Melbourne Victory vs Central Coast Mariners at AAMI Park
Result: Victory 1 – Mariners 0
Great Effort Unrewarded in Melbourne
In our first away game after playing two at home, the Mariners unfortunately came away with less than they deserved.
In what can be easily classed as a very even game, very few chances were created by either side. Both goalies had an easy time with most of their work taking goal kicks and neither were really troubled.
During the game both sides had goals rubbed out for offside calls after VAR reviews. The first was an opportunity for the Mariners that Urena put past the Victory keeper from close range. Unfortunately he was in offside position. The second for Victory in somewhat of a similar situation took 4 minutes to come to a decision that on screen in the telecast looked very straight forward and should not have taken so long.
The referee was again in the spotlight soon after when Nisbet found Bozanic at the top of the Victory penalty box and in a prime position for a long-range shot. Unfortunately, the referee incurred the wrath of Mariners players and fans by getting between Bozanic and the ball, effectively "blocking" Ollie’s run onto the ball.
The Mariners midfielders continued to work hard but were well contained which cut off any supply to Mariners’ forwards Urena and Cummings. The introduction of attacking midfielder Muller appeared to give some more emphasis and urgency but still with no reward.
Late substitutions were made for both teams with those for the Victory giving the home side the desired effect. Playing five minutes of time added on resulted in Victory raiding the Mariners left flank. Deft footwork deceived the normally reliable Lewis Miller. A precise cross to the far post was powerfully headed home between two Mariners defenders by Victory substitute Nishan Velipillay.
This was an unfortunate result given that the game was Josh Nisbet’s 50th appearance for the Yellow and Navy.
Match Summary - 2021/22 Game 10 (19-Feb-2022)
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