to form a back three. This helped Heart create a 3 vs 2 in deep areas and allowed them to retain possession more comfortably.

 

After the red card, both sides were forced to adjust – first Victory and then Heart in response.

 

cc8b2ffe-3171-41e1-bb73-f4fb916d2170-460

Victory defended as a 4-4-1, leaving Rogic up front alone when reduced to 10-men. Photograph: /Guardian

 

Victory’s change was immediate, with Leigh Broxham moving to centre back in place of Ansell and Finkler dropping back to form a 4-4-1 without the ball. When in possession, Finkler would move forward to support Rogic but with Heart seeing 65% of possession after the send-off Victory were forced to defend more often than not.

 

This meant there was no longer two Victory forwards to pressure the two Heart centre backs, with Rogic instead conserving his energy and rarely pressing. Early in the second half, Germano continued to drop back and form a back three when Heart had possession in deep areas. His role for the first 15 minutes of the second half allowed Heart to retain possession comfortably and kill off any Victory hope of grabbing an early goal back.

 

However his role soon became redundant against a 10-man Victory side and John van’t Schip duly responded. The decision to introduce Nick Kalmar in place of Germano helped Heart to twist the knife in the wound inflicted in the first half.

 

87714398-53e3-4a8f-a72a-0d04cec87e28-460

Instead of dropping deeper to receive possession, Kalmar looked to receive the ball in midfield.

 

Instead of dropping back, Kalmar instead looked to receive possession behind Victory’s first line of defence (Rogic). This meant Heart were now able to create a 3 vs 2 in the centre of midfield.

 

Kalmar’s presence in midfield caused confusion for Victory, as Finkler and Mark Milligan were unsure of whether to pressure him or to remain in shape.

 

If one of Victory’s centre midfielders pressured Kalmar, a space would then appear behind them for Murdocca or Engelaar to receive possession. If they allowed Kalmar to receive possession, he was able to face forward and pick out shorter passes in between the lines of Victory’s defence or longer passes in behind them. One such example was in the 70th minute when he received the ball in the centre circle and clipped an inch perfect long-range pass to Mate Dugandzic which left him 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper.

 

With the numerical advantage, Heart players were able to flood forward and to get into the box when the ball was in wide areas. Heart looked to cross the ball regularly and aerially to exploit Victory’s lack of height in defence (an average of only 172cm after the red card). The third goal came during the second phase after a dangerous cross. The fourth and final goal was a spectacular effort from Harry Kewell but came after Kalmar’s presence in midfield caused confusion for an outnumbered Milligan.

 

Heart always had the ascendancy, even before the controversial sending off of Ansell, but the second half responses to the red card allowed Heart to dominate and humiliate their rivals.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/mar/03/a-league-tactics-how-the-heart-used-extra-man-to-humiliate-rivals

Edited by Murfy1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Apart from that 1 turnover when he was fresh off the bench, I thought Kalmar had a fine game. I've been pretty open that I'm a fan of his. He may not be a world beater, but IMO he's a solid A-League player, and especially under JVS I think we'll see Kalmar make an impact in the A-League, like he did in the derby with his good positioning, good ball skills and fine passing (e.g. the impressive pass to Dugandzic for the 1-1, and Kalmar's assist to Kewell for the 4th goal).

 

I also reckon Kalmar could probably be kept at Heart for little money, which could become very handy if we are trying to fit Engelaar and Aaron Mooy inside the cap (I'm rather concerned what sort of money we threw at him to lure him away from WSW, and all before the takeover).

Edited by Murfy1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Apart from that 1 turnover when he was fresh off the bench, I thought Kalmar had a fine game. I've been pretty open that I'm a fan of his. He may not be a world beater, but IMO he's a solid A-League player, and especially under JVS I think we'll see Kalmar make an impact in the A-League, like he did in the derby with his good positioning, good ball skills and fine passing (e.g. the impressive pass to Dugandzic for the 1-1, and Kalmar's assist to Kewell for the 4th goal).

