Melbourne Heart's two-goal hero Matt Thompson says it was a special feeling to reward his club's loyal fans with a 3-2 win over derby rivals the Victory.
Second-year club the Heart took second spot on the table on Friday night with their sixth victory in seven matches.
The win was sweet for Thompson, who scored two classy goals within three minutes late in the first half to give his side a 2-1 advantage at half-time.
"To be on the road in the last five or six weeks and get results, we knew we wanted to come here and not spoil it," Matt Thompson said.
"We wanted to show we could do it in front of them (home fans).
"It's the best feeling to have everyone there cheering for you. It doesn't get much better than that."
Thompson said the Victory would have felt unlucky to be trailing 2-1 at halftime.
Carlos Hernandez had missed a penalty in the fifth minute after the Heart's goalkeeper Clint Bolton was yellow-carded for bringing down Archie Thompson, who scored a crafty opening lob goal of his own in the 21st minute.
A controversial goal from Heart's second-half substitute Alex Terra in the 62nd minute sent the record AAMI Park A-League crowd of 26,579 into another round of celebrations.
Hernandez scored a consolation with a free kick in the 92nd minute.
"Luck was on our side with the penalty miss. In the second half, everything worked," he said.
"We backed ourselves and our confidence is growing."
The Heart's coach John van 't Schip said nerves may have also played a part in his side's slow start, given there was a big build-up to this week's derby clash.
"We are here. We are competitive," the coach said.
"We started this season with two losses and three draws. We really had to fight hard."
The Heart have won two of their five derby clashes with former two-time A-league champions the Victory, with two drawn.
Victory coach Mehmet Durakovic said the sixth-placed Victory had enough chances to be ahead 2-0 inside the first half an hour.
"You've got to take your chances. We didn't," he said.
Durakovic claimed Alex Terra's second-half goal was a handball.
The Victory coach defended Harry Kewell's non-scoring game, saying the club's star recruit played well.
The Heart are away to Sydney FC on Thursday and third-placed Brisbane host the Victory two days later.
Brisbane can re-claim second spot on Monday night when they play Gold Coast.
AAP
Tags: a-league, soccer, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia First posted December 24, 2011 11:28:01
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