Two Sydney, two Melbourne teams and the reigning premiers Perth – after just two rounds it’s already shaping as an A-League top six that many would have predicted pre-season; except one club is missing.
With last season’s bottom sides showing significant improvement, it’s a close competition. There have been no 4-0, 5-0 drubbings, and the league’s nominal 10h and 11th-placed teams have put in excellent performances, albeit without fortune or reward. Add to this the interference of byes – three points for either Newcastle or Brisbane could have them third, instead of sixth and seventh – and there’s a refreshing intrigue to this season already.
Which brings us to Melbourne Victory, and a tale of two 2-1s.
Much has been made of what a Kevin Muscat-less Victory might look like in 2019-20. Inaugural captain for six seasons, assistant or head coach ever since, his combative and at times fractious personality has loomed over this club since its inception.
No shrinking violet himself, Marco Kurz is not a Jim Magilton coming in cold – he has learned the league’s idiosyncrasies and studied its personnel during two impressive seasons with Adelaide United. And yet the signs of “adjustment pains” are already there to be seen.
Overly cautious and lacking a front-third cutting edge, Victory’s opening round derby draw was a cautionary reminder for Kurz – at Adelaide he could be the hunter, at Victory he’ll be the hunted. It’s one thing to set a side up to be defensively resolute and then look to hit in transition, it’s another to take a game by the scruff of its neck: dictate play, control tempo and midfield, and unpick set defences.
In Marcus Babbel in round two, Kurz came up against another defensive-minded coach – and one who almost paid the price for an overly unambitious set-up himself in round one against the unfortunate Mariners. But in round two it was Babbel who seized the initiative.
Switching from his opening round 5-3-2 to a 4-3-3, Babbel pushed Keanu Baccus higher in midfield to press, alongside Nick Sullivan, onto the two holders of Victory’s 4-2-3-1 system. It was a small change, but one that had significant ramifications for the outcome of the game. With two bodies higher and closer to Melbourne’s box opportunities began to favour them – that Baccus’s 25m strike and goal was of the highest quality may have been unexpected. That he was in a position to do so in the first place, was not. For Kurz, simply put, when you’re the coach of Melbourne Victory opponents aren’t allowed to come to your back yard and be allowed to play.
Another engaging 2-1 was played out at Sydney’s Leichhardt Oval, but this time the winners were not perhaps the more deserving side. “On paper, it looks like a serene start to their title defence, but boy were they made to work for it,” match commentator Simon Hill summarised.
For large parts of the second half, hosts Sydney FC were second best against an impressive Wellington Phoenix, whose coach Ufuk Talay, as a former assistant with the champions, was bound to know the tactical thinking of head coach Steve Corica and his key players intimately.
A deflected first goal and an unlikely and almost equally fortuitous looping second from Rhyan Grant were enough though. “Football can be cruel,” rejoined Hill.
And yet there was a sense of inevitability surrounding Sydney’s win – the opener was earned off the back of near-total dominance early on – an inevitability made more stark when seen in contrast to the apparent surety that Victory would fail to win.
The adage goes that champion sides can win when they’re playing poorly. But it’s a non-scientific acknowledgement of intangibles like self-belief, cohesion and team culture. A picture of stability and continuity over past seasons, if Corica stood in the shadow of his predecessor Graham Arnold last season, there’s no question that this is a Corica team now.
Like pets that resemble their owner, FC in 2019-20 are quiet, hardworking, quick-thinking and slick. Setting out their stall in the opening minutes the crisp, one-touch ball movement between Alex Baumjohann, Grant and Adam Le Fondre was exquisite. Sydney’s is a mobile front four, all of whom can create or finish – if Miloš Ninković has a quiet game the threat will come from elsewhere. They may have uncharacteristically invited Wellington back into the contest later on, but this was a 2-1 win anchored in the cohesion, character and culture of the team.
With a raft of new personnel, Victory under Kurz will take some time to gel. Jakob Poulsen looks a recruit of the highest calibre, the talent of Andrew Nabbout and a fit-again Robbie Kruse is well-known. But the balance of the squad has shifted more defensively – like Sydney, in the image of their new coach.
Keisuke Honda is not a man you replace easily. James Troisi is a creator, and perhaps more than either of these, Terry Antonis is that rare A-League unicorn, a midfielder who can work tirelessly both in defence and attack, and still constitute a considerable final-third threat.
The brief outings of Migjen Basha suggest he’s a capable deep-lying playmaker, while Kristijan Dobras has a weight of expectation upon him already, as a seeming three-in-one replacement for Honda, Troisi or Antonis.
Lacking Sydney’s cohesion, the results won’t just drop for Victory. And until they support Ola Toivonen to the level he’s accustomed, they’re a team there for the taking. Which is great news for a more even league, plus one additional team, all raring to make a top-six spot a reward, not a birthright.
