Our boys in blue return home this week for Member Recognition Round as they look to secure a home final.
Finals Push
A win against Brisbane on Saturday night will all but secure a home Elimination Final for Tony Popovic’s side.
With only two matches remaining in the Isuzu UTE A-League season, our boys in blue sit in third place, three points above Sydney in second and Macarthur in third.
Securing all three points this weekend will mean Victory can’t drop below fourth, ensuring a blockbuster Elimination Final at AAMI Park
Brisbane have lost three of their last five matches, only winning one in that stretch as they now sit ninth on the table.
History hasn’t been kind against the Roar, with our last win against Brisbane coming all the way back in 2021 in a 3-0 win at home.
Our boys in blue have lost their last three matches to the Roar, with two of those occurring at AAMI Park.
Match Details
Melbourne Victory v Brisbane Roar
Date: Sat 20 Apr
Time: 5:30pm
Location: AAMI Park
Tickets: mvf.club/almrd25
Member Recognition Round
This week we celebrate those most important to us, our members.
Undefeated
Two goals in the first 15 minutes proved decisive for the Victory Academy on Sunday afternoon, as they held off a stern challenge from Brunswick City to win 2-1.
Sunday’s game was set to be a high-quality affair, with both teams coming into the contest in a strong run of form.
Victory was hunting a third straight win, as well as the prospect of extending their lead on top of the VPL1 ladder.
Joe Palatsides’ team could hardly have made a better start, securing an advantage within the first 10 minutes.
A defensive error was pounced upon by Eli Adams, who made no mistake with his finish into an empty net.
A perfect start at home, but Victory would double their lead just minutes later.
A swift attacking move saw Linus Bourke’s cross pick out Jesse Hoey on the edge of the area, whose subsequent shot caught a deflection, helping it past the Brunswick goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
2-0 ahead before 15 minutes had been played, Victory had put themselves in pole position to bag another three points.
However, Brunswick was not going to accept defeat so easily.
Just before the half-hour mark, the visitors pulled one goal back thanks to a slick counter-attacking move.
Brunswick even thought they had an equaliser just minutes later, but the offside flag offered a reprieve for Victory.
Brunswick was again a whisker away from levelling the score in the final attack of the half, but the crossbar ensured Victory would head into the break with their 2-1 advantage intact.
The second half was a tamer affair, with the interval having seemingly taken some of the edge off the game.
Palatsides utilised his bench as the game entered its final 20 minutes, bringing Victor Muhindo into the contest alongside Tommaso Minutoli, who was making his first senior appearance of the season.
Victory was increasingly threatening on the counterattack as the second half progressed, with Brunswick forced to commit more numbers forward in search of an equaliser.
Jack Mihailidis was also brought into the game for the final 15 minutes, replacing Luka Kolić.
Victory’s defence continued to hold firm as the final whistle approached, with several key interventions from Josh Inserra and Matt Bozinovski, as well as some important contributions from goalkeeper Daniel Graskoski.
Damien Bozinovski and Dimi Palatsides were the final substitutes brought into the game, as the hosts looked to see out the final few minutes.
Despite five minutes of injury time, Victory was successful in holding out for the three points, 2-1 the full-time score.
A hard-fought win at home against a game opposition sees Victory end the day seven points clear at the top of the table.
Next Up
The Victory Academy hit the road next Saturday 20 April, as they head to Lawton Park to take on promotion rivals Langwarrin, kicking off at 3:00pm.