 

I also reckon Kalmar could probably be kept at Heart for little money, which could become very handy if we are trying to fit Engelaar and Aaron Mooy inside the cap (I'm rather concerned what sort of money we threw at him to lure him away from WSW, and all before the takeover).

Against 10 men with 20 minutes to go is hardly a big test. To me Nicky just seems to be getting slower and slower. There was one instance where he couldn't get to a ball about three feet from him.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Murf, I wrote in my view of the game that I have fears for Kalmar's future and I still do. I'll preface my comments by saying I think he's been a serviceable player and has has the occasional blinder of a game. I will cheer him like every other Heart player. But he can't really be judged on the weekend. As the article above says, he had plenty of room with very little pressure, so he should automatically have been serviceable.

But you also missed the two runs he didn't track as a DM due to lack of awareness and pace that put the back four under real pressure. And looking forward to next year with Mooy coming, I wonder whether he'll be pushing hard for a starting spot? He is very slow with poor closing speed (unlike Germano) and, whilst skillful with the ball, is slow in distribution and sits on the ball far too long. I'm always trying to see where he will value add or create competition for spots, and I'm left wondering. After four years with us and at his age he should be a regular starter after the opportunities he's had. Instead he is a bit part player and this worries me with such small squads in the A-league. His inconsistency is very very concerning. If we can't find anyone better well and good - keep him. But I think we should be looking hard for greater midfield depth who will push for a midfield spot and perform consistently.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm okay to agree to disagree about Kalmar. 

 

Although it was just 20 minutes, Kalmar played well in the derby--no small game.

 

I personally think that too much is made of Kalmar's speed. I agree he's not lightning quick, but I think his pace is fine for a midfielder. We don't need him to have the very quick pace of a winger like Dugandzic or Ramsay.

 

The article above also credits Kalmar for finding and using the midfield space to the utmost. Good positioning doesn't just happen, players make it happen.

 

I also don't think Kalmar routinely takes too long on the ball. Indeed, we often need a midfielder like Kalmar or Engelaar to hold onto possession for a few moments to allow our plays to develop. So IMO Kalmar is regularly useful on the ball in midfield.

 

Kalmar was a key player in our first season, scoring 3 goals and winning 1 match and effectively winning another (the match against Newcastle where he scored the overhead kick. There was a superfluous Sibon goal in injury time). Given that we only got 8 wins in our first season, Kalmar was pretty valuable in providing 2 match winning efforts that season.

 

People forget the game time Kalmar has missed through injury. He missed the entirety of the second season through a back injury.

 

Kalmar had a fairly good season last season IMO, scoring 2 goals and showing some real brilliance, but I'll admit he did have some mixed performances as well. But each and every Heart player was woefully inconsistent under Aloisi.

 

 

So all up, I'm happy to agree to disagree about Kalmar. I judge him to be a useful player that adds some value. So for next season I think Kalmar could be a useful addition as an Australian player on little money in the Heart squad.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm okay to agree to disagree about Kalmar. 

 

Although it was just 20 minutes, Kalmar played well in the derby--no small game.

 

I personally think that too much is made of Kalmar's speed. I agree he's not lightning quick, but I think his pace is fine for a midfielder. We don't need him to have the very quick pace of a winger like Dugandzic or Ramsay.

 

The article above also credits Kalmar for finding and using the midfield space to the utmost. Good positioning doesn't just happen, players make it happen.

 

I also don't think Kalmar routinely takes too long on the ball. Indeed, we often need a midfielder like Kalmar or Engelaar to hold onto possession for a few moments to allow our plays to develop. So IMO Kalmar is regularly useful on the ball in midfield.

 

Kalmar was a key player in our first season, scoring 3 goals and winning 1 match and effectively winning another (the match against Newcastle where he scored the overhead kick. There was a superfluous Sibon goal in injury time). Given that we only got 8 wins in our first season, Kalmar was pretty valuable in providing 2 match winning efforts that season.

