Ravens 6 - 2 Melbourne (386999133)

The weather was pretty good, and a crowd of 17000 had shown up at The Aviary for the match. Didier Bernardon was the appointed referee. All of Victoria was shut down for the day, as fans of both clubs came to the derby. Ravens started off with a 4-5-1 lineup. They fielded: Węcławek - Sakelaris, Zaranis, Archer, Bartiakas - Bock, Kahlig, Efimenco, Giroldini, Pham - Mallat.

Melbourne tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Paiva - Stravocheris, Jousmäki, Woe, de Beuker - Hernesniemi, Paal, Lančić, Brener - Teodorof, McGrady.

Ravens showed off their creative tactics. For their match strategy, Melbourne had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. After 12 minutes of play, J. Bock gave the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. P. Giroldini sailed high above the opponents as he headed in a corner kick from J. Archer after 27 minutes of play, making the score 2 - 0. Ravens's J. Pham swung in a good chance from the left, but the visitors' defence were able to clear the ball. With 29 minutes gone, a long pass from the defence of Melbourne resulted in a counterattack that set D. Lančić free through the middle, but the keeper made a spectacular diving save. V. Efimenco had a fantastic opportunity to put Ravens up another goal 33 minutes into the match, but he fired just over the crossbar. Y. Brener's speed was clear to see after 37 minutes, as he darted down the wing and released N. Teodorof who placed the ball into the back of the net to make the score 2 - 1. It was 2 - 1 at the break. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Ravens, with 79 percent of the ball.

Ravens managed to extend their lead to 3 - 1 when S. Kahlig cut in neatly from the left side and struck a fine shot past the away team's goalkeeper. With 66 minutes played, the Melbourne coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. M. Jelovica came on, D. Lančić had to leave the fray. The unexpected cross pass from Melbourne's E. Hernesniemi after 68 minutes opened up the defence and was received by D. McGrady who finished off for 3 - 2. Maybe due to the uphill battle the team was facing, the Melbourne manager looked to change things around. After 69 minutes, Y. Brener and D. McGrady swapped positions on the field. After 70 minutes, Melbourne switched N. Teodorof with M. Maitena, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. Although the whole team were struggling to impress, Melbourne's D. McGrady was singled out as being the problem as he was called off the pitch after 71 minutes. L. Kaser was given a chance to change things around. Things were going to get worse for the visitors. C. Mallat squirmed through their central defence after 71 minutes, increasing the lead to 4 - 2. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Ravens lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. Melbourne were pushed back, and had many dangerous counterattacks. An impressive one came 78 minutes into the match, but Y. Brener narrowly missed the free kick attempt that was awarded as a result of a foul. With 79 minutes played, Ravens put themselves up 5 - 2 when the visiting defenders lost the ball to P. Giroldini, who came up from the left and proceeded to coolly round the keeper and knock the ball home. J. Archer struck a 30 metre free kick home 81 minutes into the match. 6 - 2 for the home team. Ravens enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 74 percent of possession.

S. Kahlig performed admirably for Ravens. On the other hand, L. Zaranis's play was disheartening. Melbourne's best player was Y. Brener. E. Hernesniemi was a disappointment, however. The match ends 6 - 2.