Melbourne Victory secured their first three points of the season on Saturday night, scoring three goals in the first 25 minutes en-route to an impressive 3-1 win over Melbourne City.
Report
A strong crowd packed into AAMI Park for the first Melbourne Derby of the season, as both sides looked to give their starts to the season a major boost.
Victory did not take long to make the first move, opening the scoring just 5 minutes into the contest.
Nishan Velupillay scored the early goal, nailing the finish having been played through one-on-one by Nikos Vergos.
Victory continued to pile on the pressure and would soon have their second goal.
Vergos added to his brilliant start to the game, putting his own name on the scoresheet following a superb assist from Reno Piscopo.
Two goals before City had made a meaningful move in the game, with Patrick Kisnorbo’s team having made a near-perfect start.
The ball was in the back of the net for a third time in the 20th minute, as Zinedine Machach’s shot from just inside the area was deflected past the goalkeeper.
VAR though intervened, ruling out the third goal.
The setback was only a minor one for Victory though, as they scored a third goal which stood just 5 minutes later.
Ryan Teague made and scored the goal, pressing relentlessly to win the ball off the toes of City goalkeeper Patrick Beach, before finishing into an empty net.
Three goals in 25 minutes for Victory, who had put themselves in prime position for a first three points of the campaign.
The remainder of the first half was more even, but Victory had well and truly claimed control of the contest.
3-0 remained the score for the remainder of the half, as Victory looked to continue their dominance in the second 45.
The game proved to be a calmer affair following the re-start, but Victory continued to create the weight of chances.
City though would pull one goal back soon after the hour mark, as a long-range shot was saved into the path of Andrew Nabbout, who finished off the chance.
Kisnorbo responded by turning to his bench, bringing Daniel Arzani and Jing Reec into the game.
Santos also came into the game as the second half entered its final 20 minutes.
Victory’s defence had to be resilient throughout the closing stages of the game, repelling a series of City attacks.
Jack Duncan made a number of important contributions too, ensuring City would only score the one goal.
Ultimately, Victory saw off the City resurgence to claim a 3-1 win.
The first three points of the new campaign for Victory, who had made a powerful statement early in the season.
Next Match
Melbourne Victory v Macarthur
Date: Sun 3 November
Time: 4:00pm
Location: AAMI Park, Melbourne
