Graham Dorrans and his Western Sydney Wanderers heaped more misery on Melbourne Victory in a drama-charged 2-0 victory for the home side at Bankwest Stadium on Wednesday night.
Dorrans put the Wanderers ahead late on with a penalty following a high boot by Victory star Rudy Gestede, after Dorrans himself luckily avoided a red card for a similar offence.
The Scottish midfielder caught Marco Rojas in the head, causing a nasty gash and forcing the Kiwi off the field midway through the first half.
The Wanderers doubled their lead in the closing stages when Kwame Yeboah applied the finishing touch to a great run by Bernie Ibini, elevating Western Sydney into third place on the league table and securing their first home win of the season.
Meanwhile, Victory remain languishing at the bottom of the league with just one win from their first six matches.
Genuine scoring chances were hard to come by in the first 30 minutes, with Leigh Broxham and Daniel Georgievski the only ones to come close.
Moments after his controversial high boot ended Rojas’ night with a head gash, Dorrans almost rubbed salt in the Victory’s wounds when he lofted a dangerous cross in for Mark Natta, but the centreback’s headed effort bounced narrowly wide.
Victory forward Robbie Kruse was visibly distraught after being subbed off for the returning Rudy Gestede midway through the second half, and for good reason as it turned out.
Gestede received a yellow card shortly after coming on, and then conceded a penalty minutes later. It was a second case of high boot drama, as Victory’s star recruit acrobatically clipped the face of Ibini in the penalty area defending a set piece.
Public enemy no one in Melbourne, Dorrans stepped up to the penalty spot and tucked it away to give the Wanderers a 1-0 lead with less than 20 minutes remaining.
The Victory barely had a sniff from then on, and the Wanderers landed the killer blow in the closing stages of play.
A dazzling run by Ibini teed up Kwame Yeboah to thump the ball past Victory keeper Max Crocombe, doubling the Wanderers’ lead and putting the game to bed.
The Wanderers face Melbourne City next at Bankwest Stadium, while the Victory’s search for a much-needed win will continue as they face Wellington Phoenix next Wednesday.
Western Sydney Wanderers: 2 (Dorrans 72’, Yeboah 88’)
Melbourne Victory: 0
Bankwest Stadium
Referee: Alex King
Assistant Referees: Andrej Giev, Brad Wright
Fourth Official: Ben Abraham
Western Sydney Wanderers: Daniel Margush (GK), Ziggy Gordon, Patrick Ziegler, Mark Natta, Tate Russell, Keanu Baccus, Graham Dorrans, Daniel Georgievski (Daniel Wilmering 56’), James Troisi (Jordan O’Doherty 45’), Bruce Kamau (Bernie Ibini 45’), Simon Cox (Kwame Yeboah 66’)
Unused Subs: Noah James (GK), Phillip Cancar, Ali Auglah
Melbourne Victory: Max Crocombe (GK), Storm Roux, Nicholas Ansell, Ryan Shotton, Adama Traore, Lee Broxham (Jay Barnett 79’), Jacob Butterfield, Jake Brimmer, Birkan Kirdar (Ben Folami 79’), Marco Rojas (Brandon Lauton 24’), Robbie Kruse (Rudy Gestede 61’)
Unused Subs: Matthew Acton, Dylan Ryan
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