Melbourne Heart 0-0 Gold Coast United: Heart dominate but cannot win

Melbourne Heart 0-0 Gold Coast United

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Melbourne Heart should have beaten Gold Coast United at AAMI Park before a crowd of just over 6,000 but, in the end, they had to settle for a goalless draw.

The Heart were without the suspended Gerard Sibon and the injured Alex Terra, while Simon Colosimo was relegated to the bench and Dean Heffernan was dropped.

The Heart had all but one of the chances in the opening half.

Josip Skoko forced Gold Coast keeper Glenn Moss to make a brilliant save in the 10th minute, while the visitors’ only chance came when Bruce Djite forced Joel Porter’s low cross from the left over the bar while under pressure.

Rutger Worm was causing problems on the left for Heart and, in the 27th minute, he wriggled free of his marker but fired just wide of the far right-hand post.

On the stroke of half-time, Heart produced a superb attack down the right through Matt Thompson, whose cross was knocked down for Worm, but he again shot wide of the target.

Gold Coast made two changes at the interval as coach Miron Bleiberg sought to revitalise his side. James Brown and Steve Pantelidis replaced Robson and Bas van den Brink.

Moss was again forced to make a fine save in the 56th minute, turning Aziz Behich’s long-range drive wide for a corner.

In the 61st minute, Moss was again the hero with an outstanding save. Thompson put Wayne Srhoj away with a magnificent pass out of defence and he slipped the ball through to Ali Babalj, who was denied by Moss’s heroics.

Neither side was able to break the deadlock and shared the points to put Gold Coast United in third place and Melbourne Heart in sixth.

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Melbourne Heart: Bolton - Marrone, Thompson, Beauchamp, Behich - Skoko, Srhoj (Colosimo 72), Kalmar (Taseski 84) - Zahra (Hoffman 67), Babalj, Worm [Substitute not used: Zois]

Booked: Van Den Brink, Srhoj, Worm

Gold Coast United: Moss - Curtis, Djulbic, Thwaite, Traore - Van Den Brink (Brown 46) - Culina, Robson (Pantelidis 46), Caravella - Djite, Porter (Mebrahtu 77) [Substitute not used: Higgins]

Booked: Curtis, Brown

Att: 6,000

Ref: C Beath