Victory charges to third
MELBOURNE Victory has won three games in a row for the first time this season and has moved into the A-League’s top three after an enthralling 2-1 win over Newcastle at AAMI Park in Melbourne.
Kosta Barbarouses and Besart Berisha netted for Victory, with a Jason Hoffman equaliser wedged in between.
Though the high-flying Jets were far from disgraced, the scoreline could have been greater in favour of the hosts, with Berisha having a goal chalked off for offside, the otherwise brilliant Mark Milligan missing a penalty and Leroy George hitting the inside of the post.
With Newcastle the league’s leading scorer and Victory an attacking outfit, this promised to be a high-octane affair and it didn’t disappoint. In the first 10 minutes alone both sides had multiple menacing penalty box incursions and it was an attacking spirit that didn’t let up.
George’s sublime trickery was a particular highlight.
The hearty crowd of 15,534 were in full voice as Victory recorded its first home win this campaign.
Barbarouses opened the scoring in the 33rd minute. Victory was made to pay with a sucker punch from Hoffman right on halftime but the margin was restored in the 53rd minute after a great run and strike by Berisha.
Milligan’s penalty miss came in the 59th minute and Berisha’s non-goal in the 68th, but in the end it mattered little.