2018–19 Melbourne Victory FC season

The 2018–19 Melbourne Victory FC season was the club's 14th season since its establishment in 2004. The club participated in the A-League for the 14th time and the AFC Champions League for the seventh time.

Melbourne Victory
2018–19 season
ChairmanAnthony Di Pietro
ManagerKevin Muscat
StadiumAAMI Park & Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
A-League3rd
A-League Finals SeriesSemi-final
FFA CupRound of 16
AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage
Top goalscorerLeague:
Kosta Barbarouses
Ola Toivonen
(15 each)

All: Kosta Barbarouses (17)
Highest home attendance40,504 vs. Melbourne City
(20 October 2018)
Lowest home attendance8,039 vs. Newcastle Jets
(2 March 2019)
Average home league attendance20,604

Players edit

Squad information edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   AUS Matt Acton
2 DF   NZL Storm Roux
3 DF   AUS Corey Brown
4 MF   JPN Keisuke Honda
5 DF   GER Georg Niedermeier
6 MF   AUS Leigh Broxham (vice-captain)
7 FW   AUS Kenny Athiu
8 MF   AUS Terry Antonis
9 FW   NZL Kosta Barbarouses
10 FW   AUS James Troisi
11 FW   SWE Ola Toivonen
13 MF   AUS Birkan Kirdar
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 DF   AUS Thomas Deng
15 MF   ESP Raúl Baena (on loan from Granada)
16 MF   AUS Josh Hope
17 DF   AUS James Donachie
19 MF   AUS Rahmat Akbari (on loan from Brisbane Roar)
20 GK   AUS Lawrence Thomas
21 MF   AUS Carl Valeri (Captain)
23 FW   NZL Jai Ingham
24 MF   AUS Elvis Kamsoba
25 MF   AUS Anthony Lesiotis
30 GK   AUS Matthew Sutton (Scholarship)

Transfers edit

Transfers in edit

No. Position Player Transferred from Type/fee Contract length Date Ref
3 DF Corey Brown Free transfer 2 years 22 June 2018 [1]
2 DF   Storm Roux Free transfer 2 years 22 June 2018 [1]
22 DF Nick Ansell Free transfer 2 years 18 July 2018 [2]
5 DF   Georg Niedermeier   Freiburg Free transfer 1 year 18 July 2018 [3]
4 MF   Keisuke Honda Free transfer 1 year 6 August 2018 [4]
11 FW   Ola Toivonen 2 years 30 August 2018 [5]
15 MF   Raúl Baena   Granada Loan 1 year 31 August 2018 [6]
19 MF Rahmat Akbari Brisbane Roar Loan 1 year 19 October 2018 [7][8]
24 FW Elvis Kamsoba   Avondale Free transfer 1.5 years 3 January 2019 [9]
25 MF Anthony Lesiotis Melbourne City Free transfer 1.5 years 3 January 2019 [9]
17 DF James Donachie   Jeonnam Dragons Loan 4 months 1 February 2019 [10]

Transfers out edit

No. Position Player Transferred to Type/fee Date Ref
11 FW Mitch Austin End of contract 15 May 2018 [11]
15 MF Cameron McGilp End of contract 15 May 2018 [11]
18 MF   Matías Sánchez End of contract 15 May 2018 [11]
22 MF Stefan Nigro Free transfer 15 May 2018 [11]
31 FW Christian Theoharous   Borussia Mönchengladbach Free transfer 19 May 2018 [12]
17 DF James Donachie   Jeonnam Dragons Free transfer 19 June 2018 [13]
19 FW Pierce Waring Free transfer 19 June 2018 [13]
8 FW   Besart Berisha   Sanfrecce Hiroshima Undisclosed Fee 29 June 2018 [14]
4 DF Rhys Williams   Al-Qadsiah $456,000 12 July 2018 [15]
41 FW   Leroy George Mutual contract termination 12 July 2018 [16]
26 FW Nicholas Sette Mutual contract termination 23 January 2019 [17]
22 DF Nick Ansell   Jeonnam Dragons 24 January 2019 [10]

From youth squad edit

N
Pos.
Nat.
Name
Age
Notes
13 MF   Birkan Kirdar 16 2 year contract[18]
26 FW   Nicholas Sette 18 1 year contract[18]

Contract extensions edit

No. Name Position Duration Date Notes
20 Lawrence Thomas Goalkeeper 2 years 30 May 2018 [19]
6 Leigh Broxham Midfielder 1 year 30 May 2018 [19]
21 Carl Valeri Defensive midfielder 1 year 30 May 2018 [19]
16 Joshua Hope Attacking midfielder 1 year 1 June 2018 [18]
7 Kenny Athiu Forward 2 years 18 June 2018 [20]
14 Thomas Deng Defender 1 year 26 October 2018 [21]

