An Archie Thompson hat-trick, the third providing the equaliser with 11 minutes remaining, preserved Melbourne Victory’s unbeaten A-League run and ensured the hosts and Sydney shared the points in an exhilarating 3-3 draw in front of more than 25,000 fans at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
Victory led twice in the first period, but the Sky Blues showed plenty of character to level with goals in each half (through Marc Janko and Shane Smeltz) before Smeltz put the visitors in front in the 76th minute.
Graham Arnold’s side, who had played with adventure and purpose, looked as though they might have done enough to return north with all three points, but they hadn’t counted on Thompson having the final say with his third goal of the night and his sixth of the season. It was a potent reminder to any tempted to write him off that despite advancing years the former Socceroos striker can still deliver at critical moments.
Arnold is often regarded as a rather dour, defensive coach, a tactician who prefers to get things sorted out at the back first and then figure out where the goals are going to come from.
In this game he belied his reputation (which is not entirely accurate), fielding a team crammed with attacking intent, determined to take the game to the hosts.
Fortune often favours the brave, and while they didn’t get the three points, Sydney showed that they had bounced back well from their surprise home loss to Perth Glory nine days earlier.
The Sky Blues were the better team in the opening 45 minutes, playing the ball around crisply and neatly, holding possession and working a number of openings. Yet they went to the dressing room at the half-time break 2-1 down, courtesy of two classic Thompson strikes which sandwiched a deftly worked leveller from Janko, even if there was a hint of off-side about the big Austrian’s goal.
The three goals were not the only talking points of an eventful and entertaining opening period, which ended with two Sydney players – Predrag Bojic and Terry Antonis – wearing headbands after sustaining injuries in clashes.
They might have looked like refugees from a 1970s rock band or bit-part players in a sitcom depicting that period, but the way Antonis, in particular, received his wound was no laughing matter. The Sydney midfielder was sent crashing to the ground, blood flowing freely, after being caught by Victory skipper Mark Milligan’s elbow as the two contested the ball in the centre of the field.
Referee Peter Green took no action against the Victory skipper, but replays showed that he had clearly led with his elbow and was probably lucky not to have been shown a red card for the offence.
It is certainly an incident the match review panel may want to scrutinise closely on Monday and Milligan could face a spell on the sidelines.
Thompson certainly punished Sydney in a first-half display in which he rolled back the years. Irrepressible Archie always plays the game with a schoolboy grin on his face, but he is, in fact, now 36 and the end, if not nigh, is surely a couple of seasons away. Not that anyone would have thought so in this game.
His first goal was a classic poacher’s finish, seizing on the rebound after Vedran Janjetovic could only parry Besart Berisha’s shot to give Victory a 12th-minute lead in a move set up by Fahid Ben Khalfallah’s purposeful run down the left flank.
He then struck again two minutes into first-half stoppage time, slotting home a beautifully placed shot from wide on the right after a Kosta Barbarouses run had opened up the Sydney defence.
In between times Sydney had got level through Janko’s 17th-minute goal. The Austrian might have been marginally off-side, but the quality of Smeltz’s delicious back heel which allowed Janko the time and space to place the ball wide of Nathan Coe mitigated against any suggestion that the goal should be ruled out.
Bernie Ibini was causing problems with his loping runs at Victory defenders and forced Coe into a save, having earlier embarked on a slaloming run that provided Alex Brosque with a gilt-edged opportunity that the Sky Blues skipper should have finished, instead of hitting the post.
Sydney’s initiative paid off five minutes into the second half when they drew level once more, this time through prolific goalscorer Smeltz, the Kiwi international who is Thompson’s pursuer at the top of the all time A-League scoring charts.
The tall centre forward was always favourite to win an aeriel battle against diminutive Leigh Broxham, and he duly did when he rose to head home Alex Gersbach’s corner.
The draw means Victory stay second, while Sydney are fourth – and both look to have what it takes to be involved when the title will be decided in five months time.
source: sbs.com.au
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 