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Melbourne Victory took the upper hand in the chase for the A-League minor premiership and extinguished Wellington Phoenix’s finals hopes with a 2-0 win at Telstra Dome on Friday night.
Skipper Kevin Muscat’s first half penalty and a last-gasp goal to Archie Thompson sealed the win, ensuring the Victory a top-two spot and a place in the major semi-final in a fortnight’s time.
Adelaide United can still leapfrog Melbourne to take the minor premiership, but will need to beat Central Coast Mariners by two goals or more in their match on Sunday – the last fixture of the season.
Anything less will gift Melbourne top spot.
The Mariners are now guaranteed fourth place and a spot in the finals win or lose against Adelaide, while Queensland Roar are a chance of finishing second if they beat Perth on Saturday night and Adelaide lose.
The Victory did what they had to in workmanlike fashion, seeing off a spirited Phoenix who needed all three points to have any chance of making their first A-League finals.
After a promising start in which they kept possession well and looked menacing, Wellington’s good work came undone when they conceded a soft penalty in the 39th minute.
Fullback Matthew Kemp’s searching 40-metre run was halted by a nudge from defender Manny Muscat, which sent the Victory player sprawling to the turf inside the box to earn the spot-kick.
Kevin Muscat made no mistake to give Melbourne an advantage they rarely looked like letting slip.
While the Phoenix battled hard and came at the Victory in the second half, Melbourne’s defence rarely allowed them into dangerous positions.
The visitors’ best chance came from a long-range shot from Leo Bertos in the 79th minute, which forced an acrobatic save from Victory `keeper Michael Theoklitos.
A late Phoenix lapse made Adelaide’s task on Sunday even more difficult.
Thompson was able to sneak in behind the stretched Wellington defence to add a second goal to boost the Victory’s goal difference beyond Adelaide’s.
Victory skipper Muscat admitted it wasn’t his side’s most convincing performance, but they achieved what they needed.
“It wasn’t vintage Victory. We weren’t at our best but we certainly did enough,” he said.
Wellington coach Ricki Herbert felt the penalty awarded to the Victory was questionable, but was pleased with his side’s performance in the match and throughout a far better season than they have had previously.
“We’ve really solidified ourselves in the competition now,” Herbert said.
“I’m very proud of the club – the club’s made great strides.
“The next step is making finals next year.”
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