Melbourne crashed to a 4-1 defeat in Adelaide tonight despite having a period of dominance at only 2-1 down early in the second half.

Adelaide proved far too strong in the end however, you can read the full match report here.

Travis Dodd, no stranger to scoring against Melbourne was the tormentor-in-chief with a double.

Melbourne fans will be far more focused on their own team, frustratingly bad through the midfield with Carlos Hernandez particularly lacklustre.

Ernie Merrick rang the changes from the bench but Adrian Caceres and Daniel Vasilevski proved ineffective while Kaz Patafta's small stature is proving a serious hurdle to him having an impact in this league.

Sound negative? It's just a product of the high standards Melbourne fans seem to be setting. After a frustrating opening five games of the year (all draws) it looked as though Melbourne had turned the corner with two straight wins.

Now the team must re-focus on consolidating its spot in the top four after this wake-up call defeat.

If it's any consolation Archie Thompson did take his one chance for the match well with a neat finish, but Melbourne just couldn't produce attacking chances.

After a reasonable game last week Matthew Kemp put in the proverbial 'mare against his former club, his night getting off to a bad start with a nasty challenge and then second foul earning a yellow card within three minutes.

Victory is likely to take a hit from this defeat and a home fixture against Perth next week is a double-edged sword.

On one hand, Victory will be facing the least talented and cohesive unit in the A-League.

But that will only raise expectations of a win - and Perth are notorious for closing Melbourne down regardless of the defenders at its disposal.

Until next time, come on Melbourne.

Sydney were eliminated from the Asian Champions League this evening after drawing 0-0 away to the Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan. It officially ends Australia's involvement in the competition, Adelaide's dead-rubber game against Dong Tam Long An of Vietnam a 3-0 win courtesy of a Travis Dodd hat-trick.

 The focus on Sydney's exit won't get a great deal of coverage, given it fell on the same night as State of Origin rugby league, but it's likely that what will be said will be sympathetic to the Bling's cause. Sydney should be disappointed that they couldn't find a way through against a Urawa team only mildly interested in winning the match, and succeeding with a safety first approach.

Sydney's best two chances of the match were poles apart in terms of quality. In the second half David Carney hit the outside of the post with a brilliant left-footed shot from outside of the area. David Zdrilic's miss in the first half was considerably less impressive. Unmarked ten yards from goal, Zdrilic headed a cross from the right flank nowhere near the goal. How heavily that miss is criticised may be swept away by the "brave" Sydney team, who stood up to an always-singing throng of Urawa fans, and seemed less than daunted by the atmosphere and occasion.

 In other A-League news, Melbourne finally signed off on a new stadium agreement today at the Olympic Park site. For now, it will be opened in 2009 with a seating capacity of 31,000 seats. The debate about "safe standing" seems set to continue, with a chance the actual capacity of the venue may be around the 35,000 mark by the time the stadium opens. And in a win for the club, an agreement was reached where blockbuster games can be moved to the Telstra Dome - although one hopes that by 2009 the A-League season will be longer than 21 home and away games (meaning today's breakdown of 7 at OP and 5 at the Dome will be irrelevant).

 And keep an eye on the Australian page at OleOle because the "revenge" friendly between Australia and Uruguay is coming soon.

It's been a good week for football in Australia, Sydney drawing 2-2 with Urawa Reds and Adelaide beating Dong Tam 2-0 in the Champions League. But the entire nation will take far more interest in Saturday's friendly between the national team and China.

 It won't be the strongest Australian team taking the field, far from it, but with coach Graham Arnold still considered an interim manager by the fanbase, a good performance against Asian opposition could allay some fears going into the Nations Cup in the upcoming european offseason.

Worryingly, some star Socceroos such as Mark Viduka and Lucas Neill have criticised future friendlies against Uruguay and Argentina to be played in Sydney and Melbourne respectively in June. It's ridiculous that the word "boycott" is even being used. While the club-vs-country debate is an old chestnut, the chance to play in front of 180,000 fans against two of the most decorated teams in the world sems unrefusable.

In Melbourne, the Victory have undergone some changes to their squad, with the likes of Mark Byrnes and Simon Storey leaving to pursue their careers elsewhere. Brazillian recruit Fred has also left the club, apparently on his way to DC United in America.

 And finally, the FFA have decided New Zealand will get their third crack at a franchise in Australia's national league, this time from the city of Wellington. No name or concrete player details about the team yet, and opinion is still very much divided about whether it will be third time lucky, or third strike and out for the Kiwis.

 

I may not have seen it, but I do believe it! The Victory have scored their first goals at Hindmarsh Stadium, and recorded an impressive 3-1 win over Adelaide United. Although most of Melbourne got their pay tv back by mid afternoon, my coverage was still down and out at kickoff, and my only basis for analysis of the game has been the descriptions of SEN radio’s Michael Zappone and Paul Trimboli. You can read a match report here.

Whenever Melbourne look like they’ve reverted to the bad habits of last season, and the “slide” has started, they do something to break the trend, and that something is take goalscoring chances when they present. The finishing of last season’s villain Danny Allsopp is the reason Melbourne fans are seeing more goals hit the net, Allsopp is now a hero, up to 9 goals for the season, triple his tally of 3 from 2005/6. Just when it looked like the Victory were going to succumb to 15 solid minutes of second half Adelaide pressure and go 2-1 down, a quick transition of play saw them 2-1 up (from the boot of Allsopp) against the run of play.

Tonight’s win was sweetened for Melbourne by the pathetic run Adelaide are on at the moment, a three game losing streak and a guarantee of ultra-veteran Romario starting their next two games. John Kosmina was tactically hamstrung tonight; the dismissal of Robert Bajic meant Travis Dodd was the sacrificial lamb, when a non-guest star of Romario’s age would have been the obvious man to sub off for the new goalkeeper. If Adelaide takes football like tonight’s foul-heavy and card riddled rubbish into Asia, the only reason Melbourne won’t be in the Champions League in 2008 will be the fact Australian clubs have been relegated to the Confederations or President’s Cup.

The win means Melbourne go into next Friday’s fixture against Sydney FC with top spot very nearly wrapped up. Although they’d need results to go their way to seal top of the table next week, it is a formality that the remaining rounds will see Melbourne take the minor premiership. I said it last weekend, and I’ll stress it again, if you’re not a member, pre-book a ticket! It’s being rumoured that 37,000 of the 52,000 odd seats inside Telstra Dome are already spoken for.

There is some big news breaking at the lower levels of Victorian football, with the state federation announcing the V-League would be launched in 2008. A restructure of the current Vodafone Cup league in which stadium requirements, board and admin requirements, salary cap, and league size will all be overhauled. While this proposal will have no effect on the Victory in the near future, its long term effects in terms of attracting the best 2nd tier professionals and best youth prospects to the state could be profound. Here’s hoping the bickering about the “ethnicity” of the 12 clubs ultimately chosen to play in the league doesn’t alienate potential fans, only attracted to the game by the transparency of the A-League and Victory.

So, for everyone not in Melbourne next Friday, get on the internet and go to SEN radio for the match call from Zapper and Trimmers, and read live text commentary courtesy of yours truly on the Victory website. Kickoff 8pm Melbourne time.

And you can always read what the most passionate fans have to speak about on the Victory Forum.