The first Monday night game in Hyundai A-League history saw Melbourne Victory claiming a 3-0 triumph over the New Zealand Knights at Olympic Park on October 10, as the visitors were again given the cold shoulder by the friend no-one can do without, Lady Luck. The bottom-placed side's ill fortune came early in the game, after the opening exchanges had seen the battle for midfield supremacy taking precedence ahead of anything remotely resembling something to truly test the respective goalkeepers, Melbourne's Eugene Galekovic and recalled Knights' custodian Danny Milosevic. But when the visitors' acting captain, Neil Emblen, went down in a challenge and struggled to get up again quickly, alarm bells rang swiftly in the Knights' camp. And with good reason, for a brief attempt to run off the knee injury he had incurred proved fruitless, the former Walsall man hobbled off, the treatment table likely to become a familiar sight to him during the thick end of the next two months. It was a blow from which the Knights struggled to recover, and by the time they showed signs of doing so, they were a goal behind. After Darren Bazeley had headed clear a teasing Kristian Sarkies free-kick on the quarter-hour, and Milosevic had smothered a Danny Allsopp drive soon afterwards, the visitors' defence was unlocked by a well-conceived 23rd minute raid. Andy Vlahos picked out Allsopp's diagonal run in behind the defence with a measured ball forward, which the striker took on his stride. Emblen's replacement, John Tambouras, came across to cover, but Allsopp checked his run and steered the ball inside into the path of Austrian international Richard Kitzbichler, who was arriving at pace. He lashed a first-time twenty-yarder high into the top far corner of the net, Milosevic rendered helpless by a fine strike. The Knights looked to respond with a few raids of their own, but the bulk of their efforts foundered on the lack of support afforded the hard-working Sean Devine in attack. All too often he was the lone man in the penalty area when the ball was delivered from, particularly, Steve Fitzsimmons' flank, but Melbourne's tall timber swiftly snuffed out those threats, invariably through sheer weight of numbers. The one occasion in the first spell when the visitors did vary their approach came on the half-hour, when a Naoki Imaya pass was greedily pounced on by Fitzsimmons, who ran at Melbourne's defence and cheekily nutmegged Simon Storey before seeing his cross deflected into the side-netting. But generally it was Melbourne on top throughout the first spell, and after Allsopp had been impeded by Bazeley as he pursued a Michael Ferrante through ball which Tambouras tidied up, the home team came close to doubling their advantage twice before the interval. Kevin Muscat joined the attack in the 36th minute before playing the ball wide to Kitzbichler. The goalscorer whipped in an early cross which deceived all-comers, including Vlahos, off whom the ball ricocheted through to Milosevic. If that was a good chance, the one the home team created three minutes later was a belter! Steve Pantelidis and Muscat linked with Kitzbichler, whose cross was blocked. The rebound fell to Muscat, who drilled the ball into the danger zone, where an instinctive flick by Allsopp, who had darted in behind the Knights' back-four, brought a fine reflex save from Milosevic, who was able to prevent the same player from

turning home the rebound. The Knights finished the half with a flourish - Galekovic plucked an angled Fitzsimmons cross off the head of Noah Hickey - and began the second spell in tremendous fashion, intent on putting into full effect the words of wisdom coach John Adshead effused during the interval. But try as they might, the ball just would not run for them. In the 49th minute, Ronnie Bull's ball forward was flicked on by Devine for Joshua Rose, who lashed a left-foot volley goalwards. But Galekovic produced a fine save to turn this effort round the post, and was at his best again seconds later, racing off his line to close down Devine, as the striker nipped in behind the Melbourne defence to latch onto another ball from Bull. The Knights' fullback was in the thick of the action again in the 53rd minute, as he copped a Vlahos drive flush in the face, while three minutes later, he was beaten by Kitzbichler en route to the lone goalscorer thus far forcing a solid save from Milosevic, who turned this effort round the post. Two goals in two minutes just after the hour mark killed off the game as a contest. The first, in the 62nd minute, saw Muscat cut in from the right wing and play a lovely one-two with substitute Ricky Diaco before planting a peach of a low drive beyond Milosevic. Two minutes later, the substitute was celebrating, Diaco scrambling home from close range after Pantelidis had played the ball out wide to Kitzbichler, and the striker had cut inside at pace and whipped in a low cross which Allsopp failed to capitalise on. The striker was relieved to find Diaco on his shoulder, and he squeezed the ball past Milosevic - 3-0. The contest over, Melbourne looked to bolster their advantage still further before the finish, but it was only late in the piece that they managed to stretch the Knights again, the visitors having defended well in the interim, while seeking out a goal of their own which never came. Zenon Caravella's thunderous stoppage time volley was the closest the Knights came to a goal in the time which remained, while after Allsopp had gone close after linking with Diaco, the game's outstanding individual, Kitzbichler, only just failed to score what would have been a memorable solo goal with virtually the last kick of the match. Setting off from half-way, he charged at the Knights' rearguard, and kept on trucking as they continued to stand off. He got to the edge of the penalty area before looking to steer the ball across Milosevic, but the 'keeper parried the effort, and Bull was on hand to clear the danger. 3-0 was Melbourne's lot, however, a win which takes them to within two points of the lead in third place, to the delight of the bulk of the 11010 present. Such heady heights are a long way off as far as the Knights are concerned, given they remain four points adrift at the bottom of the table, and in need of a favourable change in fortune sooner rather than later. Melbourne:     Galekovic; Muscat, Claeys (booked, 25, Leijer, Storey (Lia, 79); Ferrante, Pantelidis, Sarkies (Byrnes, 46), Vlahos (Diaco, 54); Allsopp, Kitzbichler Knights:     Milosevic; Fitzsimmons, Bazeley (booked, 87), Emblen (Tambouras, 16), Bull; Imaya (Maguire, 70), Collett (Christie, 65), Caravella, Rose; Devine (booked, 77), Hickey Referee:     Peter Green