Melbourne City 0-0 Melbourne Victory: A-League – live!

77 mins: Berisha offside. No wonder he had so much space from the throughball. He fails to beat Bouzanis anyway.

74 mins: McCormack with a free-kick from 30m. It smashes into the wall and bounces away for a corner. One goal will settle this. Berisha eventually concedes another one. Bit of pressure from City but it comes to nothing.

72 mins: Well they’ve only got themselves to blame if this one gets away from Victory. They were on top for a good 50 minutes but it’s evened up again now. Still time for both teams to nick a winner.

70 mins: He should have done better with his chance a couple of minutes ago but McCormack’s introduction has changed the game a little – just because of his ability to keep the ball up. Victory look like they’ve lost a little energy too.

68 mins: Barbarouses at the other end, flicking a free-kick from George over the bar. It’s opening up for both sides.

67 mins: This is better from City. Kamau and McCormack both have shots blocked – in fact McCormack should have done better.

65 mins: Milligan makes an appearance as Victory make their first change of the night. Sanchez comes off.

64 mins: Oooof! Great improvised cut back from McCormack to Kamau, but his shot is denied by the stretched foot of Thomas.

62 mins: Jamieson with a free-kick. It’s got the accuracy, curling around the wall, but Thomas has no trouble stopping it. Not enough power.

61 mins: A booking! Blimey. George goes in the book for a cynical tackle on Fitzgerald. The ref must have decided he’d only use them after an hour.

59 mins: Well an hour gone and Muscat must be scratching his head as to how it’s still 0-0 – they’ve been well on top of this game but a combination of stubborn defending and lacklustre final balls has denied them.

57 mins: Jakobsen with the saving tackle to deny Victory this time. Call me old-fashioned, but I do enjoy a good stubborn defensive display. City are throwing bodies in front of the ball when needed. Bouzanis with a solid stop to deny Berisha on the turn.

City have hardly been angels either but the ref certainly is playing it with a gentle hand.

54 mins: A lovely welcome for McCormack who gets clattered by Deng. Free-kick City. Brattan hits it powerfully enough but there’s little accuracy and it flies wide.

52 mins: Bit better from City, Kamau firing a shot goalwards but it’s cut out before it can reach the keeper. Victory race up the other end but the final ball into the box is wasted. And here he comes… McCormack comes on for Mauk.

51 mins: McCormack looks like he’s getting ready for City. They need him desperately. No one has been able to hold the ball up in the Victory half.

50 mins: Schenkeveld with a superb stretching leg to cut out a throughball that would almost certainly have been put away by one of two free Victory attackers in the box. Awesome defending – but the ball should have been better.

48 mins: Ooo, excellent cross whipped into the near post by George but Berisha is squeezed out by two defenders. Looks like we’re in for more of the same. Sanchez wins the header from the corner but it flies over.

46 mins: Here we go again. Can Victory maintain that intensity? Can City step up a gear and build some pressure of their own? Can you get that mental image of a flapping Thomas out of your head? Let’s find out.

Oof! La Rocca heads a corner just over under pressure from a flapping Thomas (which sounds like a euphemism). And on that “Carry On” note, it’s half-time.

44 mins: I have to tip my Santa hat to the City defence though, they’ve been under the pump for about half an hour now but they’ve made Victory work for every opening. Apart from the George shot that hit the bar, Bouzanis hasn’t had to do too much. City have an FK now too … but it’s poor and easily cleared. Sums it up.

40 mins: There’s still time for Victory to get the goal their pressure deserves this half but it’s running out fast. Meanwhile, City are sensing a sniff themselves, finding some space on the right wing… but it comes to nothing. As usual. They’re as incisive as a lump of coal.

37 mins: I won’t hide my admiration for the City defence but they’ve offered precisely chuff all in terms of attacking threat. Every chance they’ve had has come from a mistake rather than creativity. Victory are asking all the questions.

35 mins: Bit of nerves from the corner as Thomas fumbles and flaps but the danger passes. Jamieson then wastes another chance to build an attack by spraying the ball wide… too wide in fact as it skids out of play.

33 mins: City are leading a charmed life. Sanchez gives away a needless free-kick though and the “hosts” get a breather. They win another free-kick further up the pitch. Can they get something against the run of play? In a word, no. The cross is cleared for a corner.

30 mins: Bit better from City who spring a counter-attack – but Jakobsen’s knock back goes straight to a Victory player and five seconds later it’s a corner at the other end. It comes to nothing, but City are inviting pressure on themselves at the minute. Victory still haven’t made them pay though.

29 mins: OOF! George thumps one against the crossbar, it bounces downward and away to safety. They’re getting closer…

27 mins: Victory still very much on top despite that brief bit of respite. They need to make the most of it – City will get a spell of their own at some stage.

26 mins: A mistake from Barbarouses and City relieve some pressure with a corner of their own. It’s a poor effort though, far too close to Thomas who claims it easily.

24 mins: City are trying to put their foot on the ball and get a bit of possession but they’re being harried by Victory players – even Bouzanis doesn’t get long to dwell, booting a passback deep into enemy territory.

22 mins: Victory definitely on top at the minute, City under a little bit of pressure although they’ve defended stoutly. They’ve just cleared another corner.

