FOOTBALL:

Melbourne Victory’s Marco Kurz felt a draw was about right, while Melbourne City’s Erick Mombaerts wanted more but both coaches saw reasons for optimism in their A-league season-opening scoreless draw.

A second-half Elvis Kamsoba goal that was disallowed for the Victory was the closest either side came to breaking the stalemate on Saturday night at Marvel Stadium.

Kamsoba looked to have broken through for his maiden league goal in the 56th minute but the Burundian winger was ruled offside by the video assistant referee (VAR).

The first half largely lacked the energy and intensity typical of the heated rivalry, which was perhaps to be expected given the extensive changes in personnel and tactical overhauls embarked on by the coaches who were both appointed in the off-season.

“I don’t think our performance was better than City’s and that means the draw is a fair result,” Kurz said.

“This result was not against a very strong side.”

While Kurz was content to share the points, Mombaerts felt his side deserved better.

“I’m a little bit disappointed … we had some good chances but we scored no goals,” the Frenchman said. “It was a good start, and defensively we were strong, so for me it is a good performance.” — Jason Phelan bad

Bosnia and Herzegovina are also on 10 after thrashing Finland 4-1.

Sweden scored a 4-0 win over Malta, Romania triumphed 3-0 at the Faroe Islands while Ireland missed the chance to move clear at the top of Group D as they drew 0-0 with Georgia. Rik Sharma