Technical staff edit

Position Name
Manager   Kevin Muscat
Assistant manager   Carlos Pérez Salvachúa
Goalkeeping coach   Jess Vanstrattan
Youth Team Manager   Gareth Naven
Youth Team Assistant Manager   Vaughan Coveny
Youth Team Developmental Manager   Grant Brebner
Youth goalkeeping coach Vacant
Strength & Conditioning Coach   Anthony Crea
Physiotherapist   Justin Dougherty

Squad statistics edit

Appearances and goals edit

N Pos. Nat. Name Total A-League A-League Finals Series FFA Cup AFC Champions League
Apps Goals       Apps Goals       Apps Goals       Apps Goals       Apps Goals      
1 GK   Matt Acton 9 0 0 0 0 5+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0
2 DF   Storm Roux 34 2 3 0 0 21+4 2 2 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0 6+0 0 1 0 0
3 DF   Corey Brown 30 1 5 0 0 21+2 1 4 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0 4+1 0 1 0 0
4 MF   Keisuke Honda 23 8 4 0 0 16+2 7 4 0 0 1+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 4+0 1 0 0 0
5 DF   Georg Niedermeier 18 2 3 1 0 14+3 1 3 1 0 1+0 1 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
6 MF   Leigh Broxham 33 0 6 0 0 21+5 0 4 0 0 1+0 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 1 0 0 4+0 0 1 0 0
7 FW   Kenny Athiu 22 2 3 0 0 7+7 0 3 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 2+0 2 0 0 0 2+3 0 0 0 0
8 MF   Terry Antonis 30 4 6 0 0 23+1 4 6 0 0 1+0 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0 3+0 0 0 0 0
9 FW   Kosta Barbarouses 34 16 5 0 0 26+1 14 3 0 0 1+0 1 0 0 0 2+0 1 0 0 0 4+0 0 2 0 0
10 FW   James Troisi 31 5 3 0 0 24+1 5 3 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 1+1 0 0 0 0 3+1 0 0 0 0
11 FW   Ola Toivonen 25 16 4 0 0 18+2 13 3 0 0 1+0 1 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 4+0 2 1 0 0
13 MF   Birkan Kirdar 1 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0
14 DF   Thomas Deng 34 0 4 0 0 23+3 0 3 0 0 1+0 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 1 0 0 5+0 0 0 0 0
15 MF   Raúl Baena 23 1 5 0 0 13+6 1 4 0 0 1+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 3+0 0 1 0 0
16 MF   Josh Hope 17 1 1 0 0 5+8 1 1 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 1+1 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0
17 DF   James Donachie 14 0 4 1 0 6+2 0 2 1 0 1+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 5+0 0 2 0 0
19 MF   Rahmat Akbari 11 0 1 0 0 1+8 0 1 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 1+1 0 0 0 0
20 GK   Lawrence Thomas 27 0 2 0 0 22+0 0 2 0 0 1+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 4+0 0 0 0 0
21 MF   Carl Valeri 27 0 5 0 0 18+2 0 4 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0 3+1 0 1 0 0
23 FW   Jai Ingham 8 1 1 0 0 1+3 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 1 0 0 2+0 1 0 0 0
24 MF   Elvis Kamsoba 19 0 1 0 0 6+8 0 1 0 0 1+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 1+3 0 0 0 0
25 MF   Anthony Lesiotis 9 0 2 0 0 1+5 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 1 0 0 1+2 0 1 0 0
27 DF   Aaron Anderson 1 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0
28 DF   Benjamin Carrigan 2 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0
29 MF   Thiel Iradukunda 0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
30 GK   Matthew Sutton 0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
31 MF   Brandon Lauton 0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
32 FW   Jack Palazzolo 2 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 1+1 0 0 0 0
33 FW   Yazid Said 0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
Players no longer at the club
22 DF   Nick Ansell 1 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
26 FW   Nicholas Sette 0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0

† = Scholarship or NPL/NYL-listed player

Pre-season and friendlies edit

24 July 2018 Oakleigh Cannons   2–4   Melbourne Victory Oakleigh
19:30 AEST
  •   13' (pen.)
  •   70'
Report
Stadium: Jack Edwards Reserve
5 October 2018 Melbourne Victory   1–3   Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
12:30 AEST
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Competitions edit

Overall edit

Competition Started round Final
position / round
First match Last match
A-League 3rd 20 October 2018 27 April 2019
A-League Finals Elimination-finals Semi-finals 3 May 2019 12 May 2019
FFA Cup Round of 32 Round of 16 7 August 2018 21 August 2018
AFC Champions League Group stage Group stage 5 March 2019 22 May 2019

