Patafta to start up front for Victory

Good to see Canberran Kaz Patafta set to partner Allsopp in attack tonight.

Former Young Socceroo Captain Kaz Patafta is likely to fill the boots of Archie Thompson as Melbourne Victory takes on Perth Glory in Round 3 of the Pre-Season Cup in Darwin.

Victory report, "Following a grueling trip back from Asian Cup duty with the Qantas Socceroos, Thompson has been ruled out of the clash, leaving the door open for Patafta to make his mark in the forward line along side Danny Allsopp."

Wonder how hard the trip back was for Archie? A flight from Hanoi to Melbourne. Yep sounds really gruelling, probably in Economy class alongside people like me!

More importantly Patafta has had some excellent game time for Victory since his return but with The Gruelled (is that a word)Archie, Brazilian Love (that is his name)and Hernandez all pushing for game time, competition for places is heating up ahead of the A-League opener against Wellington.