The story was always about Ange Postecoglou in his final A-League match at Melbourne Victory but it was James Troisi who stole the show with an impressive second half goal in the home side’s 1-0 win over Brisbane Roar at the Etihad Stadium on Friday night. Postecoglou, who is off to lead the Socceroos, claimed victory as Troisi nutmegged Michael Theo in the 56th minute for the only goal of a compelling match between two of the league’s most entertaining clubs.
Ange Postecoglou wins Melbourne Victory send off against Brisbane Roar
James Troisi’s 56th minute goal was enough to send the Victory manager off to the Socceroos with a win in his final game.
Quinn Rooney
Both sides started brightly, pinging passes all over the pitch. Mitch Nichols was heavily involved for the Victory while Shane Stefanutto’s overlapping runs on the left gave the Roar options from wide on the left. After a strong opening half-hour for the home side, Brisbane settled in and used patient build-up play through Liam Miller and Thomas Broich to put Melbourne under pressure. Kwame Yeboah’s 42nd minute shot was the climax of that period of the game but Nathan Coe saved and kept the score 0-0 at half-time.
A nice recovery from Brisbane was disrupted in the 53rd minute when Luke Brattan was forced off with a knee injury after a heavy challenge from Adrian Leijer. Three minutes later, Troisi collected a ball from Archie Thompson, touched heavily toward the end line and slipped a shot between the legs of Theo. While the Brisbane goalkeeper was probably unwise to come so far off his line, the shot was well deserving of a goal.
Two terrific chances came at the hour as Theo leapt to deny Nichols a goal against his former team while Coe responded immediately, producing a diving save to keep the ever dangerous Ivan Franjic from equalizing. The final half hour saw five subs and a reduction in overall quality, leaving far fewer chances for either side. In the end, Troisi’s goal stood and Postecoglou got a win over his former club.
The Roar return home after dropping their first points of the season and will host Melbourne Heart on Sunday November 3 at Suncorp Stadium. Kevin Muscat will be in charge for his first game on Monday November 4 as the Victory host Wellington Phoenix at the Etihad Stadium.
Video highlights via Fox Sports Australia:
Scoring:
MVC Troisi (Thompson) 56’
Line-ups:
Melbourne Victory: Coe; Traore, Ansell, Leijer, Geria (Galloway 86’); Broxham, Milligan; Troisi (Finkler 66’), Nichols (Pain 82’); Thompson, Barbarouses
Unused subs: Thomas, Mahazi
Brisbane Roar: Theo; Stefanutto, Smith, North, Hingert; McKay, Brattan (Petratos 53’), Miller (Henrique 67’); Broich, Yeboah (Brown 82’), Franjic
Unused subs: Acton, Donachie
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