An irrepressible Melbourne Victory extended their A-League winning streak to four, brushing aside Western Sydney with ease in a 4-0 defeat at Marvel Stadium.
Victory were uncontainable from minute one on Saturday night, scoring first-half goals through Keisuke Honda, Raul Baena and Kosta Barbarouses.
Terry Antonis’ late lethal finish sealed the rout, which was Victory’s biggest win over the Wanderers.
Victory put on an attacking masterclass in front of 19,556, prompting Fox Sports commentator Andy Harper to call their display “as good as we’ve seen”.
The scorers and Ola Toivonen, who could easily have scored a hatful, showed breathtaking craft and understanding going forward.
The sour note from a rampant outing was Baena and Nick Ansell limping off after halftime, joining a growing Victory injury list.
But so long as Victory have Honda on their team sheet, they’ll take some stopping.
The Japanese superstar dominated in midfield and put Victory ahead after 11 minutes, heading home Antonis’ cross on 11 minutes.
Baena’s first goal in a Victory shirt came after 31 minutes before Barbarouses made the advantage three.
Victory’s link-up play was a joy to behold but by contrast, Markus Babbel’s commitment to a high line and an absent Wanderers midfield made his defenders lambs to the slaughter.
Tarek Elrich looked as if he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him after two defensive howlers.
The fine A-League servant slid by Baena as he drilled home his goal then brought down Barbarouses for the penalty after the Kiwi’s crafty flick.
Babbel hooked Abraham Majok and Jordan O’Doherty as they sought a response.
Victory kept creating, with Toivonen missing four fine chances – two by head and two by foot – before turning creator.
The towering Swede laid off Honda’s ball for Antonis, who powered home a short-range volley for a fourth.
Victory’s win came despite the absence of two key players.
Georg Niedermeier failed two meet the concussion protocol after a clash in their last out defeat of Sydney FC, while James Troisi was ill.
The three points returns Victory to second on the table after six games, leaving Wanderers marooned in eighth.
josh
Guest
I'm not overly concerned, i'm happy to write this season off but the recruiting woes of WSW need to be sorted both in the Jan transfer window and during the off season because walking into a new stadium we can't have the same type of team we saw Saturday night. NPL quality players don't win A League trophies, we are one of the 3-4 clubs that haven't accepted this yet.
Nemesis
Guest
Richmond SC play in the Victorian State League? They've dropped from NPL 1 to NPL 2 to State League in recent years. So, what are the parallels?
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Victory have parallels with Richmond in recent years, so I’m expecting they will make the top 4 but bow out in the semi finals .
Nemesis
Guest
Honda summed it up perfectly in his post-match interview with Zappone when he said: I don't think we were good. They were not good. If we think this is good enough, we're going to have lots of problems with Adelaide. I watched Adelaide vs Brisbane on Friday night. What I saw over from Adelaide & Brisbane over the 90 minutes was better than anything I've seen from MVFC, Perth or SydneyFC over 90 mins this season. Next 2 matches, MVFC plays Adelaide at home; Brisbane away. After these 2 matches, I'll have a better understanding about how well MVFC is travelling.
Fadida
Guest
Agree
Mister Football
Roar Guru
This isn't the first time we've seen a Victory team dismantle the opposition 4-0 at home but it was certainly reminiscent of those sides which won three doubles. Victory well on the way to winning a 4th. They have the list and they're in the mood.