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Asian Champions League 2010 Group E - Round 4 - 2nd Leg  Melbourne Victory FC 0 drew with Beijing Guoan FC 0  
Melbourne Victory's active interest in this year's AFC Champions' League ended after a goalless draw against Beijing Guoan at Docklands Stadium on Wednesday evening. Victory needed a win by two goals to keep its chances alive, but never looked like taking control of the match to the degree required.
As in the previous home game in this competition against Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale, the visitors made the running, with Melbourne able to offer only dogged resistance and little creativity.
Beijing's most potent threat was an Australian, Joel Griffiths. As when he played in the A-League he asked questions for which Melbourne barely had an adequate response.
Once again, Melbourne's young goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak had an excellent game, repeatedly denying Beijing and Griffiths in particular. For how much longer Langerak lingers at Docklands is anyone's guess, with recent interest being shown from German giants Borrusia Dortmund. Melbourne has - at least for the present - spurned Dortmund's overtures, but Langerak is showing goalkeeping qualities which make Australian domestic football an overly small stage for the youngster.
Griffiths was at the cutting edge of most of Beijing's attacking impetus, and could even have opened the scoring with barely four minutes gone after he beat a poorly-set Victory offside trap, allowing him to run in unchallenged on Langerak. Langerak - taking up where he left off last game - was able to make a block save.
Just beyond the quarter-hour, Griffiths quickly latched onto a mistake by Carlos Hernandez who turned the ball over at the half-way line. Griffiths sprinted up the right wing, then played in Bowen Huang inside and at the edge of the penalty-area. Huang's shot sped by Langerak's right post.
Two minutes later, Langerak made a point-blank save from Saraiva Erivaldo's header when Griffiths, on the goal-line by the far-post, was first to reach a lofted cross from the left and send it Erivaldo's way.
It took until the half-hour mark for Melbourne to create a worthwhile opportunity. After Hernandez had been fouled about 25 metres from goal, he took a quick free-kick as the Beijing defence was still organising itself, lifting the ball over the wall for Nick Mrdja. Mrdja however was rapidly closed down before he could gain meaningful control of the ball which the Guoan defence was grateful to bundle away for a corner.
On the hour, Beijing had two chances within minutes. Griffiths was a central figure in both. The first arose when Liang Xu played a wonderful diagonal ball from the defensive left wing to Xiangchuang Yan in an attacking position on the right. Yan made ground, then crossed to Griffiths, but he was unable to turn Rodrigo Vargas and decided instead to await support. It eventually came from Darko Matic, but Matic's shot from 18 metres was extravagantly over.
Griffiths then wasted the best chance of the evening when Yan crossed from the right to where Griffiths rose unchallenged and so was allowed time to direct his header, but watched in dismay as it passed wide of the far post with Langerak well beaten.
As in the first half, Melbourne's attacking influence during the second was insignificant. A rare opportunity arose midway through the half when Leigh Broxham floated in a free-kick which Vargas met only to see his header flash by the post.
Marvin Angulo, on as a replacement for Hernandez early in the second half, surprised the stadium with a long-range volley which was of such ferocity Zhi Yang did well to block. Mrdja was in a position to capitalise on just such an eventuality but the ball didn't fall quickly enough for him, allowing the Beijing defence to bundle the ball clear.
The match petered out to its inevitably disappointing conclusion for Victory, now having just one more match to conclude a season which promised golden rewards barely a month before, but which now cannot end soon enough.
The next and final game is against Seongnam Lueneng on Tuesday 27 April, 2010 in Korea.
Match Statistics:
Melbourne Victory FC 0
Crowd:6,394
SQUADS:
Best players: 3. Joel Griffiths (Beijing Guoan), 2. Yan Xiangchuang (Beijing Guoan), 1. Mitchell Langerak (Melbourne Victory)
Game ratings: 6/10
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