Melbourne Victory cruised into the final series after an easy 2-0 win against Newcastle Jets at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Victory had to wait until the second half to secure the win with strikes from Tom Pondeljak and returning Socceroos’ striker Robbie Kruse enough to see off a shambolic Jets’ side in need of a miracle to make the finals.
It was not the Victory’s most impressive performance of the season, yet they still managed to dominate the match from start to finish with the usual suspects of Marvin Angulo, Danny Allsopp, Kruse and Pondeljak combining well to wreak havoc for the Jets.
Allsopp had the first real chance of the match when he put in a well struck shot straight at Ben Kennedy from an acute angle, after Robbie Kruse tormented the Jets’ defence before slipping the ball into his path.
Jeremy Brockie replied for the Jets in a rare attack forward when he won a free kick and then forced Michael Petkovic to make a good save off his curling attempt in the 15th minute.
Allsopp was unlucky not to give the Victory the lead soon after when he turned in the box, after some scrappy Jets’ defending, and sent a shot destined for the corner, only the outstretched fingers of Kennedy denying the in-form marksman.
Nikolai Topor-Stanley should have given the Jets an unlikely lead when he was presented with a free header from a Marko Jesic corner kick in the 26th minute but could not keep his effort from powering over the crossbar.
The Jets appeared to weather the storm toward the end of the first half but looked lost for ideas going forward, the draw looking like the result Branko Culina was gunning for.
The Victory finally got their reward for their dominance when Pondeljak scored in the 57th minute with a nicely placed outside of the foot chip, though Kennedy should have done better.
Things turned from bad to worse for the Jets moments later when Marcello Fiorentini got himself sent off in the 62nd minute, referee Srebre Delovski showing him a straight red for kicking out at Angulo off the ball.
The Victory killed off any chance of a Jets’ comeback when Kruse produced a classy finish on the end of a slick counter attack to put his side 2-0 up.
Petkovic started the move with a quick throw into good space for Angulo to run on to, who drove up the field before releasing a pin point pass for Kruse to dispatch into the net with a cheeky loft.
The sound of the final whistle sent the crowd of 11,296 into a frenzy, knowing that their side moves up to fourth on the ladder and had secured a spot in the final series.
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