Melbourne Victory is a win away from the Hyundai A-League Grand Final as it prepares to face Sydney FC on Saturday.
Summary
Victory booked its spot in the Semi Final at Allianz Stadium courtesy of a thrilling 2-1 win over rival Adelaide United.
After Leroy George headed Victory level, Besart Berisha scored a stunning 89th-minute winner with an overhead kick.
The goal was Berisha’s 14th of the Hyundai A-League season, while George’s was his ninth – to go with 13 assists.
Kosta Barbarouses set up both goals as Victory moved into the last four.
Victory has won six of its past eight matches in the Hyundai A-League, with both losses 1-0 results – against Perth Glory and Sydney FC.
No club has reached more grand finals than Victory, which is looking to move into its sixth decider and third in four seasons.
Victory stalwart Leigh Broxham is set to play his 15th final for the club, joining Archie Thompson on that total.
Berisha’s incredible strike against Adelaide also saw the star forward join Thompson on 10 finals goals – the most in Hyundai A-League history.
The Sky Blues have won the past seven meetings with Victory, which has had its chances in most of those clashes.
Player in focus
What they said
“Games against Melbourne, we know how tough they have been in the past so to have seven wins in a row over them, no doubt it’s playing on their mind, it’s definitely on our mind. We know that we’ve had it over them in the past couple of games now and it’s definitely going to be playing on their mind, I think. They’ll maintain a Semi Final is a different game of football, but in front of our home crowd, with our fans there and with our home record, we’re very confident.” – Sydney FC captain Alex Brosque.
“The last couple of times we’ve been not really good, but this is the challenge, to start winning against Sydney. We want to go there with confidence. We know we have a strong squad, we have a great team, we can perform well against Sydney – we know that – we have nothing to lose. We go there, Semi Final, and we give everything.” – Victory forward Berisha.
Last time
Hyundai A-League 2017/18 Round 27
Sydney FC 1-0 Melbourne Victory
Friday, April 13, 2018
Allianz Stadium, Sydney
An eighth-minute goal from Bobo was enough to give Sydney FC a narrow win when the sides met in the final round of the regular season.
Victory had its chances as Berisha and George were denied by goal-line clearances by Alex Wilkinson.
Head to head
Round 27, 2017/18: Sydney 1-0 Victory at Allianz Stadium
Round 18, 2017/18: Victory 1-3 Sydney at AAMI Park
Round 1, 2017/18: Victory 0-1 Sydney at Etihad Stadium
Grand Final, 2016/17: Sydney 1-1 Victory (4-2 pens) at Allianz Stadium
Round 22, 2016/17: Sydney 1-0 Victory at Allianz Stadium
