Defeat for Victory, sky’s the limit for Sydney
At the same stadium that Port Adelaide propose to take an AFL match next year, Melbourne Victory last night suffered a power outage in its Asian Champions League quest – but Sydney FC have won through to the competition’s knockout stage for the first time.
South Korea's Suwon Samsung Bluewings FC players celebrate after their side's second goal while Gamba Osaka striker Takashi Uami looks forlorn. The loss sent Gamba crashing out of the ACL in the first round - a boon for Sydney FC.
The Sky Blues are certain of reaching the last 16, with Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande defeating Pohang Steelers of Korea 2-0, meaning Sydney’s points’ haul of nine cannot be bettered by either side.
But Victory’s ACL dreams will now come down to the last day after a 3-1 loss to group leaders Shanghai SIPG.
Just four days after their A-League finals exit, Victory were undone by the mega-money Chinese Super League side, who scored first-half goals through Yu Hai and Elkeson.
A handball against Scott Galloway allowed Dario Conca to score a penalty after the break before Victory subsitutes Jason Geria and Jesse Makarounas combined for a 80th minute consolation goal.
The result means Victory has a final chance to join Sydney FC in qualifying to the knockout phase when they host Gamba Osaka on May 3.
Graham Arnold’s side clinched their passage to the last 16 on Tuesday night when China’s Guangzhou Evergrande defeated Pohang Steelers of South Korea, leaving both sides unable to overhaul the Sky Blues’ points tally.
Should Victory win their home tie with J-League heavyweights Gamba, 2-1 losers to Suwon Bluewings on Tuesday night, they will also progress.
Victory will relish a fortnight to prepare for the match after two deflating defeats to Brisbane Roar and now Shanghai in succession.
Kevin Muscat’s men looked comfortable as they searched for an opener, coming closest when Kosta Barbarouses rocketed a loose ball onto the corner frame of the goal.
Carl Valeri, on his ACL debut, helped Victory win the midfield battle – but on 38 minutes they fell victim to a sucker punch.
Wu Lei, who scored against Victory in their earlier meeting, again popped up at the back post to knock down a cross for Yu’s tap-in.
A minute later, Elkeson doubled their advantage.
Star winger Wu was again involved, crossing for the Brazilian striker to half-volley past a powerless Lawrence Thomas.
Despite the 65th minute penalty, Victory continued to push on and had some scoreboard reward when Geria cut back for Makarounas’ finish.
85' Jesse Makarounas hits the side netting. We're certainly not going down without a fight #SHAvMEL 3-1 #MVFC pic.twitter.com/LVc0PKHvfX
— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) April 19, 2016
Sven Goran Eriksson’s side would not be breached again, locking up top spot in Group G with the result.
-AAP