 

People forget the game time Kalmar has missed through injury. He missed the entirety of the second season through a back injury.

 

Kalmar had a fairly good season last season IMO, scoring 2 goals and showing some real brilliance, but I'll admit he did have some mixed performances as well. But each and every Heart player was woefully inconsistent under Aloisi.

 

 

So all up, I'm happy to agree to disagree about Kalmar. I judge him to be a useful player that adds some value. So for next season I think Kalmar could be a useful addition as an Australian player on little money in the Heart squad.

People in Aus are far too keen on players physical attributes in my opinion. CB's have to be big, forwards need speed and the like. I will always take players who are technically superior and have better game intelligence over guys who are quick and/or big.

 

Kalmar is one of our better young technical players. He need to base his game more on Totti if he can(Usuing his skill as his main weapon I mean). Use his touch to protect the ball and find that next pass quickly. Mass does it well even if his passing isn't the most accurate. Question is does he have the technique to make up for his lack of speed? I think he does, just.

Edited by Rellum
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've liked Kalmar's substitute appearances against both Brisbane and Victory (apart from that first turnover on Saturday). Personally, I think his ability to hold the ball and find some good passing options has helped relieve the pressure, especially against Brisbane, of sides chasing the game late. And I think his decision making has generally been good, whether looking to play in our forwards, or passing back to hold posession. One of the improvements recently has been that we're no longer just sitting back absorbing pressure and shitting ourselves hoping to hold on when leading late in a game. I think Kalmar's technical ability and creativity when coming on has played a part in that. But that's just what I've noticed. Other people might see other things.

Edited by Sash
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's definitely not their job to push people off seats...still got a huge graze on the back of my leg.

 

 

 

It's definitely not their job to push people off seats...still got a huge graze on the back of my leg.

 

You that dude that was pushed off the concrete barrier from that boldy dude that doesn't smile? Poor kid went flying. My friend was on the concrete barrier but seeing we are not skinny little teenagers he said in a polite voice "Can you please get down?"

 

 

I remember seeing that happen at the game, it was actually on TV, skip to 1:50

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgx9De9lu2g 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone notice the formation that Foxsports displayed before kickoff?

Is Kevin Muscat the coach or Gordon Bombay?

vlcsnap-2014-03-03-22h22m21s103.png

They really butchered our formation. Almost as if they were reading us talk shit on the forums about playing a 3-4-3 in the match thread.

But come to think of it if I got that teamsheet in front of me I wouldn't have expected to put the Gooch at left back so that's probably why he fucked it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

It's definitely not their job to push people off seats...still got a huge graze on the back of my leg.

 

You that dude that was pushed off the concrete barrier from that boldy dude that doesn't smile? Poor kid went flying. My friend was on the concrete barrier but seeing we are not skinny little teenagers he said in a polite voice "Can you please get down?"

 

 

I remember seeing that happen at the game, it was actually on TV, skip to 1:50

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgx9De9lu2g 

 

89dbec91efb49516c59716551a59474d2b93404a

Edited by CJ_1337
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Melbourne Heart 4-0 Melbourne Victory: Heart start strongly, and control game after red card

 

March 3, 2014

 

Tim Palmer

 

The Heart dominated the opening, then made the most of their extra man to illustrate their superiority.

 

25qgabm.png

The starting line-ups

 

Teams

 

John van’t Schip had to reshuffle half of his back four with both Patrick Gerhardt and Aziz Behich accumulating yellow card suspensions, with Rob Wielaert and Ben Garrucio replacing them at centre-back and left-back respectively.

 

Kevin Muscat made three changes from the midweek defeat to Guangzhou Evergrande, with Guilherme Finkler starting ahead of Jesse Makarounas, and Kosta Barbarouses making way for Tom Rogic – meaning a brand new front two, with Troisi going wide left. Meanwhile, at the back, Pablo Contreras was dropped in favour of Scott Galloway, which saw Jason Geria shuffle across to centre-back. Finally, Lawrence Thomas was surprisingly selected ahead of Nathan Coe in goals.

