Melbourne Victory were on the wrong side of a nail-biting penalty shootout as they lost the 2026 VPL Men 1 Final in the cruellest fashion to Northcote City FC.
The Boys in Blue, despite drawing first blood, were forced to go the distance as the sides ranked third and fourth in the regular season slugged it out at Lakeside Stadium on Saturday night.
Oliver Dragicevic opened the scoring in the first minute of the Final, with the Young Socceroo’s incision finish picking out the bottom corner to deliver the dream start.
However, Northcote would level before the half-hour mark through a direct forward move signed off by Nicholas Morton’s accurate effort from Thierry Swaby’s ball in behind.
Despite ongoing attacking endeavours, the teams remained tied for the remainder of regulation time and an additional 30 minutes of extra time to cue penalties.
Jack Mihailidis, John Radimisis, Dragicevic and Theodore Limberis were all successful from 12 yards, only for Victory to lose out 4-5 in the shootout.
Match details are available by clicking here.
Speaking to MelbourneVictory.com.au, Senior Academy Head Coach, Besart Berisha reflected on a 2026 season of impressive development and achievement from his team.
“I’m extremely proud of the team and the staff and everything we created together this season. Of course, we’re disappointed and sad for the boys that we couldn’t finish the job, especially after losing the Final on penalties. But one result cannot take away the effort, sacrifices and hard work this group has put in all year.
“We created something special: a strong mentality, a strong culture and a group that believed in each other.
“This experience will make us stronger. We will learn from it, come back together and use everything we built this year to create even more opportunities next season.”
