Resident blogger David Manuca is back with the latest edition of the Numbers Game!
Melbourne Heart FC crashed to their second defeat of the season at the hands of Perth Glory, a 2-1 loss on Sunday evening in-front of 7,229 supporters at AAMI Park.
Shane Smeltz scored both goals for Glory, either side of David Williams penalty at the end of the first-half, netting his first ever goals in Melbourne and in the process helping Glory to their first ever win over Heart.
It was also Williams first ever goal for Heart, ending a goaless period in the A-League for the 23-year-old spanning since December 1 last year.
Even though Heart have scored three goals in two games, they’ve yet to register a point and sit last on the A-League table.
Our opponents this weekend, Melbourne Victory, hardly fare better, with just one point from two games, and no goals scored.
Between Melbourne Heart and Victory, both sides have won a derby each at AAMI Park, with the other ending in a 2-2 draw at Etihad Stadium.
Last season the Melbourne derby clashes provided arguably the best atmosphere at games ever seen in the A-League, as well as some cracking football and, like any other derby around the world, plenty of drama.
Fiery:
A total of 25 cards were shown in last seasons three Melbourne derby games – 23 yellow and two red, one for each side respectively.
Victory dominated the yellow card count picking up a total of 14, in comparison to Heart who picked up only 9.
Domination:
Melbourne Heart have had a firm edge in the possession stats over Victory, with an average percentage of 55.3%. Most of that possession also came in Victory’s own half.
Sharp:
Heart completed a total of 837 passes in the derby games last season, a total of 193 more than Victory, who completed just 644.
They also had a superior passing accuracy, with an average of 79%, considerably greater than that of Victory, who had a passing accuracy of just 74.6%.
Random Stat:
Melbourne Victory have won just one of their past four games at Etihad Stadium. Can the Heart make it one in five, overtaking them on the ladder in the process?
This weekend’s Melbourne derby match is sure to be an enthralling one. Let’s show everyone that Melbourne is Red & White!
