A Damien Da Silva header with just minutes left to play secured a huge Melbourne Derby win for Melbourne Victory, 2-1 the final score.
Report
An electric atmosphere set the scene at AAMI Park, in a game with significant ramifications for both teams as the season nears its conclusion.
Despite Victory creating the first couple of chances, it was City who landed the first blow.
A defensive error set Tolgay Arslan through on goal, who curled his finish past Paul Izzo to give City the early lead.
Victory fought back well following the opener, generating a number of shots on target.
The best came from Ben Folami, whose run and strike drew a strong save from Jamie Young in the City goal.
Zinedine Machach also had a guilt-edge chance, but narrowly pulled his shot wide of the target.
Victory’s pressure eventually reaped its reward though, when Jason Geria was fouled inside the penalty area.
Bruno Fornaroli stepped up to convert the spot-kick, levelling the scores with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half.
Tony Popovic’s team continued to create chances as the half neared its conclusion.
Fornaroli put the ball in the back of the net for a second time, but his headed effort was ruled out by the narrowest of offside calls.
As a result, the score remained locked at 1-1 at the break.
The second half was a more stable affair, with both teams having found their footing in the contest.
Adama Traore had the best of the chances early in the second half, latching onto a clever reverse pass from Folami, before his shot rolled just wide of the far post.
Popovic looked to his bench as the game entered its final 20 minutes, bringing Nishan Velupillay, Jordi Valadon and Chris Ikonomidis into the action.
However, shots on goal became increasingly difficult to come by late in the contest, with 1-1 seemingly destined to remain the score.
The decisive twist though would arrive with just five minutes of regulation time remaining, when Ryan Teague’s corner found the head of Damien Da Silva, who thumped home the winning goal.
A monumental goal for Victory, who had all but secured the Derby win.
The ball would end up in the back of the net one more time, when Velupillay looked to have added the icing to the cake, but once again the offside flag ruled out the attempt.
Nonetheless, Victory saw out the remainder of the contest to secure the 2-1 win.
A second consecutive win for Victory, which propels them into third place on the A-League Men’s ladder.
The Stats
Next Match
Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory
Date: Fri 12 April
Time: 5:00pm
Location: Sky Stadium, Wellington
