Melbourne Victory have secured an important 2-0 win over the Western Sydney Wanderers at AAMI Park to kick off round 25 A-League action.
Victory got off to the ideal start through Oliver Bozanic. The midfielder scored after a prolonged passage of possession in and around the box by the home side, which eventually ended up at his feet.
He doubled their advantage after the break, after Gui Finkler’s initial shot was blocked and the rebound fell to him. The goals were his second and third in the league for the Victory.
The Wanderers kicked into gear after the first goal and had the better of the chances for the rest of the half, with Dimas and Bridge having tame shots denied by Lawrence Thomas.
Victory’s goalkeeper was in fine form pulling off a stunning double save to keep both Mitch Nichols and Dario Vidosic at bay in the 25th minute.
There were some controversial moments with Daniel Georgievski appearing lucky to remain on the pitch, and Berisha looking hard done by to not receive a penalty after being collected by Liam Reddy.
A much better second half contest saw Victory hold on for all three points. The win is a huge confidence boost for the Victory and adds some spice to the race for the premier’s plate.
Melbourne Victory
Lawrence Thomas – 7: excellent saves in the first half, largely untroubled in the second.
Daniel Georgievski – 5.5: committed a nasty foul on Nichols, got booked. Got forward on plenty of occasions in the second half.
Matthieu Delpierre – 6.5: a typically solid performance from the Frenchman.
Leigh Broxham – 6.5: deployed in the centre back role, he did his job and did it well.
Stefan Nigro – 6: not as eventful as his debut but still showed some solid skill both in defence and attack.
Oliver Bozanic – 8.5: scored a goal either side of half time. Had a strong defensive showing at time. Overall a good game from the marquee.
Gui Finkler – 7: a good game from the Brazillian, had his hand in many key moves for the Victory
Rashid Mahazi – 6: quiet in midfield, did what he had to.
Fahid Ben Khalfallah – 6: had a tough match up against Neville, had a few moments but nothing particularly influential.
Besart Berisha – 7: was kept relatively quiet in the first half but it was his possession which eventually led to Bozanic’s goal. A better showing in the second half.
Kosta Barbarouses – 7: the better of Victory’s wingers but didn’t have as much joy as he perhaps would have liked.
Substitutes
Jai Ingham – N/A: came on for Berisha in the 87th minute.
Jesse Makarounas – N/A: came on in injury time for Khalfallah.
Scott Galloway – N/A: replaced Georgievski in the 87th minute.
Western Sydney Wanderers
Liam Reddy – 5.5: made a few saves, could have done better with the goal conceded.
Scott Jamieson – 6.5: got forward on multiple occasions and put in a good shift defensively.
Nikolai Topor- Stanely – 7: contained Berisha well for most of the match in what was a physical battle.
Alberto Aguilar – 6: had a decent night in the heart of defence.
Scott Neville – 7: much like his fellow fullback, had a few forays up forward but, more importantly, had Khalfallah’s measure for large parts of the night.
Dimas – 6.5: did well in the midfield, his distribution was great in the first half especially.
Andreu – 6: replaced in the 72nd minute, didn’t do anything noteworthy.
Mitch Nichols – 7.5: lively and ever-present up forward. Had some of the Wanderers best chances.
Mark Bridge – 6: wasn’t particularly dangerous up forward barring a few moments.
Jaushua Sotirio – 5.5: played under an hour. Didn’t do anything of note.
Dario Vidosic – 6: had his moments but was subbed early in the second half.
Substitutes
Romeo Castelen – 6: came on in the 56th minute, had a few opportunities to have an impact but couldn’t make anything of them.
Brendon Santalab – 5: entered the match in the 56th minute, couldn’t repeat his usual super sub heroics.
Kearyn Baccus – N/A: came on for Andreu in the 72nd minute.
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