Hat-trick hero Nikos Vergos powered Melbourne Victory to all three points against Wellington Phoenix in Round 10 of the Isuzu UTE A-League on Monday night.
In the final outing of 2025, Victory’s number nine saved the best until last, with his latest match-winning heroics lifting Arthur Diles’ side into the top six.
Vergos had bagged a brace in the Original Rivalry success over Adelaide United earlier this month, and went one better as the team made it three wins in a row to sign off the year.
His headed opener, equalised by Ramy Najjarine, was followed by more aerial prowess to restore Victory’s lead in the 42nd minute. And the man who is now joint-first in the race for the Golden Boot completed his hat-trick early in the second-half.
The scoring was continued before the hour when Santos showed real composure to net his first of the season, and Jelacic added number five late on as the Phoenix defence had abandoned their stations in search of a late fightback.
Team News
Victory, in the pursuit of three straight wins, were unchanged from their Melbourne Derby success. The only change was among the substitutes, as Adama Traore replaced Lachlan Jackson on the bench.
Match Action
After surviving an early scare, when a bouncing pass from Alex Rufer deceived Sebastian Esposito to give Corban Piper a clear run at goal, who was foiled by Jack Duncan, Victory took charge.
Esposito this time took the initiative, spraying possession to the right wing where Nishan Velupillay was primed to deliver. The Socceroo centred a cross with the ferocity of a shot, allowing Vergos to climb unattended and simply add direction, heading downwards past full A-League debutant Eamonn McCarron from six yards out.
Soon after, Vergos had the ball in the net again, only for an offside flag to correctly chalk off his rebound to Juan Mata’s initial effort.
Approaching the half-hour mark, the visitors were handed a route back into the contest. Some uncharacteristic indecision from Jason Davidson saw him stumble on a pass, and Najjarine was the beneficiary, sweeping home beyond a stranded Duncan.
Eager to reestablish their lead, Victory’s captain went close to striking. Louis D’Arrigo swirled the ball in, and Roderick Miranda rose highest, heading narrowly wide.
Despite this near miss, the aerial route was causing problems, and it again paid dividends on the approach to half-time. As Wellington took a breather once a corner had been cleared, the hosts took away the oxygen of their equaliser, with Joshua Rawlins’ cross from deep powered home off the forehead of Vergos.
He then had two chances to complete a first-half hat-trick before returning to the rooms. First, Vergos pulled a low attempt past the post, before McCarron had to be at his best to get a foot on a touch that would have aptly signed off some fine build-up play from Davidson.
Half-time: Melbourne Victory 2-1 Wellington Phoenix
Recharged from the break, Vergos would have his treble less than two minutes after the restart. Again assisted by Rawlins, who linked up seamlessly with Velupillay as he celebrated his Australia U23 call-up, the Greek striker’s stroked finish kissed the base of the post on its way in.
With members of the Barmy Army in attendance, adding to the atmosphere inside AAMI Park, Victory were eyeing up a cricket score, and promptly added number four. Jordi Valadon pinched possession in the final third, giving Mata the opportunity to release Santos, who placed his finish beyond the reach of McCarron.
Midway through the second half, the Brazilian appeared to have doubled up, only for a lengthy VAR check to culminate in an offside verdict.
Nonetheless, the three-goal cushion was comfortable enough for Diles to afford some extra rest to some of his tireless performers, withdrawing Mata and D’Arrigo in exchange for Jelacic and Christmas Derby hero Matt Grimaldi.
It would be one of these changes, Jelacic, to turn Victory’s strong day out into a solidified five-star performance. Finishing off an excellent counter-attacking move after being played through by another substitute, Jing Reec, he rounded the Phoenix goalkeeper, causing pandemonium in the stadium.
Match Details
Melbourne Victory 5 (VERGOS 7′, 42′ 47′, SANTOS 55′, JELACIC 90′)
Wellington Phoenix 1 (NAJJARINE 29)
Melbourne Victory starting XI: 25. Jack DUNCAN (GK), 22. Joshua RAWLINS, 21. Roderick MIRANDA (C), 15. Sebastian ESPOSITO, 2. Jason DAVIDSON (3. Adama TRAORE 82′), 8. Jordi VALADON, 27. Louis D’ARRIGO (10. Denis GENREAU 67′), 11. SANTOS (19. Jing REEC 82′), 64. Juan MATA (23. Keegan JELACIC 67′), 17. Nishan VELUPILLAY (14. Matthew GRIMALDI 57′), 9. Nikos VERGOS.
Substitutes not used: 40. Jack WARSHAWSKY (GK), 16. Joshua INSERRA.
Booking: TRAORE 90+3.
Wellington Phoenix starting XI: 40. Eamonn MCCARRON (GK), 3. Corban PIPER, 4. Manjrekar JAMES, 7. Ifeanyi EZE, 11. Carlo ARMIENTO (5. Fin ROA CONCHIE 56′), 14. Alex RUFER (C) (8. Paulo RETRE 63′), 15. Isaac HUGHES, 18. Lukas KELLY-HEALD, 20. Ramy NAJJARINE, 25. Kazuki NAGASAWA (29. Luke BROOKE-SMITH 56′), 27. Matthew SHERIDAN.
Substitutes not used: 30. Albert KELLY-HEALD (GK), 24. Xuan LOKE, 31. Ryan LEE, 37. Anaru CASSIDY.
Booking: JAMES 45+1′.
Coming soon
The New Year starts as 2025 ended, with Victory taking centre stage at AAMI Park. Perth Glory, who Diles’ team beat 0-2 away in October, are the visitors on Friday night.
