Another game, another draw for Melbourne Victory. Once again, the Navy Blues squandered a match-winning position to walk away frustrated, with just one point to show for their efforts. It was their sixth draw from their opening ten matches. Fellow struggler and fierce rival Adelaide United took the other point on this occasion.

After a goalless first half, Archie Thompson glanced a header past former Victory goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic just before the hour after a gorgeous Fabio cross to give the home side the lead. As the game drew to a close it looked like Victory had the points sewn up. However, a fine 30m strike by Fabian Barbiero levelled the scores on 82 minutes.

Grant Brebner had a golden opportunity to win the game in stoppage time but couldn't make contact with Harry Kewell's cross.

It was an intense match between two rivals in which tensions bubbled over in the first half. Kewell and Zenon Caravella exchanged a few heated words after a crude challenge from the Adelaide midfielder, which sparked a melee in the middle of the park that involved all 22 players and brought the 16,000-strong crowd into the game.

For Kewell's part, he played one of his best games in a Victory shirt. As early as the first minute he was released down the right wing and into the box, only to have his shot stopped by Galekovic. Galekovic again denied Kewell late in the first half when the Socceroo tried to beat him from distance. The keeper had been well off his line, but dived backwards in desperation to deny Kewell a ripping goal.

Victory is now stuck in eighth position, the need to turn draws into wins becoming ever more pressing. If Sydney FC beats bottom-placed Gold Coast on Sunday, Victory will be two wins off third place - which they occupied just two rounds ago.

To rise up the ladder, though, they need to work on a few specific areas:

Firstly, they need to be more dangerous from corners. They won ten corners tonight - Adelaide did not earn any - but didn't look like scoring from any of them. Too many were taken short. They need to be able to make more of a potentially goal-scoring position.

Secondly, they need to get the ball from defence to attack quicker. Adelaide repeatedly took the ball from the last line of defence to the edge of their attacking box in the blink of an eye, and it made for nervous moments for Victory's defence. Victory, on the other hand, built their attacks up far too slowly, allowing Adelaide time to get in position and mark their opponents. A swifter counter-attack will get best use out of Victory's multiple attacking options.

Thirdly, it's time to do away with the long, low-percentage ball from defence straight to attack. Victory has been using it all season and it does not work - or at least, not nearly consistently enough to persist with it. Tonight was no exception.

While there are plenty more areas in which the Victory could improve - for instance, learning to hold onto a lead - these would be a good start. If they don't change something, they will continue to underwhelm for the remainder of the season.