Captain's knocks, new faces and match-winning braces: The A-League players who were the difference in Round 19
Round 19 was an interesting weekend of football with no draws, 19 goals in six matches, two five-goal games on Sunday and for the…
Melbourne got the Victory on Sunday, defeating Wellington 2-1.
Final score
Melbourne Victory 2
Wellington Phoenix 1
The Melbourne Victory are still somewhat in the hunt for a top-three finish, but they will need to put the Wellington Phoenix to the sword in Round 26. Join The Roar for live scores from 5pm (AEST).
The Melbourne-based outfit are running fourth on the A-League table with two weeks of competition to go, two points behind cross-town rivals City.
While that sets up the tantalising prospect of a derby in the first week of the finals, the Victory will still be hoping to crack the top three and finish the season with good form.
They have every chance to do that as well, with the Phoenix this week and then fellow a huge clash next time out in the big blue against Sydney FC.
The Victory have been inconsistent recently, but if their last showing is anything to go by, they might be just hitting their stride at the right time of season.
Playing against a Western Sydney Wanderers side who were still in the hunt for the finals, their attack, led by Kosta Barbarouses, Besart Berisha and setup by in-form midfielder Thomas Deng, ran three goals past the Western Sydney outfit.
While it followed a loss to the Perth Glory, they looked better than solid last week and can really start to build some momentum here.
The Phoenix have had an incredibly rough season and while on the surface it looks like they have nothing to play for, they can still avoid the wooden spoon.
Pending on the performance of the Central Coast Mariners ahead of them, a two-point difference can certainly be bridged during the final weeks of the season.
While it’s possible on paper, form for Wellington is uninspiring at best. They lost to Adelaide United last week, making it four losses in their last five games. They look a team out of ideas in attack and out of solutions in defence, constantly being beaten and cracked open at the back.
Put simply, this could be a drubbing.
Prediction
The Victory are at home and playing the bottom side in the league. The Phoenix have virtually nothing to play for, and apart from a few bright spots have had a woeful season. Expect the Victory to put them to the sword as they chase a top-three spot.
Victory 3 – Phoenix 0.
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