A-League edit

League table edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Perth Glory 27 18 6 3 56 23 +33 60 Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series[a]
2 Sydney FC (C) 27 16 4 7 43 29 +14 52
3 Melbourne Victory 27 15 5 7 50 32 +18 50 Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League preliminary round 2 and Finals series[a]
4 Adelaide United 27 12 8 7 37 32 +5 44 Qualification for Finals series[a]
5 Melbourne City 27 11 7 9 39 32 +7 40
6 Wellington Phoenix[b] 27 11 7 9 46 43 +3 40
7 Newcastle Jets 27 10 5 12 40 36 +4 35
8 Western Sydney Wanderers 27 6 6 15 42 54 −12 24
9 Brisbane Roar 27 4 6 17 38 71 −33 18
10 Central Coast Mariners 27 3 4 20 31 70 −39 13
Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c The top two teams enter the Finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the Finals series at the elimination-finals.
  2. ^ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

Results summary edit

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
27 15 5 7 50 32  +18 50 7 3 4 27 19  +8 8 2 3 23 13  +10

Last updated: 27 April 2019.
Source: ultimatealeague.com

Results by round edit

Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627
GroundHHAHAHHAAHAAHHAHAHAHHHAAHAA
ResultLLWWWWWWDDWLWDWWWLDDLWWLWLW
Position9107422222222233222223333333
Updated to match(es) played on 27 April 2019. Source: ultimatealeague.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches edit

  Win   Draw   Loss

20 October 2018 1 Melbourne Victory 1–2 Melbourne City Melbourne
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Marvel Stadium
Attendance: 40,504
Referee: Kurt Ams
28 October 2018 2 Melbourne Victory 2–3 Perth Glory Melbourne
19:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 17,219
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
3 November 2018 3 Newcastle Jets 0–1 Melbourne Victory Newcastle
19:50 AEDT Report
Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
Attendance: 11,813
Referee: Chris Beath
11 November 2018 4 Melbourne Victory 4–1 Central Coast Mariners Melbourne
19:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 16,508
Referee: Stephan Lucas
25 November 2018 5 Sydney FC 1–2 Melbourne Victory Sydney
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Jubilee Oval
Attendance: 19,081
Referee: Peter Green
1 December 2018 6 Melbourne Victory 4–0 Western Sydney Wanderers Melbourne
19:50 AEDT
Report Stadium: Marvel Stadium
Attendance: 19,556
Referee: Chris Beath
8 December 2018 7 Melbourne Victory 2–0 Adelaide United Melbourne
19:50 AEDT
Report Stadium: Marvel Stadium
Attendance: 20,629
Referee: Shaun Evans
14 December 2018 8 Brisbane Roar 2–4 Melbourne Victory Brisbane
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 10,289
Referee: Adam Fielding
22 December 2018 9 Melbourne City 1–1 Melbourne Victory Melbourne
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 24,306
Referee: Shaun Evans
28 December 2018 10 Melbourne Victory 1–1 Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 20,066
Referee: Daniel Elder
5 January 2019 11 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–2 Melbourne Victory Sydney
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: ANZ Stadium
Attendance: 7,062
Referee: Jarred Gillett
9 January 2019 12 Adelaide United 2–0 Melbourne Victory Adelaide
19:50 AEDT
Report Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 12,115
Referee: Shaun Evans
12 January 2019 13 Melbourne Victory 2–1 Newcastle Jets Melbourne
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 16,694
Referee: Daniel Elder
15 January 2019 15 Brisbane Roar 0–5 Melbourne Victory Brisbane
19:50 AEDT Report
Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 7,131
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
20 January 2019 14 Melbourne Victory 3–3 Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 18,136
Referee: Jarred Gillett
26 January 2019 16 Melbourne Victory 2–1 Sydney FC Melbourne
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 21,085
Referee: Shaun Evans
2 February 2019 17 Central Coast Mariners 2–3 Melbourne Victory Gosford
17:35 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Central Coast Stadium
Attendance: 5,223
Referee: Kurt Ams
10 February 2019 18 Melbourne Victory 1–2 Perth Glory Melbourne
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 25,071
Referee: Jarred Gillett
15 February 2019 19 Wellington Phoenix 1–1 Melbourne Victory Auckland
19:35 NZDT
Report
Stadium: Eden Park
Attendance: 23,648
Referee: Peter Green
23 February 2019 20 Melbourne Victory 1–1 Melbourne City Melbourne
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Marvel Stadium
Attendance: 32,431
Referee: Peter Green
2 March 2019 21 Melbourne Victory 0–2 Newcastle Jets Geelong
19:50 AEDT Report
Stadium: GMHBA Stadium
Attendance: 8,039
Referee: Shaun Evans
16 March 2019 22 Melbourne Victory 2–1 Brisbane Roar Melbourne
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Marvel Stadium
Attendance: 16,357
Referee: Chris Beath
30 March 2019 23 Perth Glory 0–2 Melbourne Victory Perth
22:00 AEDT Report
Stadium: HBF Park
Attendance: 17,856
Referee: Shaun Evans
6 April 2019 24 Sydney FC 2–1 Melbourne Victory Sydney
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Sydney Cricket Ground
Attendance: 14,155
Referee: Alex King
14 April 2019 25 Melbourne Victory 2–1 Central Coast Mariners Melbourne
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 16,158
Referee: Chris Beath
19 April 2019 26 Adelaide United 1–0 Melbourne Victory Adelaide
19:50 AEDT
Report Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 12,866
Referee: Peter Green

