Melbourne Victory beat Perth Glory 3-2 on Friday night to rack up a fourth-consecutive win in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
At AAMI Park, Arthur Diles’ side overcame conceding inside a quarter of an hour as they made a successful start to 2026.
Trent Ostler’s opener was cancelled out during the final knockings of first-half stoppage time by Louis D’Arrigo’s first goal for the Club.
This route back in proved to be a launchpad for Victory, who took the lead when Nishan Velupillay opened his account for the season.
Santos netted in successive matches to give the hosts the required cushion, with Khoa Ngo getting Glory on the scoresheet for a second time late on.
Team News
Diles made two enforced changes, replacing Joshua Rawlins and Jordi Valadon – both away on Australia duty at the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup – with Joshua Inserra and Denis Genreau.
The Olyroos’ absences meant youngsters Oliver Dragicevic and Kayne Razmovski took up places on the bench.
Match Action
Neither side gave anything up during the opening duels, with the contest’s first chance falling Victory’s way in the 10th minute. Inserra crossed from the right, but an unattended Santos, perhaps unsighted by Nikos Vergos and Charbel Shamoon jumping for the delivery, mistimed his volleyed attempt.
Unfortunately, when Perth responded, it was by finding the net. Rhys Bozinovski sped down the right with purpose and pulled the ball back for Ostler to sweep into the corner.
And Victory’s first-half troubles continued when they were forced into an unscheduled change. Roderick Miranda left the field clutching his upper leg, being replaced by left-back Adama Traore, as Jason Davidson slid into the middle of defence.
Reshuffle sorted, the hosts went on the attack, and Matthew Sutton was relieved to see Velupillay’s low effort roll wide after the ball had found a way through his dive.
It was then Sebastian Esposito breathing a sigh of relief midway through the first-half. The defender had his pocket picked by Tom Lawrence, whose tackle set Arion Sulemani through on goal and made him certain to score until Jack Duncan got down to his left to superbly push the ball behind.
The frantic football continued, and Perth had to scramble in defence when the leftovers of a corner were headed flush onto the crossbar by Genreau.
Sutton was again beaten all ends up as the half approached its conclusion. Velupillay persisted on the left and found the arriving Mata, only for the Spaniard’s curler to whizz close over the top.
Perth’s luck would, though, run out at the end of five minutes of injury time. A penalty box siege, which featured full-backs Inserra and Traore involved, paid dividends for the Boys in Blue, with D’Arrigo’s left-footed shot from just inside the box finding a way through Sutton’s defences.
Half-time: Melbourne Victory 1-1 Perth Glory
The intensity remained following the interval, and no sooner had Vergos headed wide than he was teeing up Mata. A ball from the left was perfectly guided toward the playmaker, and his skimming volley was mere inches off target.
Mata’s radar was then without fault in the 53rd minute, on this occasion to assist the go-ahead goal. His deep corner honed in on the unmarked Velupillay, who, without hesitation, sidefooted the airborne pick-out in via a deflection off Ostler.
An insurance policy was added in the 69th minute, thanks in no small part to more Mata magic. Although, a significant portion of credit must be reserved for Genreau’s perseverance in keeping the ball alive under immense pressure from two opponents.
He hooked it in-field from the byline before Mata’s composure, when shooting was an option, gave Santos a clear sight of goal he made the most of.
Against the direction of traffic, the Glory pulled one back. Overturning possession in the Victory half, substitutes Luke Amos and Ngo combined to inject some late nerves.
Two lots of double substitutions would be made by Victory across the final stretch of the game, with Matthew Grimaldi and Keegan Jelacic brought on in the 77th minute, followed by Jing Reec and Dragicevic in the 85th.
Reec would then come heartbreakingly close to scoring his first Victory goal in the last minute, forcing a top-drawer save out of Sutton.
Match Details
Melbourne Victory 3 (D’ARRIGO 45+5′, VELUPILLAY 53′, SANTOS 69′)
Perth Glory 2 (OSTLER 12′, NGO 79′)
Melbourne Victory starting XI: 25. Jack DUNCAN (GK), 16. Joshua INSERRA, 21. Roderick MIRANDA (C) (3. Adama TRAORE 17′), 15. Sebastian ESPOSITO, 2. Jason DAVIDSON, 27. Louis D’ARRIGO, 10. Denis GENREAU (29. Oliver DRAGICEVIC 85′), 11. SANTOS (19. Jing REEC 85′), 64. Juan MATA (14. Matthew GRIMALDI 77′), 17. Nishan VELUPILLAY (23. Keegan JELACIC 77′), 9. Nikos VERGOS.
Substitutes not used: 40. Jack WARSHAWSKY (GK), 28. Kayne RAZMOVSKI.
Booking: None.
Perth Glory starting XI: 29. Matthew SUTTON (GK), 2. Charbel SHAMOON, 3. Sam SUTTON, 4. Scott WOOTTON (C), 7. Nicholas PENNINGTON (10. Luke AMOS 77′), 17. Arion SULEMANI (22. Adam TAGGART 54′), 18. Rhys BOZINOVSKI (39. Giovanni DEABREU 77′), 20. Trent OSTLER (26. Khoa NGO 54′), 27. William FRENEY, 34. Tom LAWRENCE, 45. Brian KALTAK.
Substitutes not used: 40. Ryan WARNER (GK), 5. Riley FOXE, 24. Andriano LEBIB.
Booking: OSTLER 42′, SHAMOON 51′, PENNINGTON 71′.
Coming soon
Before visiting Adelaide United on Saturday, January 17, kick-off 7:35pm AEDT, the A-League Men’s team host Western Sydney Wanderers next weekend.
