JDL MEDIA

110 days after its abandonment, the ‘Christmas’ Derby will finally be completed on Wednesday evening and, while he’s incredulous at the circumstances that have led to this moment, Melbourne Victory coach Tony Popovic believes his side is in a better place now compared to when the fixture kicked off. 

As decreed by Football Australia, tomorrow’s fixture between Victory and City will resume with a drop ball to City keeper Tom Glover with the clock at 21:00 and the former leading 1-0 thanks to an 11th-minute goal from Aiden O’Neill, approximately replicating the moment the game was initially forced to be abandoned due to supporters of the former storming the field. 

The repercussions for that pitch invasion, which left five people injured and led to Glover being hospitalised after a bucket was thrown in his face, have been wide-reaching; Victory was hit with numerous restrictions on crowds, financial penalties, and left with a suspended points deduction hanging over their head for several seasons. 

Those penalties, however, did not include the forfeiting of the derby, leading to Wednesday’s bizarre resumption. 

“It is strange that we are not starting at zero,” said Popovic. “When a game gets called off in the first half, you don’t expect that game to restart after 20 minutes. So that’s surprising for me. 

“But that’s the decision that the hierarchy has made and we have to respect that decision and just get on with the job at hand.”

If Victory is somehow able to overturn the deficit and earn a point, they will move to within three points of the finals places with a month remaining in the season. Should they go one better and find a way to eke out a win, they will sit just a point back of sixth-placed Sydney FC and possess a goal difference at least four better than any of their rivals sitting sixth through twelve. 

With their season on the line, Popovic’s side was able to secure successive wins for the first time this weekend by following up a 2-0 win over the Central Coast Mariners with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over the Wellington Phoenix. 

Across from them, City will start as warm favourites but, nonetheless, with a rather tepid form line: coming off back-to-back frustrating 1-1 draws in which they had plenty of the ball but not a lot of end product. In addition, the two-time defending premiers have seen their buffer at the top of the table reduced to two points by Adelaide United’s eleven-game undefeated run. 

Coach Rado Vidosic’s side is expected to again be without the services of Mat Leckie and Richard van der Venne for Wednesday and likely also be without defender Nuno Reis after he was forced off early in Sunday’s game against Newcastle with a groin injury. 

Victory, conversely, will welcome back striker Fernando Romero from a one-game suspension and are hopeful that defender Jason Geria will be able to contribute after missing their win over the Phoenix. 

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Romero, of course, wasn’t on the books of the four-time A-League Men champions when the derby fixture initially kicked off. Neither was defender Damien Da Silva or midfielder Connor Chapman, and striker Bruno Fornaroli had only recently joined from Perth Glory and was nowhere near close to the form or fitness he is now at. 

They will all be able to feature without restrictions on Wednesday according to Popovic, who couldn’t recreate a starting lineup from that night that featured Nicholas D’Agostino and Nani even if he wanted to. 

“I think we’re in better condition now. I think at that point the team was very different,” he said. “We had a lot of injuries and players that weren’t in physical shape to really play at the level that we expect. 

“Now we feel that the team is strong, the players that have come in have made a difference. So the team has changed a lot. We feel the last six odd weeks we’ve been able to be more consistent. 

“Recently we’ve picked up two very important results. We believe that tomorrow we can carry on and improve our performance again. If we do that, I believe we can win the game.”

Da Silva, in particular, has been a vital addition to Victory since his arrival in January, forming a strong central defensive pairing with Roderick Miranda and popping up with the winning goal against the Phoenix last week. 

“He’s undoubtedly showing the quality that he has,” said the Victory boss. “Showing it off the field [as well], he’s been a leader his whole career, he’s been a captain in France. He’s been a welcome addition on and off the park. 

“In difficult moments, he’s really stood up and led from the front. He’s a fantastic player. 

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_{Header Image Credit: Melbourne Victory}