Finals series edit

3 May 2019 Elimination-final Melbourne Victory 3–1 Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
19:50 AEST
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 16,010
Referee: Shaun Evans
12 May 2019 Semi-final Sydney FC 6–1 Melbourne Victory Sydney
19:00 AEST
Report
Stadium: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Attendance: 12,141
Referee: Chris Beath

FFA Cup edit

7 August 2018 Round of 32 Perth Glory 0–1 Melbourne Victory Perth
18:30 AWST Report
Stadium: Dorrien Gardens
Attendance: 1,754
Referee: Shaun Evans
21 August 2018 Round of 16 APIA Leichhardt Tigers 3–2 Melbourne Victory Sydney
19:30
Report
Stadium: Leichhardt Oval
Attendance: 2,467
Referee: Ben Abraham

AFC Champions League edit

Group stage edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Sanfrecce Hiroshima 6 5 0 1 9 4 +5 15 Advance to knockout stage
2   Guangzhou Evergrande 6 3 1 2 9 5 +4 10
3   Daegu FC 6 3 0 3 10 6 +4 9
4   Melbourne Victory 6 0 1 5 4 17 −13 1
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
5 March 2019 1 Melbourne Victory   1–3   Daegu FC Melbourne, Australia
19:30 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
Attendance: 5,572
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)
12 March 2019 2 Sanfrecce Hiroshima   2–1   Melbourne Victory Hiroshima, Japan
19:00 JST
Report
Stadium: Hiroshima Big Arch
Attendance: 8,968
Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)

References edit

  1. ^ a b Rugari, Vince (22 June 2018). "Victory confirm Brown, Roux signings". The Newcastle Herald.
  2. ^ "Victory signs Championship-winner Nick Ansell". Melbourne Victory. 20 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Melbourne Victory sign ex-Bundesliga defender". FourFourTwo. 19 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Victory land Honda for $2.9 million but Maclaren wavering". The World Game. SBS. 31 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Sweden World Cup striker Ola Toivonen set for Melbourne Victory". The Guardian. 31 August 2018.
  6. ^ Lynch, Michael (3 September 2018). "Melbourne Victory sign Spanish midfielder Raul Baena". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  7. ^ Rugari, Vince (19 October 2018). "Victory sign exciting teen Akbari in time for A-League kick-off". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  8. ^ "Signing news: Victory secure exciting teenager Barnett". A-League. Football Federation Australia. 4 June 2019. Rahmat Akbari was on loan at Victory from Roar for the 2018/19 Season
  9. ^ a b Sakkal, Paul (3 January 2019). "Honda to miss a month with hamstring strain as Victory sign two players". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  10. ^ a b "Victory confirm Ansell-Donachie switch". FTBL. 31 January 2019.
  11. ^ a b c d Radbourne-Pugh, Lucas (15 May 2018). "Quartet depart Big V". FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  12. ^ McKay, Ben (19 May 2018). "Victory's Theoharous moves to Germany". The Newcastle Herald.
  13. ^ a b "Donachie exits Victory for the K-League". FourFourTwo. 19 June 2018. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  14. ^ Colangelo, Anthony (29 June 2018). "Berisha leaves Victory bound for Japan's Sanfrecce Hiroshima". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  15. ^ "Rhys Williams exits Melbourne Victory, joins Saudi Arabia's Al-Qadsiah". ESPN. 12 July 2018.
  16. ^ "Leroy George on why he left party-hard Melbourne Victory". FTBL. 12 July 2018.
  17. ^ "Nicholas Sette departs Melbourne Victory". Melbourne Victory. 23 January 2019.
  18. ^ a b c "Young guns commit to Victory". Melbourne Victory. 1 June 2018.
  19. ^ a b c "Victory re-signs Championship heroes". Melbourne Victory. 30 May 2018.
  20. ^ "Athiu signs two year deal". Melbourne Victory. 18 June 2018.
  21. ^ "Thomas Deng signs one-year extension". Melbourne Victory. 26 October 2018.

External links edit