Round 8 action in the A-Leagues continued with four huge games across a monster Saturday of action.
It all kicked off at AAMI Park in the Liberty A-League, as Melbourne Victory beat Canberra United 2-0, before Adelaide United came from behind to stun Wellington Phoenix in a 2-1 win at Marden Sports Complex.
In the Isuzu UTE A-League, Newcastle Jets took on Perth Glory at home, earning a point late through a 97th-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw.
Attention then turned to the 63rd edition of the ‘Big Blue’ as Melbourne Victory notched a 3-0 win over Sydney FC at AAMI Park.
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Melbourne Victory 2-0 Canberra United (Liberty A-League) – AAMI Park
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MATCH REPORT: Dynamic duo strike again as Victory extend unbeaten run in comfortable win over Canberra
Melbourne Victory have extended their unbeaten run to six straight games after seeing off Canberra United 2-0 at AAMI Park.
McKenzie Weinert and Kurea Okino continued their fine debut seasons for the club, finding the net either side of half-time on Saturday afternoon.
Their opponents Canberra went down to 10 players in the second-half after goalkeeper Chloe Lincoln was sent off, making the job all the more difficult for the visitors.
It’s been a brilliant run for Victory, who have now won four games and drawn two since losing the opening two matches of the campaign and sit fourth on the ladder.
They are now within three points of league leaders Melbourne City, who they face in next Saturday’s Derby at AAMI Park.
Meanwhile, Canberra remain second-last on the table, unable to build off their first win of the campaign last weekend and remain five points outside the top six, albeit with two games in hand.
Adelaide United 2-1 Wellington Phoenix (Liberty A-League) – Marden Sports Complex
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MATCH REPORT: Sasaki stuns Wellington to secure Adelaide’s first win of the season
Adelaide United have come from behind to defeat Wellington Phoenix 2-1 and secure their first win of the Liberty A-League season.
Emma Main’s first half strike gave Wellington a deserved lead but second-half goals from Emily Condon and Nanako Sasaki ensured Adrian Stenta’s side left Marden Sports Complex with all three points in the bag.
The victory is Adelaide United’s first win since March in the Liberty A-League while Phoenix boss Paul Temple will be left shaking his head as his side came away empty handed despite dominated large periods of the contest.
Newcastle Jets 2-2 Perth Glory (Isuzu UTE A-League) – McDonald Jones Stadium
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MATCH REPORT: Late Buhagiar goal breaks Glory hearts as Jets snatch a point in Newcastle
Newcastle Jets stole a dramatic late point in a 2-2 draw against Perth Glory on Saturday evening, with Trent Buhagiar’s 97th-minute equaliser preventing Perth from breaking a 14-month wait for a win on the road.
Glory came from one goal down to lead 2-1 in the second-half, but conceded in the final minute of additional time as the Jets forced the visiting side to settle for a point.
Perth’s last win outside of Western Australia came in October, 2022; 11 defeats and three draws away from home followed that result and the club finally looked set to break that hoodoo before Buhagiar’s close-range finish at the death.
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos opened the scoring for Newcastle, then Adam Taggart and Stefan Colakovski turned the tide as Glory took a 2-1 lead. Jets fullback Lucas Mauragis was lively for the home side and provided the assist for the equaliser in the 97th minute.
Melbourne Victory 3-0 Sydney FC (Isuzu UTE A-League) – AAMI Park
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MATCH REPORT: Fornaroli scores again as Victory turn on the class in Big Blue triumph
Golden Boot leader Bruno Fornaroli scored his 12th goal of the campaign as Melbourne Victory launched to a 3-0 win over Sydney FC in Saturday night’s Big Blue at AAMI Park.
Fornaroli put the finishing touch on the win over the Sky Blues, after Daniel Arzani and Zinedine Machach put the home side two goals clear before half-time.
Machach assisted Fornaroli’s sealer to cap off his own stellar showing as Tony Popovic’s Victory jumped to the top of the Isuzu UTE A-League table while handing Sydney a second-consecutive defeat; Ufuk Talay’s side will finish Round 8 in 10th, continuing a patchy start to the new head coach’s tenure.
