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At the most recent Melbourne derby we witnessed scenes nobody saw coming. Stunned spectators at AAMI Park and watching at home were left disgusted and in complete shock.
Before kick-off, fans across the league did not take very well the APL’s decision to move the next three grand finals in Sydney.
This caused anger to boil over, especially on social media, where protests were organised to have the voices of those who matter most, the supporters, heard.
Melbourne Victory’s active support group confirmed they would walk out of the stadium after 20 minutes. Instead, a handful decided to selfishly bring the game into disrepute and tarnish the reputation and legacy of the game here by running onto the field during play and throwing a metal bucket at Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover.
Tom Glover picks up a flare to remove it from the pitch. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Despite Glover throwing flares back at the Victory crowd and City fans launching their own flares onto the pitch, there is no excuse for the repulsive behaviour of the Victory individuals. They have no right to be referred to as fans.
Fast-forward to February and not much has changed on the field between the two sides since then.
Victory still finds themselves in all sorts of trouble. They have managed to pick up only a dismal four wins in 15 games and currently sit dead last on the table.
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Last season seems like a distant memory, as Tony Popovic is struggling for new ideas to fix the leaks and holes across the starting 11.
On the contrary, nothing could be more disparate than Melbourne City’s incredible season so far. The 2021 champions have undoubtedly produced the best football this country has seen since the A-League’s inception back in 2005.
Crisp passing, quick movement and an exciting attacking style of play are what make this team so enjoyable to watch every week.
Quality players help, with Jamie Maclaren arguably the most important piece to their puzzle with a phenomenal goalscoring record. The 29-year-old has already accumulated 16 goals in 15 appearances this campaign.
The unfortunate departure of former manager Patrick Kisnorbo has not derailed City one bit, which is a real credit to them.
(Chris Putnam/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Caretaker coach Rado Vidosic has let the team flow and hasn’t needed to tweak a lot of aspects, which proves just how well-drilled City is in its structure.
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On Saturday, Victory and City will meet for the 40th time in what always promises to be a classic. The old saying is true about form going out the window for these types of games, as Popovic’s men demonstrated last year in their unexpected 3-0 riot over City.
Things are a bit different this time, however.
It is no secret that Victory are lacking a clear identity compared to last season, when they were a breath of fresh air for the A-League after their recent struggles before Popovic’s arrival.
Now the midfield is non-existent and the link-up play just isn’t fluent enough to create clear-cut scoring opportunities.
Signings like former City star Bruno Fornaroli and Tomi Juric are short-term fixes to cover the underlying issues in what represents a far bigger problem at the club.
For how terrible Victory has been, the forthcoming matchup will ultimately be dictated and decided by City with their overall quality. They may still be scrambling off the pitch to increase spectator numbers, but on the pitch they have an identity.
Will the City players be fired up and extra motivated after the events that took place a couple of months ago? The answer has to be a definite yes.
Besides the point of Victory being designated as the home team on Saturday, the atmosphere just won’t be the same due to the bans still in place as well as them not performing whatsoever.
Tom Glover will no doubt have a point to prove in between the sticks. A physical and demanding battle awaits for what should be more than a fiery encounter with the memory of that horrific incident sure to be in the back of their minds.
As if Melbourne City required further incentive to rub salt into the wounds of their arch-rivals.
We could possibly see a reaction from the Victory squad as it is such a massive fixture on the calendar. That reaction is unlikely to hold up throughout the full 90 minutes.
Just like the embarrassing 7-0 demolition a couple of years ago, it could get quite ugly. Don’t be surprised.
