Ten-man Victory held to stalemate against Mariners
Still yet to win an A-League game in 2026-27, while also losing to Persib Bandung in the AFC Champions League Two on Wednesday, Melbourne Victory returned to AAMI Park with hopes their luck was finally about to change. With a fellow winless side in the opposing dugout, the Central Coast Mariners, it seemed like the perfect chance for the Victory to turn their season around.
But despite high expectations, it couldn't have been a worse start for the home side. A long ball was floated right into the path of Ali Auglah in the thirteenth minute, who broke free of the Victory defense. Auglah was in prime position to score his second goal of the season, but was illegally cleaned out by Harry Shillington.
It may have saved a goal, but it also meant that Shillington wouldn't take any further part in the action. If Victory were going to win, they'd have to do it with ten men.
Throughout the remainder of the first half, Central Coast used the advantage in players to make life very difficult for the Victory defense. Jack Duncan stayed strong in goal, but it was far from an ideal first half for Giovanni Savarese.
The first half ended 0-0, and it was Central Coast who'll have been the more annoyed of the two teams at not being able to find a breakthrough.
Eventually, the dam broke. Ali Auglah continued to cause trouble, this time playing in Oli Lavale, who found the back of the net in style on the half-volley. It may have taken 63 minutes, but Central Coast had the lead.
With their backs against the wall, Victory surged forward for an equaliser. And it only took six minutes to find it.
After recieving a pass from Charles Nduka, Jordi Valadon fired at Andrew Redmayne's net from outside the net. Redmayne read it well but had no chance of keeping it out, and the ten-man Victory now were back on level terms.
Despite being second-best all day and having one player less than their opponents, it was Victory who were the stronger of the two sides after Valadon's goal. The home fans willed them on, but to no avail, as Redmayne and his defense stayed strong.
Both teams entered today hoping for their first A-League win of the season. In the end, they both left without it.
Despite losing the lead, Mariners boss John Hutchinson believe that today was an excellent learning opportunity for his younger players.
"I need them to make mistakes to develop and grow. We're talking about young athletes, young footballers that we send out all the time to play. Diesel Harrington, for instance, 22 years old, but only played 24 A-League games. He's seeing stuff that he hasn't seen before. Chris Donnell, I think 16 A-League games. Haine (Eames) he has (41) A-League games. These boys are in situations that is, I think, excellent for the league. I want them to be defined. I want them to go and believe in themselves. I want them to go and try to press teams off the park and run teams off the park."
Meanwhile, Victory manager Giovanni Savarese was proud of how his team saw out the game despite being down a man.
"Unfortunately, there's a goal given that we shouldn't have (conceded). But after that, I thought that we reacted very well. We went forward, we created chances. And even towards the end, there was the feeling that we could have won the game with ten men. There was that feeling in which we completely took over the game and we were trying to go for the win. So very proud for the performance, although I'm not happy because we want three points."
Now, Victory look for revenge against Persib Bandung on Wednesday in their continental tournament, before turning their attention to a clash away from home against Adelaide United on Sunday. Meanwhile, Central Coast prepare for the final leg of a three-game road trip against Sydney FC on Friday.
