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A RECORD-BREAKING Melbourne derby crowd turned up but the teams appeared to suffer from stage-fright.
In probably the most uneventful of the 10 derbies Melbourne Heart came and conquered in their quest to pinch a point from Melbourne Victory.
It was almost as if soccer had fulfilled its quota of controversy for the day after Holger Osieck's sacking as the usually drama-filled affair fizzled out finishing 0-0 in front of 45,202 at Etihad Stadium.
The scene was set for some Harry Kewell drama as he took on his old club and he was involved in most of Heart's best attacking forays.
Re-live all the action in our Match Centre, featuring video highlights and game stats!
But with his head bandaged after a stray albeit accidental elbow from Adrian Leijer, he was withdrawn on 68 minutes perhaps as a precaution and after that Victory was the only team that looked likely to score.
No doubt the six-month off-season had an effect as three players succumbed to cramp, Archie Thompson and James Troisi for Victory and finally Mate Dugandzic for Heart.
Starting on the right wing with Connor Pain on the left, Thompson was unusually quiet in his 76 minute spell and missed a header he'd usually score two minutes before coming off from Troisi's perfectly weighted cross.
Heart ensured they were compact and hard to break down with Dutchman Rob Wielaert marshaling the team defensively and Italian watchdog Andrea Migliorini and former Roar midfielder Massimo Murdocca sitting deep.
Whether by instruction or lack of opportunity, Aziz Behich's usual energy and overlap was absent.
Heart naming five debutants to Victory's four, but it was a couple of familiar faces who produced the first chance for Heart when Dugandzic's shot from a David Williams cross curled wide of the upright.
Victory's first chance came after Hart failed to clear a corner but luckily keeper Andrew Redmayne's reflexes blocked Adrian Leijer's shot.
Moments later stand-in Victory skipper Leigh Broxham, who was setting the aggressive tone for the night, struck nicely after a hashed Patrick Kisnorbo clearance but Redmayne was again up to the task.
Heart got into more dangerous areas but in the end keeper Nathan Coe didn't have a meaningful save to make in the Victory goal.
First Kewell had a snatch shot after some shoddy Victory defending in the 41st minute then Kewell almost turned provider when he headed in to Golgol Mebrahtu, who spun and shot narrowly wide from 10 metres.
Victory should've had a penalty two minutes after the restart when Adama Traore's shot struck the hand of Kisnorbo.
The game then threatened to spark into life when Chilean defender Pablo Contreras, who was solid on debut, upended Aziz Behich with a stray forearm - referee Peter Green missed it but after both sets of players remonstrating the game seemed to lift a notch.
But neither team could gather any momentum in a stop-start affair as a surprisingly timid Victory struggled to penetrate the rock-solid Heart defence.
- With AAP
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