Melbourne Victory impressed in a friendly hit-out with Hume City, coming away as 5-0 winners on the day at NASIOL Stadium.
Arthur Diles made three changes to the XI that faced Olympic Kingsway in the Australia Cup, bringing a young trio of Daniel Graskoski, Joshua Rawlins, and Luka Kolic all into the starting lineup.
Victory were keen to get off to a good start and certainly did, with Greek forward Nikos Vergos forcing Hume’s goalkeeper into a few early saves.
Hosting the Vuck during a week off in their charge to secure a position in NPL Victoria’s top six, Hume had their share of opportunities attacking down the right flank.
Fullback Mark Ochieng clattered the post from distance with a powerful strike, while another effort would narrowly fly past Victory’s goal frame in the 17th minute.
However, Victory managed to regain control and apply significant pressure from the front.
New midfield partners Jordi Valadon and Louis D’Arrigo certainly stood out with their technical prowess and mobility in the centre of the park.
In the 21st minute, D’Arrigo played a slick one-two with Nikos Vergos, receiving the ball back just inside the box and slotting home a classy finish into the bottom corner for his first goal in navy blue colours.
Victory’s momentum continued into the remainder of the half, pushing to double their lead.
On set-piece duties, D’Arrigo delivered several dangerous deliveries into the box that caused the hosts issues.
On the brink of half-time, Santos rose highest to meet D’Arrigo’s whipped corner with an excellent headed effort to make the score 2-0.
While it was an excellent first half by Victory, they managed to go one better in the second 45′.
Minutes after dragging a shot wide following a great ball played across the box by Adama Traoré, Santos would score his brace.
Winning the ball on the right flank with acres of space to drive into, the Brazilian winger produced a thunderous effort that rifled off the crossbar and in, giving Hume’s goalkeeper zero chances of making a save.
Victory continued to attack and create an abundance of chances, scoring a fourth in the 58th minute.
Driving down the left flank, Keegan Jelacic played a perfect ball across goal for Nikos Vergos to tap home, adding his name to the scoresheet.
Straight after, Joshua Inserra, Emre Saglam, Tobenna Obani and Chris Donnell were all brought on by Arthur Diles as the first substitutes of the game.
The young brigade did not skip a beat and slotted straight into the side well, creating a promising chance for Vergos in the 64th minute that could not be converted.
Daniel Lazarevski, Alex Lee, Oskar Von Schrenk, Kayne Razmovski, Malik Olukhale and Xavier Stella would all make their way onto the pitch for the remaining stretch of the game, all keen to impress the coaching staff ahead of the upcoming season.
Displaying great effort down the right wing, 16-year-old Olukhale worked his way into a good chance that he placed just wide of the post.
One minute later, Xavier Stella was in the right place at the right time to direct a corner delivery into the top corner, scoring a fifth for the Vuck.
Defender Nikolas Cevizovic was Victory’s final substitution as Chris Donnell had a few positive moments in the remaining minutes, with all the young guns from the bench finishing the game exceptionally well.
The full-time whistle was blown not long after, putting an end to an excellent hit out at NASIOL Stadium, with the experienced core group and youthful talent both impressing on the day.
Taking plenty of positives from the game, Melbourne Victory will continue their preparations with the upcoming A-League Men’s season on the horizon.
Match Details
Hume City 0
Melbourne Victory 5 (D’Arrigo 21′, Santos 44′, 51′, Vergos 58′, Stella 81′)
Melbourne Victory Starting XI: 30. Daniel GRASKOSKI (GK), 3. Adama TRAORÉ, 4. Lachlan JACKSON, 8. Jordi VALADON, 9. Nikos VERGOS, 11. SANTOS, 21. Roderick MIRANDA (C), 22. Joshua RAWLINS, 23. Keegan JELACIC, 26. Luka KOLIC, 27. Louis D’ARRIGO
Substitutes: 40. Oskar VON SCHRENK (GK) (73′), 50. Kasper FONSBOEL (GK), 16. Joshua INSERRA (59′), 24. Emre SAGLAM (59′), 28. Kayne RAZMOVSKI (73′), 31. Daniel LAZAREVSKI (68′), 37. Tobenna OBANI (59′), 41. Malik OLUKHALE (73′), 42. Xavier STELLA (73′), 43. Alex LEE (68′), 44. Nikolas CEVIZOVIC (87′), 45. Chris DONNELL (59′)
