Victoria proves A-League men’s power base in NSW horror show

Victoria has proved to be the dominant Australian state when it comes to the men’s A-League, dominating the other Aussie clubs in an embarrassingly one-sided top four.

Victoria's three A-Leagues teams have made the top four.

Socceroos great Robbie Slater and Marco Monteverde discuss Victoria’s domination of the men’s A-League, what they should expect this week, and the statement Sydney FC have made in retaining Ufuk Talay.

Vics flying Aussie flag

If you want any more evidence that Victoria is the dominant Australian state when it comes to the A-League, look no further than the make-up of the semi-finals.

Three of the remaining four teams in contention for the A-League title – Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory and Western United ­– hail from Victoria.

The fourth is New Zealand outfit Auckland FC, the expansion club that has taken the A-League by storm in its first season, having already secured the Premier’s Plate and now chasing the double.

Auckland FC celebrate with the Premiers Plate. Picture: Getty Images

However, City, Victory and United all remain in the title hunt, and that’s more than can be said for the competition’s five NSW clubs.

Of the quintet, only Western Sydney Wanderers made the top-six, and they flopped in last Saturday’s elimination final at CommBank Stadium.

The other four NSW clubs ­– Sydney FC, Macarthur FC, Newcastle Jets and Central Coast Mariners – all had disappointing seasons.

Star-studded Sydney’s failure to live up to pre-season expectations has been well documented, while the Mariners fall from grace has been astonishing.

Joseph Lolley’s Sydney FC failed to deliver on their pre-season promise. Picture: Getty Images

Having last season won a treble ­– the A-League premiership and championship, and the AFC Cup – the Mariners’ spectacular fall from grace culminated this week in Darwin when they lost 3-2 to wooden spooners Perth Glory to miss out on a place in this year’s Australia Cup.

Under the ownership of Mike Charlesworth, the Mariners are an absolute mess and it’s hard not to feel sorry for coach Mark Jackson, who deserves much more support from Charlesworth than he’s getting.

Overall, NSW clubs have plenty of work ahead of them if they are to catch up to the standard set by Victoria’s three clubs this season.

Victory must seize moment

The onus will be on Melbourne Victory to make the running in Saturday night’s semi-final first-leg clash against Auckland FC at AAMI Park.

Auckland has the luxury of playing the semi-final second leg at home at a packed Go Media Stadium, where it will be extremely difficult for the Victory.

Knowing that, the Black Knights, already the A-League’s most organised and structured team under the expert tutelage of former Sydney FC championship-winning Steve Corica, will be happy to sit back, hit the Victory on the counter attack and at the very least, avoid defeat.

The Victory must find a way to break down Auckland in the first-leg.

Kasey Bos and the Victory must break down Auckland FC in the first leg. Picture: Getty Images

There’s no doubt they have the players to secure a first-leg win.

Daniel Arzani was superb in last weekend’s 2-1 win over Western Sydney, while his Socceroos teammate Nishan Velupillay also has the skill to hurt the Black Knights

And let’s not forget Frenchman Zinedane Machach, whose combination of power, skill and nous is perhaps what the Black Knights should be fearing the most ahead of Saturday night’s battle.

The Victory will also take some comfort from last season’s finals series in which they were also involved in a two-legged semi-final against Kiwi opposition.

On that occasion it was Wellington, and even though the first-leg finished in a 0-0 draw at AAMI Park, the Victory were able to beat the Phoenix 2-1 in the second-leg at Sky Stadium to advance to the grand final.

However, while the Phoenix were good last season, the Black Knights have been better in their maiden A-League campaign.

Therefore, anything less than a win for the Victory on Saturday night almost certainly won’t be enough when they attempt to finish the job in Auckland next weekend.

No home advantage

Expect a completely different semi-final first-leg clash on Friday night between Western United and Melbourne City.

Melbourne City celebrates a goal. Picture: Getty Images

Unlike the Victory-Auckland battle, neither United nor City will have a distinct home advantage in either leg as both are being played at AAMI Park.

While the venue is City’s home ground, it also used to be United’s home, and it’s a place where United beat City in the 2022 grand final.

While that was a few years ago, United will have no fears about playing at AAMI Park despite them having wanted to play their home leg at Ironbark Fields.

With neither side having a genuine home advantage, expect the first-leg to be a cagey affair that will perhaps suit City more considering their style of play.

Noah Botic fired Western United hom in the elimination final against Adelaide United. Picture: Getty Images

United love to attack, which may leave them exposed. However, United coach John Aloisi will ensure that his side doesn’t go overboard in attack and run the risk of leaving themselves too much to do in the second-leg.

Aloisi’s men showed in their recent 1-0 win over Sydney FC that they can also grind out a victory, and such a performance is what they might need on Friday night.

Talay’s tough task

Sydney FC sent out some mixed messages this week in announcing the retention of coach Ufuk Talay.

Sky Blues chief executive officer Mark Aubrey spoke of Sydney’s “long-term strategy”.

And that’s fine, but if that’s the case, why only offer Talay a one-year deal?

The answer was provided later in Sydney’s official statement when Aubrey said: “Winning trophies is a must for Sydney FC.”

Therefore, the reality is that if the Sky Blues start next season poorly, Talay will be gone.

Originally published as Victoria proves A-League men’s power base in NSW horror show