 

Heart start strong

 

A key feature of the Heart’s win over Brisbane last week was how physical they were in the midfield zone –  using three energetic, combative players to break up passing moves. It was the case again here, with a number of strong challenges right from the first whistle, resulting in a succession of Victory free-kicks – the commentator’s story about the word “aggression” being underlined on the Heart change-room whiteboard was appropriate.

 

Opening goal

 

In games featuring an early goal, it’s often the case that there’s not been time to establish a pattern, or tactical trend, but in fact, here, the Heart’s route to the opening goal was practically a duplicate of the passage of play immediately before it – Engelaar winning the ball because of his height, and playing a quick ball over the top for one of the front three. In the move preceding the goal, Engelaar released Williams in behind with a lofted pass into the channel – the striker’s shot was high over the bar, leading to the goal-kick from which Thomas, of course, hit the ball directly at the tall Engelaar, who promptly played Ramsay in behind before moving forward to tap in the forthcoming cross.

 

Stylistically, the goal was also quite similar to Engelaar’s last week against Brisbane, and it’s worth noting how the 4-3-3 system accommodates those runs from midfield – with three central midfielders, there’s always cover in behind when one of them moves forward, as Engelaar has obviously done so to good effect recently.

 

Germano

 

Importantly, when the Heart had the ball higher up the pitch, Germano held his position in front of the back four. That meant the Heart had numbers behind the ball at transitions, and Germano did a good job of jockeying Finkler and Rogic towards the sides – normally, the Heart midfield trio is quite fluid and flexible with the three rotating positions, but Germano’s discipline as the most central player was vital here. A good example was when Andrew Redmayne mishit a kick, as the ball fell to a Victory player inside the penalty area – fortunately, Germano was able to fill in at centre-back and clear the danger.

 

Pattern

 

Afterwards, the game slowed down, with the Heart establishing a control of possession through slow, measured build-up from the back – the two centre-backs split wide, with Germano dropping in between to give them a 3v2 numerical advantage against the Victory front two of Finkler and Rogic, who pressed high up to prevent forward passes (with the wide players dropping back to create a second bank of four as has been the trend in recent weeks).

 

However, Kisnorbo still managed to play a number of penetrative passes from a wide-left position, sometimes moving forward purposefully on the ball, and sometimes hitting straight balls through the centre for Williams. Williams to Kisnorbo was he key combination – it brought attacks into the final third, with the former doing an excellent job of laying it off for supporting players. One such pass lead to Dugdanzic getting free on the right, and sending in a looping cross from the side, from which Ramsay’s volley struck the side-netting.

 

2iw4isg.png

 

A few seconds later, Dugdanzic scored from a very similar type of cross – this, though, was obviously an enormous stroke of fortune, and not reflective of any particular tactical theme.

 

Heart possession

 

Still, the Heart were now 2-0 up, and had the freedom to dictate the game on their terms, which meant long spells of possession. This was a marked change from last week’s counter-attacking approach against Brisbane, where they had just 37% possession – contrasting with the 60% they enjoyed here.

 

Obviously, the nature of the opposition – as Brisbane are always going to dominate the ball in their matches – informed this approach, but it was interesting how calm the Heart’s passing was for long stretches of the first half, often happy knocking it around in deep positions. It was as if they deliberately wanted to slow the tempo, perhaps wary of how the Victory benefitted from the openness of last Saturday’s match against Adelaide, which lead to both sides counter-attacking frantically in a helter-skelter 4-3 Victory win.

 

Unsurprisingly, then, the Victory’s best chance came when they robbed the Heart high up the pitch – Troisi intercepted a loose Wielaert pass and broke forward to put a shot high over the far post. Aside from that, though, the Heart generally were able to play under the Victory’s first wave of pressure.

