Over the past eight games between Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United, the tally stands Melbourne 8, Adelaide 0. I’d hate to be an Adelaide supporter.
I would literally be tearing my hair out, punching the bed, slamming doors, kicking the cat, and quite probably losing friends and alienating anyone I knew in Melbourne.
I should qualify that I have nothing against Adelaide; I’m actually a fan. They’re an honest team with some good players, they play good football and in Aurelio Vidmar have one of the best young coaches in the country.
But to lose eight games in a row to the same team – a run that includes two major semi-finals and a grand final (let’s not even go back to the infamous 2007 drubbing).
Last night, Adelaide were by no means a bad team. In fact, they dominated possession for much of the second half and came close to drawing level – only for a late lapse of concentration to let defender Adrian Leijer to score a simple third for Melbourne.
Does Victory coach Ernie Merrick have too much nous for Vidmar? Perhaps it’s a mental block, or a conditioned emotional response to the sight of Kevin Muscat? They certainly wouldn’t be the first…
It’s a microcosm of the masochistic addiction to football; it doesn’t matter how much pain you endure, you keep coming back full of hope. You can’t get enough. It’s the sore tooth you can’t stop poking with your tongue. And, boy, do Adelaide need a dentist.
Goal of the week: two goal strikes from Melbourne 19-year-old Mate Dugandzic look to herald a new star for the A-League.
Talking point of the week: Robbie Fowler’s quickly taken free-kick. Should it have stood?
What to say to sound like you know something about the A-League: “In Labinot Haliti and Michael Bridges, the Newcastle Jets have some excellent technique upfront.”
Game to watch this week: Perth Glory v Melbourne Victory. Could decide who’s on top after 13.
And the EPL in a sentence: Chelsea’s 5-0 spanking of Blackburn gives them the look of like title-favourites – but can Man Utd lay Liverpool’s season to rest? (As a born and bred Liverpool man, I’ll be up at 1am, waiting for more pain…)
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