Melbourne Victory suffered a loss in their final fixture of the 2025 NPL Victoria campaign, falling 3-0 to Dandenong City.
Returning to the Home of the Matildas, four changes were made to the side that defeated Hume City in Round 25.
Kasper Fonsboel, Tobenna Obani, Kayne Razmovski and Daniel Lazarevski were all promoted from the bench to the starting XI, keen to impress and finish the season on a high.
It was certainly a thrilling end-to-end beginning to the game in Bundoora, with both sides creating an abundance of chances early on.
In the 17th minute, Jamie Latham’s powerful strike rattled the crossbar, with the deflection bouncing to Victory’s favour for a counterattack.
Storming into the final third, electric winger Patrick Wall was denied by a strong save from Dandy City’s goalkeeper.
Moments later, the visitors would almost open the scoring through a corner delivery, but shotstopper Kasper Fonsboel got down low quickly to make a remarkable save.
Daniel Lazarevski would impress the crowd in the 24th minute after taking a powerful through ball under control with an excellent chested touch, but couldn’t quite convert the chance after placing his shot narrowly wide of the bottom corner.
The visitors had a few more chances just past the half-hour mark, notably including a header onto the woodwork by former Victory striker, Kenny Athiu.
Dandy City would eventually find the opener in the 41st minute after an effort on the half-volley by Will Bower trickled into the back of the net.
With the final kick of the first half, Jamie Latham would double his side’s lead after peeling through Victory’s defence for a simple finish.
Searching for a way back in the game, attacking midfielder Lucas Alessi was brought on at the break by Boris Seroshtan.
However, a third goal for Dandy City was scored by Kenny Athiu just minutes after the restart; a devastating blow for the Young Vucks.
Although Victory would play some promising football across the second half against the NPL Victoria finalists, they could not find the final touches to reduce the deficit.
Youngsters Aaron Bazenski, James Houridis, Malik Olukhale and Nikolas Čevizović were all introduced from the bench across the second half, provided with valuable minutes for growth and development.
The 3-0 scoreline would be the final result on the day, a tough loss to take for the young group that played positive and attacking football.
Finishing the season 12th on the NPL Victoria ladder, Melbourne Victory’s Senior NPL side has unfortunately suffered relegation from the state’s top flight, competing right until the end but ultimately falling just short.
Match Details
NPL Victoria Men Round 26
Melbourne Victory 0
Dandenong City 3 (Bower 41′, Latham 45+1′, Athiu 47′)
Melbourne Victory Starting XI: 40. Kaspel FONSBOEL (GK), 4. Damien BOZINOVSKI (C), 6. Kayne RAZMOVSKI, 8. George MIHAILIDIS, 11. Daniel LAZAREVSKI, 13. John PAIKOPOULOS 21. Jonathan KELLIS, 22. Patrick WALL, 24. James LACKAY, 28. Charlie GOREVSKI, 29. Tobenna OBANI
Substitutes: 42. Oskar VON SCHRENK (GK), 15. Nikolas ČEVIZOVIĆ (79′), 18. Lucas ALESSI (46′), 31. James HOURIDIS (72′), 32. Aaron BAZENSKI (62′), 37. Malik OLUKHALE (79′)
