Melbourne derby

Melbourne Derby

City or region	Melbourne (Victoria)
First contested	8 October 2010
Teams involved	Melbourne Heart, Melbourne Victory
Most wins	Melbourne Heart, Melbourne Victory (1)

The Melbourne Derby is currently the only local derby in Australia's premier Association football competition, the A-League, between the two Melbourne teams in the competition, Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart. It is the A-League's first intra-city derby, and although only one season old, is said^[1] to be climbing to be the league's biggest rivalry. Already in just four games there have been two red cards, twenty-six yellows and eleven goals.

History

The Melbourne Derby began in the sixth season of the A-League, the 2010–11 season, the inaugural season of the Heart. Melbourne Victory have been in the league since its beginning.

The inaugural Melbourne Derby was scheduled to be held at AAMI Park on 2 October 2010, the Saturday after the 2010 AFL Grand Final in order to maximise promotion of the game. But because AFL Grand Final was drawn (in a very unlikely event), a replay was needed, which forced the derby to be postponed to October 8.

Melbourne Heart won the inaugural derby 2–1 at AAMI Park, thanks to goals from Alex Terra and John Aloisi. Robbie Kruse scored for Victory. Aziz Behich was sent off late in the second half, but Heart were able to hold on and secure the win. Although the game was an official sell out, only 25,897 fans turned up, well short of AAMI Park's official capacity of 30,050.

The second derby on 11 December 2010, attracted 23,059 fans to AAMI Park, and saw the Victory gain their first derby win. Robbie Kruse scored a brace and the Victory finished 3–1 winners.

The Victory had their first home derby on January 22 at Docklands Stadium.^[2] Victory went up 2-0 in the first half due to goals from Danny Allsopp and Carlos Hernandez, but Heart fought back, scoring a goal in the last minute of the first half, and another just after half time, both from John Aloisi. The match ended a 2-2 draw. This derby was marred by an unacceptable tackle by Kevin Muscat on Adrian Zahra, which earned the Victory captain his second straight red card,^[3] and a subsequent eight-match ban, ending not only his season, but his A-League career.^[4]

League matches

Season	Derby	Date	Home team	Score	Away team	Goals (home)	Goals (away)	Venue	Attendance
2010–11	I	8 October 2010	Melbourne Heart	2–1	Melbourne Victory	Aloisi (10), Alex (56)	Kruse (35)	AAMI Park	25,897
	II	11 December 2010	Melbourne Heart	1–3	Melbourne Victory	Sibon (17)	Kruse (12, 28), Srhoj (54 o.g.)	AAMI Park	23,059
	III	22 January 2011	Melbourne Victory	2–2	Melbourne Heart	Allsopp (11), Hernández (30)	Aloisi (45+2, 51)	Etihad Stadium	32,231
2011-12	IV	22 October 2011	Melbourne Victory	0–0	Melbourne Heart	-	-	Etihad Stadium	39,309
	V	23 December 2011	Melbourne Heart		Melbourne Victory	TBA	TBA	AAMI Park
	VI	4 February 2012	Melbourne Victory		Melbourne Heart	TBA	TBA	AAMI Park

Head to head

Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Melbourne Victory	4	1	2	1	6	5	+1
Melbourne Heart	4	1	2	1	5	6	-1

Leading scorers

Player	Club	Total
Robbie Kruse	Melbourne Victory	3
John Aloisi	Melbourne Heart	3
Danny Allsopp	Melbourne Victory	1
Carlos Hernández	Melbourne Victory	1
Gerald Sibon	Melbourne Heart	1
Alex Terra	Melbourne Heart	1
Wayne Srhoj	Melbourne Heart	1 OG

Players in bold are still active at their Melbourne club.

Players who have played for both clubs

• Aziz Behich (Victory to Heart via Hume City) (2010)
• Kristian Sarkies (Victory to Heart via Adelaide United) (2010)
• Mate Dugandžić (Victory to Heart) (2011)
• Fred (Victory to Heart via D.C. United, Wellington Phoenix (on loan) and Philadelphia Union) (2011)
• Sebastian Mattei (Victory to Heart) (2011) (Youth Team)

Youth League matches

Season	Derby	Date	Home team	Score	Away team	Goals (home)	Goals (away)	Venue	Attendance
2011-12	I	23 October 2011	Melbourne Heart	2-0	Melbourne Victory	Z. Walker, Andrijasevic	-	John Cain Memorial Reserve	Approx. 800
	II	5 February 2012	Melbourne Heart		Melbourne Victory	TBA	TBA	Kingston Heath Soccer Complex

Head to head

Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Melbourne Heart	1	0	0	0	2	0	+2
Melbourne Victory	1	0	0	0	0	2	-2

References

1. ^ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/soccer/a-mouthwatering-melbourne-derby-awaits/story-e6frey4r-1226173603950
2. ^ Future & Results Archived 12 February 2011 at WebCite
3. ^ Melbourne Victory v Melbourne Heart - Live Football Match Centre - Sportal Australia
4. ^ "Kevin Muscat banned for eight games for tackle on Adrian Zahra". Herald-Sun. 28 January 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-02-12. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/soccer/muscats-moment-of-truth/story-e6frfg8x-1225995631293. Retrieved 12 February 2011.