Melbourne City showed why they’re on top of the league, Melbourne Victory showed why they are not and, most importantly, the fans stayed off the pitch as the two clubs completed their game from December 17 on Wednesday night.
Socceroos midfielder Aiden O’Neill added a second goal to his strike from last December to seal a 2-1 win for City in a game some had thought should never be restarted after it was halted following a pitch invasion which put Victory, the A-Leagues competition and crowd behaviour under intense scrutiny.
Double joy: Aiden O’Neill celebrates his remarkable brace.Credit:Getty Images
The impact of the invasion is still being felt by the Victory who are still counting the cost both at the box office and from sanctions they received from Football Australia following the invasion.
As of January 25, Victoria Police had identified 46 people connected with the pitch invasion and have charged 35 of them with the others facing various penalties and fines.
Football Australia has handed various bans to a number of those people ranging from life to a number of years with more expected as the legal process for each person is completed.
The atmosphere was far more muted than previous derbies and while the active groups chanted as usual, the bulk of the crowd watched on, perhaps absorbing the unusual occasion of a game restarting rather than starting.
On December 17, the feeling at the ground was one of fury, the sounds of fireworks being fired off and the glow of flares – this night was the opposite, the closest it came was early in the second half when someone dropped some crockery in the corporate suites and it smashed against the cement ground.
The match resumed at 1-0 and in the 21st minute amid a chorus of boos from the Victory’s far diminished active supporters who are now stationed at the back of the stand, their target was City keeper Tom Glover who had a bucket of sand thrown at his head at the start of the pitch invasion.
O’Neill was the lone goal-scorer in December and he was one of the players who remained on the field for Wednesday night’s resumption although he picked up a yellow card early on for a late tackle.
City’s Andrew Nabbout prepares to cross down the right-hand side.Credit:Getty Images
Neither side created many chances in the 26 or so minutes played until half-time although Glover gave the Victory fans more to boo about when he made a brilliant reflex save low to his right to stop a Bruno Fornaroli shot that was destined for the bottom corner.
City took their 1-0 lead into half-time but on 58 minutes they doubled their advantage when Victory made a loose pass in defence which was intercepted with O’Neill bolting into the box and cracking home the goal.
O’Neill scored in the 11th minute of December 17 and made his brace, 110 days apart, when he powered home a shot on 57 minutes – the now Socceroos midfielder remains in rich form for City.
Fornaroli almost scored a stunning volley midway through the second half but goal-bound volley was blocked by City’s defence.
Victory’s effort was there but they struggled to create the chances they needed to get back into the match but on 89 minutes Bruce Kamau broke down the right flank and beat the off-side trap before crossing low to Nishan Velupillay who scored from close range.
Stefan Nigro could have drawn the match in injury time but his shot went just over the crossbar.
Glover had the last say, catching a Victory corner and sending the ball into the night sky.
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