Melbourne Victory made it back-to-back wins in the Liberty A-League, beating the Wellington Phoenix 2-0 on Friday.
Summary
In action for the first time since January 16, Victory struck twice in the opening 23 minutes at WIN Stadium in Wollongong.
Alana Murphy and Tiffany Eliadis were on the scoresheet as Victory made it two straight wins.
Wellington made a bright start, while MelindaJ Barbieri saw a lob fly off target after combining with Maja Markovski in the opening exchanges.
But Victory struck twice through Murphy and Eliadis, who both scored their first Liberty A-League goals.
After taking a corner, Murphy received a pass from Alex Chidiac and curled a second attempt towards the area and, with the help of the wind, it beat goalkeeper Lily Alfeld.
Victory doubled the lead 10 minutes later.
After Victory won possession high up the pitch, Chidiac crossed from the right for Eliadis to finish and make it 2-0.
Casey Dumont made a couple of good saves as Victory held firm as Phoenix put on some pressure for a period during the first half.
Victory almost had a third before half-time, but Claudia Bunge’s effort from Amy Jackson’s strike was cleared off the line after beating Alfeld.
Bunge continued to enjoy an excellent game defensively as the second half got underway, contributing several key blocks.
New signing, American defender Brooke Hendrix, came on for her Victory debut with just over 15 minutes remaining as the visitor claimed all three points.
Lia Privitelli almost sealed the win in additional time, producing an incredible solo run before hitting the post.
Key moment
What they said – Jackson
on the win…
“We’ve had a few weeks off and I think our girls were champing at the bit to get back on the park. It wasn’t pretty, but nevertheless we set out to get three points today and we’re going home with three points so job successful.”
on fitness…
“I’ve had an illness for a little bit. I’m back now so it was good to get 90 minutes under the belt and we progress forward from here. I think we’ve got seven games in 20 days so I think we’ll get some match fitness pretty quick and we’re really looking to jump spots on the ladder. We’ve got a great squad here so even if I’m not available, my team-mates will do the job for me, I’m sure of that.”
Player in focus
Bunge led the way for Victory. The New Zealand international defender made several excellent blocks as Victory kept another clean sheet.
Implications
With at least a game in hand on all of the top three, Victory moved back into fourth on 15 points after winning five of seven matches this season.
Result
Liberty A-League 2021/22 Round 10
Wellington Phoenix 0
Melbourne Victory 2 (Alana Murphy 13′, Tiffany Eliadis 23′)
Wellington Phoenix: Alfeld (gk) (c) (Edwards 81′); McMeeken, Barry, Taylor, Kramer (Vosper 62′); Jones, Gomez, Whinham (Walker 62′); Pritchard, Knott (Martin 82′), Jale (Lancaster 62′).
Melbourne Victory: Dumont (gk); Doran, Bunge (Robers 88′), Jackson, Privitelli (c); Murphy (Zois 86′), Eliadis (Hendrix 74′); Barbieri, Chidiac, Iermano; Markovski.
Yellow cards: Gomez 54′
Red cards: Nil
Attendance: TBA
Venue: WIN Stadium
Next up
Victory has a short turnaround, facing the Jets in Newcastle on Tuesday, February 8.
