So, we start the season with a nil-nil draw but in the context of things you really can’t complain. A fantastic crowd turned up to see a very entertaining game of football and although the atmosphere did die down a little bit at times, overall it was a very enjoyable experience. Given the crowds for the first home games of previous seasons have been around the 18,000-20,000 mark, getting 40,000 at Etihad Stadium last night was brilliant.

Onto the game itself then and some early nerves in the first 10-15 minutes saw Sydney have a few chances to get on the score sheet but the Victory defence held firm. I was surprised to see Billy Celeski in the starting lineup. Whatever he’d done in training to impress Mehmet Durakovic wasn’t replicated on game day as he had a very poor start to the match. His passing and distribution just wasn’t up to scratch as he gave the ball away several times. Based on this performance he shouldn’t be in the starting eleven next week.

As the game went on we started to settle down a little and created a few chances. At least one of those Danny Allsopp should have finished. On 33 minutes Fabio brought down Mark Bridge in the box for what was a clear penalty. Brett Emerton scuffed the spot kick and Ante Covic made a fantastic reflex save, showing even at 36 he’s still got the skills. I was very impressed with Covic’s performance. Given how disappointing Michael Petkovic was last season its understandable many were wary of Covic, but he proved us all wrong. I hope he can keep it up all season as he made several excellent saves last night – most of which the reflexes of Petkovic wouldn’t be able to handle. On top of his performance on the pitch Covic was also very well spoken in the post-match press conference. He showed his professionalism and experience and is taking his move to Melbourne very seriously. Its good to see.

Moving on, and I was delighted with Fabio last night. Apart from giving away a penalty, he was very solid. He made countless interceptions and even beat his man a few times. He has a very good work rate and takes no crap, knowing when to play the ball and when to clear it. If he keeps it up he’ll prove to be a valuable signing. As for the rest of our defence, there were a few shaky moments and close shaves but they didn’t do too badly. If it wasn’t for Covic, and had they been up against a more lethal opposition attack, it could have been worse though.

I was mostly happy with Rojas in this game. He used his pace to his advantage and his ability to run at and beat defenders was on show. I am a little concerned with his attitude though. At times he was a bit lazy, mainly when tracking back and having to defend and also made a few poor decisions. Hopefully he will improve in these areas, but overall a pretty good game.

In the second half we made a few changes with Broxham coming on for Celeski, Cernak for Thompson and eventually Solorzano for Allsopp. I thought Broxham was okay but still has a lot to work on. Cernak was fantastic when he came on and should start the next game. He’s got a great first touch, superb ball control and works hard. As for Allsopp, he was very disappointing last night. He just wasn’t in the game at all and when he did get possession he didn’t do much with it. When Solorzano came on he gave us a big lift in attack. He really showed his quality and we could have used his pace and his great touch earlier in the game. It was unfortunate he didn’t bury a late chance on goal after some great build-up play. For me, he must start the next match.

Lastly, Harry Kewell. Overall a pretty good performance. As always he showed he was a cut above the rest, despite a few poor passes here and there but did manage a few chances on goal, including a nice header that was well saved by Liam Reddy. Once he gets going he’s going to be a very dangerous player in the A-League. When asked about the game he said:

“I thought we had the better chances. Obviously they had the penalty, but I thought we created a lot more chances.”

“It’s disappointing, we wanted to get off to great start especially in front of a crowd like this.”

“It was physical, attack after attack, I’m just looking forward to the next game now.”

So, onto the next game then and its going to be a big test, away, against a very strong Adelaide side on Friday night. Our defensive performance will have to be much better and we’ll need to take our chances when we get them. We will have Carlos Hernandez back which will be a big boost. I actually think we really missed him last night. If we start Solorzano up front and Thompson pulls up okay after his injury we should be right. Well, thats all from me then. Enjoy your week.