View from the Victory, Volume Five: A Derby? No, It's The Melbourne Pillow Fight

Mehmet Durakovic's Melbourne Victory were back in action this weekend to renew the Melbourne Derby with rivals Melbourne Heart at Etihad Stadium.

Victory came into the contest with a 0-1-1 record (one point) and came into the contest scoreless in 180 minutes of action. The pressure was on for Durakovic to deliver.

"I've got a fantastic headache," Durakovic told Soccerway. "We've got a big squad and we've got a very experienced squad and some really good youngsters coming through. But it will take time for the team shape and the team structure that I want to mould, it will take time."

"But once we start firing you will see a different Melbourne Victory team."

Who would be the one that would successfully pull the trigger first? Harry Kewell would be the first option, but his finishing has been rusty the last two weeks. Same thing for Archie Thompson and Carlos Hernandez.

In short, someone had to step up for Victory. As for Heart (0-2-0, zero points), the cellar dwellers had their own issues in terms of producing.

"It's an important game," Heart manager John van 't Schip told Ray Gatt of The Australian. "There's more pressure on the game than maybe we expected.

"We have to focus on what we have to do, because it doesn't help to think of all other kinds of things."

The rivalry between Victory and Heart was perpetuated by the actions of current Victory assistant manager Kevin Muscat for a rough challenge on Adrian Zahra in their last Derby match. Zahra never recovered from the injury, which caused Muscat to be banned eight matches and consequently into retirement.

The Heart manager, however, issued a very stern warning regarding the incident.

"You are not going to win with bringing that into the game," van 't Schip said. "It's a new team, a new season and we just have to focus on the things that we have to do tomorrow."

A scoreless first half that saw both sides gain a bevy of looks but a lack of finishing to show for it gave way to more of the same in the second half. The end result was a scoreless draw, and under 40,000 fans at Etihad were not amused, to say the least.

In short, this was not the Melbourne Derby, but rather the Melbourne Pillow Fight. Ghastly football. Appalling finishing. And the only flashes of brilliance came from the goalkeepers: Victory's Ante Covic and Heart's Clint Bolton.

270 minutes without a goal. Can Melbourne Victory break their duck before a possible change in leadership takes place?

Kickoff between the Melbourne Victory and wellington Phoenix at Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 11 at 4:30 p.m. AEST.