Melbourne Victory defeated Melbourne City 3-1, giving coach Patrick Kisnorbo his first win in charge and bragging rights in his first A-League Men derby against his former team.
Former City captain and coach Kisnorbo’s choice to play Nikos Vergos ahead of Bruno Fornaroli paid off, as the Greek striker scored and assisted in the first 12 minutes.
Ryan Teague scored Victory’s third goal in the 25th minute in front of 20,093 people at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
City captain Aziz Behich was fortunate not to receive a card for an apparent stamp on Vergos late in the first half.
Andrew Nabbout scored in the 64th minute to give City hope before Victory held on.
As expected, City coach Aurelio Vidmar did not rush to get Socceroo Mathew Leckie back from injury.
Teague dominated Vidmar’s makeshift midfield partnership of Nathaniel Atkinson and Kai Trewin.
Vergos snuck through Nishan Velupillay in the fifth minute, causing the game to explode.
The Socceroo burst forward, shrugged off Behich and coolly finished across his body.
Seven minutes later, Reno Piscopo went on a dazzling sprint before cutting back to allow Vergos to finish first.
Victory nearly made it 3-0 in the 20th minute when Zinedine Machach’s shot bounced off City defender Samuel Souprayen, catching Beach off guard.
However, following a VAR review, referee Alex King ruled that Teague committed a handball and thus disallowed the goal.
Five minutes later, Teague charged down Beach’s attempt to play out from the back and redirect the ball into goal.
Then City eased into the game, with Callum Talbot forcing Jack Duncan to make a great save late.
Vidmar brought on substitutes Zane Schreiber and Andreas Kuen, while moving Atkinson back to right-back, as City increased their pressure.
Israeli winger Yonatan Cohen, who was booed by some Victory fans anytime he touched the ball, started the game with a long-range shot that forced Duncan to deflect to a waiting Nabbout.
Shortly after, Kisnorbo brought Daniel Arzani off the bench for his first game of the season.
Arzani was suspended for the first round, which is why Kisnorbo left him out of the Victory’s Australia Cup final loss to Macarthur FC.
Duncan made a superb late save against Arion Sulemani to help Victory win the game. Next Sunday, Kisnorbo’s team will host the Bulls, while City will face Western United the following evening.
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