The Cross Border Rivalry

Cross Border Rivalry
Adelaide United vs Melbourne Victory Rivalry
City or region Adelaide / Melbourne (Australia)
First contested 7 May 2005
Teams involved Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory
Most wins Melbourne Victory (14)

The Adelaide vs Melbourne rivalry, more commonly known as "The Cross Border Rivalry", is a football (soccer) rivalry between A-league teams Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory. It is one of the most bitter rivalries in the A-League and the matches are often filled with controversy. The "Reds versus Blues" contest carries on from a longstanding rivalry between the two states. Despite the relative strength of both teams in the A-League, Adelaide failed to defeat Melbourne Victory in a competitive match from 8 December 2007 to 9 January 2011 when Adelaide United ended their losing run against their rivals with a 4–1 win in Melbourne.

Contents

Conflict Between Fans, Players and Coaches

Conflict between the two fan groups, Adelaide United's Red Army, and Melbourne Victory's North Terrace, are common.

One of the most famous confrontations was between ex-Adelaide United coach, John Kosmina and Melbourne Victory's captain, Kevin Muscat. Kosmina grabbed Muscat around the throat in retaliation to being knocked off his chair.[1] In a recent (11/02/2011) article from The Advertiser Muscat took all blame for the incident.

League Matches

Game
Date
Round
Home team
Away team
Score
Goals (home)
Goals (away)
Attendance
1 9 September 2005 3 Adelaide United Melbourne Victory 1–0 Brain (1) 8,785
2 28 October 2005 10 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 0–1 Veart (83) 16,201
3 5 January 2006 17 Adelaide United Melbourne Victory 1–0 Dodd (14) 13,427
4 25 August 2006 1 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 2–0 Muscat (p 29) Claudinho (78) 15,781
5 15 October 2006 8 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 0–1 Owens (83) 32,368
6 1 December 2006 15 Adelaide United Melbourne Victory 1–3 Fernando (42) Muscat (p 16), Allsopp (61), Fred (86) 16,378
7 28 January 2007 SF Leg 1 Adelaide United Melbourne Victory 0–0 15,575
8 4 February 2007 SF Leg 2 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 2–1 Allsopp (48), Robinson (90+2) Dodd (4) 47,413
9 18 February 2007 Grand Final Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 6–0 Thompson (20, 29, 39, 56, 72), Sarkies (90+3) 55,436
10 7 September 2007 3 Adelaide United Melbourne Victory 1–1 Dodd (p 83) Vargas (80) 12,231
11 12 October 2007 8 Adelaide United Melbourne Victory 4–1 Milicevic (o.g.14), Dodd (15, 54), Pantelis (90+2) Thompson (45+2) 13,372
12 8 December 2007 16 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 2–2 Muscat (p 71), Alagich (o.g 90+2) Agostino (18,50) 22,466
13 12 September 2008 4 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 1–0 Muscat (64) 24,812
14 31 October 2008 10 Adelaide United Melbourne Victory 2–3 Dodd (p 28), Cassio (67) Muscat (p 55,p 81), Celeski (84) 13,191
15 6 January 2009 15 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 1–0 Ward (58) 27,196
16 7 February 2009 SF Leg 1 Adelaide United Melbourne Victory 0–2 Hernández (13), Allsopp (89) 14,119
17 14 February 2009 SF Leg 2 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 4–0 Thompson (10), Hernández (24), Allsopp (44), Pondeljak (48) 34,736
18 28 February 2009 Grand Final Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 1–0 Pondeljak (60) 53,273
19 18 September 2009 7 Adelaide United Melbourne Victory 0–2 Ward (7), Brebner (90) 15,038
20 24 October 2009 12 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 3–1 Dugandžić (18, 56) Leijer (89) Hughes (64) 21,182
21 23 January 2010 24 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 2–0 Pondeljak (1) Muscat (p 90+3) 20,361
22 29 October 2010 10 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 2–1 Kruse (22) Hernandez (68) Fyfe (1) 16,269
23 9 January 2011 22 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 1–4 Dugandžić (90+4) Flores (12) van Dijk (57,78) Barbiero (74) 18,558
24 11 February 2011 27 Adelaide United Melbourne Victory 2–1 Reid (6) Dodd (78) Thompson (65) 21,083
25 14 October 2011 2 Adelaide United Melbourne Victory 1–0 van Dijk (51) 14,573
26 10 December 2011 10 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 1–1 Thompson (59) Barbiero (82) 16,562

Non-League Matches

Date
Match Home team
Away team
Score
Goals (home)
Goals (away)
Attendance
7 May 2005 OCC Qualfiers Adelaide United Melbourne Victory 0–0

(p.s.o 4–1)

Costanzo, Alagich, Veart, Brain (p.s.o) Diaco (p.s.o) 7254
6 August 2005 Challenge Cup Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 0–0 4,687
16 July 2006 Challenge Cup1 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 0–1 Veart (65) 6,834
15 July 2007 Challenge Cup1 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 1–1 Allsopp (74) Dodd (9) 8,000
26 February 2008 Friendly Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 2–1 Caceres (17), Allsopp (22) Giraldi (42) Closed Match
4 March 2008 Friendly Adelaide United Melbourne Victory 1–1 Cassio (p 67) Allsopp Closed Match
20 July 2008 Challenge Cup1 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 1–2 Fabiano (8) Cristiano (33, 90) 4,720
26 July 2009 Friendly1 Melbourne Victory Adelaide United 2–1 Brebner (19) Thompson (29) Cassio (58) 6,257
23 September 2011 Friendly1 Adelaide United Melbourne Victory 1–1 Slory (40) Hernandez (89) 9,543

Head to Head

Result Number
Melbourne Victory wins 14
Adelaide United wins 8
Draws 4
Team Goals
Melbourne Victory 40
Adelaide United 23
Team Home Win Home Draw Home Loss
Melbourne Victory 10 2 3
Adelaide United 4 2 4

Leading Goalscorers

Player Club Goals Scored
Archie Thompson Melbourne Victory 9
Kevin Muscat Melbourne Victory 7
Travis Dodd Adelaide United 6
Daniel Allsopp Melbourne Victory 4
Carlos Hernández Melbourne Victory 3
Tom Pondeljak Melbourne Victory 3
Sergio van Dijk Adelaide United 3
Fabian Barbiero Adelaide United 2
Paul Agostino Adelaide United 2
Mate Dugandžić Melbourne Victory 2
Nick Ward Melbourne Victory 2
Louis Brain Adelaide United 1
Grant Brebner Melbourne Victory 1
Claudinho Melbourne Victory 1
Adam Hughes Adelaide United 1
Robbie Kruse Melbourne Victory 1
Adrian Leijer Melbourne Victory 1
Greg Owens Adelaide United 1
Lucas Pantelis Adelaide United 1
Fernando Rech Adelaide United 1
Iain Fyfe Adelaide United 1
James Robinson Melbourne Victory 1
Kristian Sarkies Melbourne Victory 1
Rodrigo Vargas Melbourne Victory 1
Carl Veart Adelaide United 1
Marcos Flores Adelaide United 1

Players who played for both clubs

See also

References