Melbourne Victory have suffered a 4-0 defeat to South Koreas’s Daegu FC to confirm their Asian Champions League fate. Melbourne Victory have suffered a 4-0 defeat to South Koreas’s Daegu FC to confirm their Asian Champions League fate. Victory, which sent a second-string side to South Korea as they focus on Sunday’s A-League semi-final, were on track to be honourable losers until a late flurry from the home side. Edgar, Jeong Tae-wook, Kim Dae-won and Jung Seon-ho scored the goals to give the South Korean side a comfortable win on Wednesdayand condemn Victory to a last- placed finish in their group. Given Victory’s young squad in action, it was no surprise. Muscat handed Ben Carrigan, 20, a debut, and 19-year-old striker Jack Palazzolo plus 18-year-old midfielder Rahmat Akbaritheir first ACL starts. Birkan Kirdar, 17, already Victory’s youngest ever player when he turned out in the competition lastyear, and 18-year-old Aaron Anderson, were also used off the bench. Victory youngster Jack Palazzolo in action against Daegu on Wednesday night. Picture: Getty Images<doc-sep>Victory youngsters outclassed by Daegu in ACL Melbourne Victory were defeated 4-0 by Daegu FC in Wednesday night’s AFC Champions League tie in South Korea. With their elimination already confirmed and a Hyundai A-League Semi-Final against Sydney to come on Sunday, Victory boss Kevin Muscat left a host of stars at home – including Keisuke Honda, Ola Toivonen and Kosta Barbarouses. It meant a heavily rotated Victory team took to the field for their penultimate Group F match, and defenders Thomas Deng and James Donachie were the only starters from last Friday’s Elimination Final win over Wellington Phoenix. ACL: Sydney hopes dashed after loss to Ulsan in Korea LIVE BLOG: Keep up to date with all the Semi-Finals news in one place HOW TO WATCH: Both of this weekend's do-or-die Hyundai A-League Semi-Finals Daegu hit the lead when the impressive Kim Dae-won drew a foul from Josh Hope in the penalty area, leaving Brazilian striker Edgar to bury the resulting spot-kick past Victory shot stopper Matt Acton. Hope and Victory steadied the ship, and it was the Tasmania-born midfielder who teed up 19-year-old Jack Palazzolo with a big chance to equalise on his starting Victory debut in the final moment of first half stoppage time. Unfortunately for the teenager, Daegu goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo was out brilliantly to smother his effort. The South Korean outfit swiftly doubled the lead early in the second half. Acton made a fine stop from Jeong Tae-wook’s header but the defender hammered in the rebound – his maiden goal in professional football. Only a pair of top-class Hyeon-woo saves from Kenny Athiu and substitute Elvis Kamsoba kept Victory from mounting a second half assault, before Dae-won rifled in a spectacular third for Daegu, and Jung Seon-ho added a fourth.<doc-sep>BEST (Some) bright signs for the Big V While this ACL campaign is already one to forget for Kevin Muscat, if there's a bright spark to come out of this series it's the admirable performances of several youth players. This display wasn't in the ilk of the 1-1 draw with Guangzhou Evergrande, it was clear they were lacking a sensational midfield maestro like Terry Antonis to keep things ticking over in the middle, and there were a few shaky moments all around. But Victory could have easily fashioned a couple of goals, their interplay was generally strong and their technical skill, while unreliable, was fairly obvious. Elvis Kamsoba 76' A big reflex save by Cho Hyun-woo denies Elvis Kamsoba at the near post #DAEvMEL 2-0 #ACL2019 — Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) May 8, 2019 He's now a step above the second-string Victory lineup and you could tell when he took to the field that he was brimming with confidence and self-reliance. He's worked very hard to get where he is today and he's clearly relishing the opportunity. Daegu FC The Koreans have impressed greatly over the past two seasons and deserve to make the second round in their debut ACL campaign. Their coach, Andre, came through the assistant ranks at Daegu, biding his time for the top job and he's almost revolutionised the team's expectations. Most impressive is the way he's able to control a squad that's still youthful and displays their fair share of timidity and inexperience. He managed to ensure that they worked their way into the match and finished with an extremely dominant scoreline, ultimately deserved.