Melbourne Victory have defeated Wellington Phoenix 3-1 in their elimination final as Keisuke Honda and Ola Toivonen both played crucial roles for the home side.
After ending the regular season with a 5-0 loss to Perth Glory, the Nix picked themselves up quickly and were an immediate threat at AAMI Park.
Golden boot winner Roy Krishna forcing Lawrence Thomas into an early save as Wellington asked Victory some serious questions early on.
Kevin Muscat’s side would work their way into the contest with star duo Honda and Toivonen both unleashing shots after 20 minutes.
It would be Honda that would help break the deadlock just before half-time as the Japanese midfielder picked out Georg Niedermeier from a free-kick and the German showed great awareness to head home.
What a ball from @kskgroup2017 and what a header from Georg! #MVCvWEL 1-0 #ALeague @FOXFOOTBALL pic.twitter.com/hL7lsad9uO
— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) May 3, 2019
Victory would pick up where they left off after the break with an error from Mandi in midfield handing Toivonen possession, who teed up Kosta Barbarouses to finish past Filip Kurto for Victory’s second in the 53rd minute.
Down but not quite out, the Phoenix pegged a goal back 10 minutes later as a stunning cross from Sarpreet Singh was pounced on by Roy Krishna, who made no mistake with his finish from close range.
Toivonen would restore Victory’s two-goal lead in the 71st minute however as he found a way to beat Kurto at the near post with a terrific finish.
A composed Victory seeing out the remaining 20 minutes with minimal fuss as they locked in a Big Blue semi-final against Sydney FC next week.
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