 

Heart attacks

 

As briefly mentioned earlier, the Heart’s major attacking pattern was hitting direct balls to the front three. Often, Williams would drop short in front of the centre-backs, pull the defenders forward and thus create space for both Ramsay and Dugdanzic to move inside on the diagonal run – the ‘false 9′ move. There was a moment where Williams hit a one-touch pass on the outside of his foot for Ramsay to chase – Thomas collected it cleanly, but it showed how and where the Heart were looking dangerous.

 

Heart-att.-third-passes-and-Williams-pas

 

Shortly after that, in the forty-first minute, Ansell was sent off for pulling the shirt of Williams when the striker got in behind off a long, direct pass from the back.

 

Red card/Kalmar

 

Muscat’s response to the red card was to drop Leigh Broxham into centre-back, meaning Finkler in turn had to move deeper into central midfield, in a 4-4-1 formation spearheaded by Rogic. There were also, understandably, passive without the ball, sitting back and allowing the Heart to continue their patient passiog in deep positions.

 

John van’t Schip acted early to bring on Nick Kalmar in place of Germano twelve minutes into the second half. With 10 v 11, the thinking was probably that there was no need for Germano to drop in between the centre-backs (with only Rogic in the first line of Victory defence) – so Kalmar played slightly higher up, becoming a ‘spare man’ in midfield (with Engelaar and Murdocca occupying Milligan and Finkler) and so dominating the play with his passing. Considering he only played half an hour, it was remarkable he finished as the game’s 7th most frequent passer. The majority of his distribution was calmly towards the sides but he also hit penetrative forward balls towards teammates between the lines, while also providing a brilliant chipped through-ball for Dugdanzic to go 1-on-1 with Thomas.

 

Kalmar-passes-and-Heart-crosses-v-Victor

 

The second most prominent feature of the second half was the Heart’s crossing – they seemed keen to target the makeshift Victory centre defence (particularly Broxham) obvious weakness of height. Dugdanzic missed a good chance on the volley from a Williams cross (the original move stemming from, unsurprisingly, a Kisnorbo pass to the striker), while later, Ramsay was only denied by a last-ditch clearance from Traore off a low Williams ball across the face of goal. Later, Williams somehow managed to hit a volley from five yards over the bar, but scored minutes later from a penalty box scramble that originated, inevitably, from a cross.

 

Substitutes

 

Meanwhile, Muscat made a double change on the hour mark, replacing his wide players with two direct attackers, Connor Pain and Kosta Barbarouses, which, on paper, made sense – both, as quick, dribble-first players, were ideal for leading counter-attacks. Later, Makarounas came on for Rogic, but this was an insignificant change.

 

Van’t Schip’s second change saw Harry Kewell replace Engelaar, playing broadly the same role as the Dutchman- he scored a fantastic goal from a clever position between the lines, the assist coming, fittingly, from Kalmar.

 

End notes

 

This was a fine win for the Heart: not only a thrashing over their local rivals but a tactically excellent display, and importantly, a completely different style of win from the preceding game – this showed how effective they can be when controlling possession, doing an excellent job in playing out neatly from the back to create space in the final third, particularly through that Kisnorbo –> Williams combination.

 

Of course, they benefitted from the extra man for the entire second half – but even there, Van’t Schip deserves great credit for his positive use of the bench , with Kalmar providing purposeful forward passing and proving instrumental in the final two goals. Furthermore, the obvious focus on crossing paid off, especially considering the number of chances Williams, Ramsay and Dugdanzic spurned in the second period.

 

Muscat will acknowledge the red card as a turning point (and in fairness, the Heart’s second goal was indebted to pure luck), but he’ll privately admit his side were still inferior at 11v11 – they didn’t press the Heart effectively to prevent them from building attacking moves, and struggled to cope with Williams’ clever movement in front of the central defenders.

 

http://www.australiascout.com/2014/03/melbourne-heart-melbourne-victory-tactics-analysis/

 

 

Impressive article. One of the best articles I've read about Heart in a while.

Edited by Murfy1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...