<doc-sep>Melbourne Victory head back to Australia on Wednesday, if not mission accomplished, then mission complete, after their Asian Champions League humbling. Victory were 4-0 losers to K League 1 side Daegu FC, confirming their place at the foot of their ACL group. Coach Kevin Muscat took one of Victory's least experienced touring parties away to South Korea, leaving 10 senior players in Melbourne to focus on Sunday's A-League semi-final against Sydney FC. Given they couldn't qualify for the knockout stage in Asia's premier club competition but can still defend their domestic title, there have been few criticisms. The big winners out of the occasion were three young players; Ben Carrigan, Jack Palazzolo and Aaron Anderson. Carrigan, 20, started the match in central defence; his first taste of senior football at any level. Palazzolo, 19, made a first start after a late substitute debut in Victory's previous ACL clash. Anderson enjoyed his first taste of senior football after he replaced Carrigan late in the contest. The 18-year-old Anderson confessed to nerves. "I've dreamt of it for a long time, getting my professional debut. It was good to come off the bench even for that amount of time," he said. "It was great." Carrigan said the crowd of 8,000 at the Daegu Forest Arena made the experience "feel like a movie". "I walked out and I was right behind Jack as I went out and I just saw his name 'Palazzolo' (on his shirt) and then the fans were going crazy, and the lights," he said. "It was a big adrenalin rush. "A good mixture of some nerves and excitement. "It feels different when you walk out to a full stadium and you know you're on the telly. "I'm disappointed with the result and I'd like to think I could have done a bit better with some of the goals (but) I gave my all." Palazzolo had a superb chance to score after being played through by Josh Hope but was denied by Jo Hyeon-woo, the South Korean national team goalkeeper. "I'm very disappointed. I'm sure I'll cop a bit of smack for that," he said. "But I'm so grateful to Kevin and the staff to giving me the opportunity. "At the moment I'm more excited for us mates making (our) debut."<doc-sep>
Melbourne Victory have suffered a predictable and lamentable 4-0 defeat to Daegu FC, locking in their Asian Champions League fate. Victory, which sent a second-string side to South Korea as they focus on Sunday’s A-League semi-final, were on track to be honourable losers until a late flurry. Edgar, Jeong Tae-wook, Kim Dae-won and Jung Seon-ho scored the goals to give the South Korean side a comfortable win on Wednesday and condemn Victory to a last- placed finish in their group. Given Victory’s young squad in action, it was no surprise. Stream live coverage of the 2019 AFC Champions League on KAYO SPORTS. Get your 14 day free trial & start streaming instantly > Muscat handed Ben Carrigan, 20, a debut, and 19-year-old striker Jack Palazzolo plus 18-year-old midfielder Rahmat Akbari their first ACL starts. Birkan Kirdar, 17, already Victory’s youngest ever player when he turned out in the competition last year, and 18-year-old Aaron Anderson, were also used off the bench. A string of other fringe players were entrusted with representing the club, with Matt Acton acting as captain. Corey Brown is challenged by Kim Dae-won at Daegu Forest Arena. Source: Getty Images Unfortunately for Victory, Daegu scored from their first trip into the box. On eight minutes, a dubious penalty was awarded for Josh Hope’s tackle on Kim Dae-won before Brazilian star Edgar converted the spot kick. Victory’s best chance of the match came in first-half stoppage time, when Hope brilliantly released Palazzolo only for the teen’s shot to be saved. Kenny Athiu and substitute Elvis Kamsoba also had efforts denied by South Korean national team goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo. Jeong scored in the 53rd minute after Acton spilled the defender’s bullet header. Kim struck the best goal of the game, a curling effort from outside the box, on 80 minutes and Jung made the game safe three minutes later. “It was a tough game for us,” Muscat said. “Conceding the early goal made it very, very difficult for us. “There were a lot of players that will gain some very good experience from that however we are disappointed not to get something out of the game.” Victory’s Kenjok Athiu competes for the ball with Nishi Tsubasa of Daegu FC. Source: Getty Images In Group F’s other clash on Wednesday night, Sanfrecce Hiroshima sealed progress with a 1-0 win over Guangzhou. The Chinese Super League club must now defeat Daegu on May 22 they are to climb out of the group. On the same night, a few days after the A-League grand final, Victory will host Sanfrecce in a limp end to their campaign; and Carl Valeri’s final professional match. The lacklustre performance of both Victory and Sydney FC, which were eliminated on Tuesday night, means the last seven group stage campaigns by A-League clubs have ended in failure. RE-LIVE ALL THE ACTION IN OUR BLOG: If you can’t see the blog below, CLICK HERE