Kewell lacking dazzle but not discipline Harry Kewell's A-League return did not boast the fairytale goal against his former team, but in every other way it made Melbourne Heart's punt on him look a canny one. What the classy left-footer's 68-minute return against Melbourne Victory lacked in dazzle and dash it made up for with discipline and teamwork, and the occasional reminder of his enduring skill. The boos for the 35-year-old began well before the match started, such as when he led Heart out for its warm-up and when his name was announced over the venue's speakers as part of the line-ups. They also rang loudly in the sixth minute when he badly scuffed an attempted cross to the mouth of goal. Harry Kewell is fouled by Leigh Broxham of the Victory. That those boos muted thereafter was not simply due to fatigue from the Victory fans. It was simply that much of what the veteran was doing was worthy of grudging respect. Kewell's exploits were not of the type that would be at home in a highlights package. Most involved him deftly holding off an opponent to create space for a teammate, or providing the well-weighted pass that gave someone else an opportunity to score, even though many were hoping he would be doing the scoring rather than the assisting. The main beneficiary of Kewell's guile was David Williams, who was playing outside him as attacking left-winger. The veteran twice found Williams in the opening 15 minutes, exploiting his teammate's pace with passes that allowed him enough space to outrun his opponent. One trait that had not disappeared in Kewell's year away from the A-League was his intent for the referee to be aware of every misdemeanour or near-misdemeanour by a rival. The first instance of this came when Victory full-back Jason Geria escaped a card for barging into Heart midfielder Andrea Migliorini, while plenty more throughout the match involved his opposing captain, Leigh Broxham. Broxham made a point in the lead-up to the match saying Kewell would not be minded more intently than any other player, however with Kewell happy to sit deep behind sole striker Golgol Mebrahtu it meant holding midfielder Broxham was never too far from Kewell. Arguably Kewell's best moment for the night came midway through the first half with a long pass from midfield. To pass to a teammate outnumbered one-to-two would normally seem folly, although Kewell knew that Mebrahtu was fast enough to beat not only his direct opponent but also the goalkeeper advancing from the other direction. The pass was ideal for Mebrahtu; the only reason it came to nothing was that by the time he won possession in space the angle to goal was too tight and he had no well-placed teammates to cut the ball back to. The only real shot Kewell had at goal came after a blundered clearance by Victory's Adrian Leijer, for which he only had enough time to turn and shoot off one step and dragged it well wide of Nathan Coe's goal. While his aim was awry in that instance his control and distribution for the rest of the match certainly was not. When Kewell was substituted midway through the second half it was met by boos from the Victory supporters, but a handshake and pat on the back from Heart coaching duo John Aloisi and Hayden Foxe. Short of a goal - and a derby win - Heart could not have asked nor expected more of its highest profile recruit.