Dominant defences and battling midfield efforts were the noteworthy features of a scoreless draw between Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix at AAMI Park on September 15, as Wednesday night football graced the Hyundai A-League for the first time in the 2010-11 season.
Goalscoring opportunities were at a premium in this hard-fought encounter, in which the visitors dominated the early exchanges. A wicked Paul Ifill free-kick to the far post was almost turned into his own net by Surat Sukha - Michael Petkovic saved on the line, while six minutes later the goalkeeper smothered comfortably from Ifill, whose eighteen yard header was the result of a neat one-two between Ben Sigmund and Chris Greenacre.
A minute later, Leo Bertos whipped in a corner which Andrew Durante guided narrowly past the near post, while the first time the home team caught sight of Danny Vukovic's goal was in the sixteenth minute, when Carlos Hernandez drew two defenders before slipping Diogo Ferreira through inside the penalty area.
The youngster, whose repeated infringements meant he was fortunate to stay on the park after being booked late in the first half by referee Ben Williams, pulled his shot past the near post.
Nick Ward was playing against his old club for the first time since his move across the Tasman, and the Wellington midfielder had a barnstorming game. In the nineteenth minute, some clever sleight of foot deceived Hernandez and Tom Pondeljak, and it required Melbourne's star turn, Adrian Leijer, to mark his 100th A-League appearance by doing enough to block the midfielder's shot, affording Petkovic an easy save.
Wellington dominated the first twenty minutes, but some subtle tactical changes by Melbourne coach Ernie Merrick saw his team take control of proceedings at this point, and suddenly the bulk of the 11,573 fans present had cause to sing their heroes' praises with even more gusto.
Gradually, the game became something of an arm wrestle, and neither side gave an inch. So Spartan were the offerings in front of goal at either end of the park that, apart from Manny Muscat's rasping 33rd minute twenty-yarder - Petkovic grabbed it greedily, there was little to capture the imagination again until a minute before half-time.
The best chance of the first forty-five minutes saw Wellington debutant Jade North - a solid game - release the irrepressible Ifill down the left at pace. His first-time cross found Greenacre arriving on the far post, but he contrived to miscue his shot. As defenders converged on him, he managed to engineer a second opening, but Petkovic superbly tipped his rising ten yard drive over the crossbar.
Bertos' resulting corner was cleared to Muscat, whose precise first-time pass picked out Ifill drifting inside off the left flank once more. He swiftly scythed inside a defender before drilling a ferocious low drive narrowly past Petkovic's right-hand post.
Melbourne's response saw Hernandez send a low thirty-yard free-kick swerving past the target with virtually the last kick of the half. And the paucity of goalscoring opportunities continued into the second spell - it took twelve minutes for a noteworthy effort to be fired in anger.
On that occasion, Ward saw his rasping twenty-yarder blocked by Grant Brebner, while five minutes later, Hernandez went close to breaking the deadlock, capitalising on a Mate Dugandzic break to wrong-foot well-performed Wellington debutant Jade North, only to shoot straight at Vukovic.
Wellington's 'keeper produced his best save of the game with twenty minutes remaining, swatting to safety a rising drive from Ricardinho after the Brazilian striker had been released into the penalty area via a splendid eye-of-the-needle pass from Billy Celeski.
That came seconds after Tim Brown had shaved the far post with a dangerous curling effort at the other end of the park, the midfielder having let fly from just outside the penalty area.
So solid were the defensive efforts of both teams that it was increasingly evident that a moment of individual brilliance would be needed to break the deadlock, and six minutes from time Wellington substitute Mirjan Pavlovic came close to producing it.
He had Roddy Vargas and Leijer in a right to-do as he skilfully scythed his way in from the right flank at pace, only to undo all his good work by pulling his shot across the face of goal, the ball swerving well past the far post, much to the Melbourne duo?s relief.
The last chance of the match arose from a Bertos corner. Petkovic grabbed his delivery cleanly and instantly picked out Hernandez with his measured clearance, allowing the playmaker time to hold up play before the supporting run of substitute Geoff Kellaway afforded him an outlet.
The newcomer somehow forged a path into the Wellington penalty area, but Vukovic was alert to the danger, and made certain there would be no dramatic finale by blocking at close quarters to ensure his team emerged from the first of two games in four days at this venue with a well- deserved point from this scoreless draw.