An extra four minutes in stoppage time could not break the Melbourne derby tie, leaving the score deadlocked at 0-0 in a thrilling match at Marvel Stadium.
Andrew Nabbout was the man to watch in the early stages, showing he was ready to take on the derby.
The ninth minute saw the first opportunity for Melbourne Victory to score as Nabbout whipped the ball across the face of the goals to square up for the freshly appointed captain Ola Toivonen.
The ball was excellently defended by Melbourne City’s backline to keep it 0-0.
City then looked to claim the first goal of the derby shortly after as Joshua Brillante made sight of Lachlan Wales, whose shot was narrowly off target.
The excitement quietened for the next period of play as both teams lacked hunger and allowed one another to play with far less energy than was seen in the first 10 minutes.
City captain Scott Jamieson was given a yellow card in the 36th minute for a tousle between himself and Kristijan Dobras.
Storm Roux had Victory fans on the edge of their seats as he struck the ball in the latter stages of the half from Jakob Poulsen’s corner, but it was blocked by Jamieson.
One minute of extra time saw no change to the score as the Melbourne sides went 0-0 after a tense but somewhat underwhelming first half battle.
Opportunities bloomed again for both sides early in the second half as the commitment on the field mirrored what was seen at the start of the game.
Toivonen came extremely close to breaking the deadlock with a shot from afar, but the ball was touched over the bar.
OVERTURNED! A VAR Review has determined Kamsoba was offside so the goal is scratched.
0-0 #MelbDerby #ALeague
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague) October 12, 2019
Victory finally thought they had broken the deadlock through a combined setup play by Nabbout and Toivonen to Elvis Kamsoba.
Kamsoba celebrated what he thought was his first A-League goal with a summersault or five, but a look at VAR had the goal reversed for an off-side call.
With City looking for their opportunity to score, Craig Noone sought the top corner but was stopped by Lawrence Thomas.
Minutes later Thomas saved another on target shot from Connor Metcalfe.
A troubling corner by City in the 85th minute saw subbed on Moudi Najjar take the opportunity to break the tie but an infringement notice saw the ball awarded to Victory.
Four minutes were added with both teams desperate to score and give their team bragging rights for first derby win of the 2019/20 A-League season.
Najjar was given a chance to score but the shot was completely off, heading right over the bar.
With the frustration between both teams intensifying some players exchanged words with each other. Toivonen found himself in the midst of it all and both he and Harrison Delbridge being booked.
The Melbourne sides were left unsatisfied as neither could score before the final siren, leaving the match 0-0 at Marvel Stadium.
Melbourne Victory 0
Melbourne City 0
Marvel Stadium
Attendance: 33,525
Referee: Chris Beath
Assistant Referees: Anton Shchetinin & Ashley Beecham
Fourth Official: Jonathan Barreiro
Melbourne Victory: Lawrence THOMAS (GK), Storm ROUX, James DONACHIE, Leigh BROXHAM, Jakob POULSEN (Migjen BASHA 86′), Andrew NABBOUT, Ola TOIVONEN (C), Thomas DENG, Elvis KAMSOBA, Adama TRAORE (Corey BROWN 75′), Kristijan DOBRAS (Joshua HOPE 69’)
Unused subs: Matthew SUTTON (GK), Benjamin CARRIGAN, Anthony LESIOTIS, Brandon LAUTON
Melbourne City FC: Dean BOUZANIS (GK), Scott GALLOWAY, Scoot JAMIESON (C), Harrison DELBRIDGE, Joshua BRILLANTE, Javier CABRERA, Craig NOONE, Lachlan WALES (Moudi NAJJAR 69’), Adrian LUNA (Ramy NAJJARINE 84′), Curtis GOOD, Connor METCALFE
Unused subs: Thomas GLOVER (GK), Rostyn GRIFFITHS, Nathaniel ATKINSON, Richard WINDBICHLER, Stefan COLAKOVSKI
Feature Image Credit: Ngau Kai Yan
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