19 mins: Great work from Victory to carve out an opening – but hats off to Atkinson, who concedes a corner by clearing a cross before it can reach George while charging towards his own goal. I’ve seen those slice off many a defender’s shin and end up in the back of the net (and when I say ‘many a defender’ I mean ‘me’).

18 mins: Dipping header from Williams… but it’s not dippy enough and skims the bar. The keeper didn’t look too concerned though – he knew where it was going.

15 mins: I’ve just realised what this game is missing. Seagulls. They’re usually flapping about all over the place … I could make a joke about one of the goalkeepers now but that would be mean. Meanwhile, on the pitch, Victory just seem to be finding their stride. George wins a corner.

13 mins: Good defending from La Rocca to keep Berisha from getting to a cross. It’s a corner to Victory. Jakobsen wins the header but the danger isn’t cleared and Troisi ends up firing a low one at goal – it’s too close to Bouzanis who makes a sharp stop.

12 mins: This is shaping up to be a tight one. Every time I’m about to suggest one team is getting on top, the other team race up the other end. See-saw stuff. Can’t see where an opening is going to come from at the minute.

10 mins: All a bit cat and mouse. More like mouse and mouse actually – neither side has been particularly incisive so far, despite getting in good positions and playing at pace.

7 mins: Another good cross from Jakobsen this time… but there’s no one near it in the box. They win a free-kick near the edge of the box but promptly waste it. Still waiting for this one to kick off. Where’s Matt Simon when you need him?

5 mins: It’s been very much even stevens so far, nothing between the teams as they probe for openings. George tries a long one over the top of the defence but it skids along the wet surface straight to Bouzanis.

3 mins: Bit of a cagey opening from both teams. No real sights of goal yet. A decent cross whipped into the box from City but Atkinson is nowhere near it.

1min: Aaand we’re off – and the heavens decide to open right in sync with the ref’s whistle. Question marks over the attendance tonight but there’s no doubting the atmosphere. Great stuff.

For those of you still struggling for present ideas, you can get a gift right now for that special someone in your life by donating $10 a month to the Guardian in their name. I guarantee their eyes will light up on Christmas morning when you explain what you’ve done *cough*. Plus if we get a couple more donations we’ll be able to replace the office Commodore 64 that I write these blogs on.

Here we go. The players are coming out. I see one of the young mascots has pulled his hat over his eyes. Nice work kid… Muscat scares me sometimes too.

On the plus side, the pitch looks pretty good…

For those interested, it’s all gone exactly as you’d expect in the Phoenix v Sydney game in Wellington – 4-1 to the league leaders. Lovely build-up for Sydney’s opening goal.

Is it just me or does that last Melbourne derby feel like it was more than two months ago? I remember the City defence seemed almost impregnable back then. And the wheels were just starting to wobble at Victory. How time flies. Anyway, here’s a reminder – I don’t remember that scorcher from Budzinski at all … bit worrying as I actually blogged it.

Team news time. City fans have been wondering all week who’ll be up front and who’ll be facing Leroy George at right back. Here’s your answer… and McCormack is on the bench too. Considering some thought his season was over last week, that’s a big boost. Milligan returns for Victory as expected, but he’s also on the bench.

Evening everyone, have you got your Christmas shopping done? Of course you haven’t but, hey, it’s not even Christmas Eve yet – so for all you mañana fans out there, grab a mince pie and forget about Lynx gift packs and cubic zirconia earrings for a couple of hours because a festive blockbuster is about to start. And I don’t mean Elf, Love Actually, A Christmas Prince or Die Hard either – although in a pinch Kevin Muscat in a singlet could pass as Bruce Willis. Yes it’s the Festivus edition of the Melbourne derby, when bragging rights come gift-wrapped for the winners, and the losers are forced to feast on a Christmas dinner of ashes and shame – possibly while George Costanza’s dad berates them.

It should be a Christmas cracker too. Tis a season to forget for Melbourne Victory but last week’s much-improved display in Brisbane will have given them a big confidence boost. Another win today would officially take them off the naughty list, sending them flying up to fourth spot. Considering they had a run of six games without a win earlier in the season, that’s a pretty sharp turnaround. They’ve just signed Besart Berisha for another year too, so it wouldn’t exactly be a Festivus miracle if he ended up on the scoresheet today – especially after the

angry Albanian’s
cranky Kosovan’s hissy fit last week when VAR ruled out his ‘goal’.

Not that City will be quaking in their Santa boots. Despite a lack of big names and a season shaken by departures, Warren Joyce’s players have waltzed their way to third spot on the ladder and go into today’s clash as favourites. This is possibly their best chance yet of winning back-to-back derbies, too, following their 2-1 victory in round two. That in itself should be enough to stoke the festive fires of motivation. Their lack of firepower has been a bit of an issue all season, and the build-up talk has largely revolved around their lack of a recognised striker going into this game (following Ross McCormack’s knock last week), but with a defence that’s usually as generous as a pre-spooked Scrooge, they’re always in with a shout. If only they still had Tiny Tim Cahill. Hm, I think I’ve officially reached peak Christmas pun overload. I’ll stop now.

Richard will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s the latest from a festive David Squires: