Taste of Victory so sweet
IT JUST needed one goal.
And when it came there was only ever going to be one winner at AAMI Park on Saturday night, with top two-bound Melbourne Victory defeating wooden spoon favourite Adelaide 2-1.
There was an inevitability about the result from early stages as Victory had the clear high share of possession and chances.
But there was also a growing sense of frustration in the stands as a plucky United outfit – undermanned and backing up from an Asian Champions League game three nights earlier – held on resolutely for 65 minutes.
They had a few chances themselves too, the Reds, with Sergio Cirio and Tarek Elrich both going close within minutes of the start of the first and second halves, respectively.
But given Victory’s dominance, home fans who were also at the frustrating 1-1 draw with Perth in December must have been getting awful pangs of deja vu. James Troisi went close twice before the opener, while Marco Rojas and Jai Ingham also had chances.
Ingham wasn’t far away in the 57th minute either, before Troisi was superbly denied by Adelaide’s second-game goalkeeper Daniel Margush all of 60 seconds later. Then the dam wall broke – or, more correctly, was leapt over.
Rojas stepped up for a 66th minute free kick that he won with a menacing run forward then placed the ball beautifully up and over the wall. It was the New Zealand international’s 11th goal of what has been a brilliant season.
Besart Berisha put the cherry on top with a sublime outside-of-the-boot finish eight minutes from time – his 50th Victory goal and 98th in the ALeague – before Elrich netted a consolation strike in the 90th.
Rojas was great again last night, but Troisi probably shaded him in an attacking sense, while captain and vicecaptain Carl Valeri and Leigh Broxham were superb midfield. The win leaves Victory with 42 points, 12 clear of Melbourne City with just six games to play – although Perth had the chance to jump to 31 points late last night.
Either way, after City’s loss to Sydney on Friday, a week off for Victory in round one of the finals plus a home semi-final is all but mathematically assured.
Sydney is eight points clear of Kevin Muscat’s men, with those two teams to face off on Friday night this week.