Summary . From the opening stages of the match, Melbourne Victory dominated play; though the Big Blue rivalry quickly lived up to its name. An early head clash saw defender
Matthew Jurman receive treatment to a gash after a flailing elbow from
Besart Berisha saw the Albanian received the first yellow card of the match.
Nick Ansell soon joined the bloodshed after a clash, and soon after defender
Jacques Faty had to be substituted after sustaining a leg injury. A non-stop assault from the home side was soon rewarded, with New Zealand international
Kosta Barbarouses finding the chest of Berisha in the box which rebounded on the chest of
Gui Finkler before Berisha unleashed a half-volley past
Vedran Janjetović in the 33rd minute. With half-time approaching and Sydney FC looking for an equaliser,
Alex Brosque combined for a one-two with
Marc Janko, but Victory 'keeper
Lawrence Thomas was able to block the low shot with a stretched foot. No changes were made by either side during the half-time break as both sides aimed to claim their ascendency on the match. The home side nearly doubled their lead within the opening minutes when Jurman couldn't clear a
bouncing ball. Barbarouses took advantage and after turning, managed a shot into the side netting courtesy of a deflection off the oncoming Janjetović. Jurman made amends moments later after the ball on the consequential corner found its way to the far post and he was able to clear it to the sidelines. On the 52nd minute mark,
Graham Arnold attempted to add further attacking outlet to Sydney's line-up, with the addition of
Shane Smeltz in place of
Chris Naumoff. Both sides continued to have a spate of chances, however neither could make the most of their opportunities. As the hour mark passed,
Fahid Ben Khalfallah showed off his attacking skill, weaving through three players to fashion an attempt on goal. With a quarter of an hour left Sydney desperately looked for an equaliser and nearly found one through a Janko header. Minutes later a free kick by Petković floated just over Victory's crossbar. On the 83rd minute a tame clearance from Petković saw Ben Khalfallah work the ball into the box, squaring Barbarouses who neatly placed his second attempt past Janjetović who save the initial shot.
Carl Valeri was sent off moments after the restart after kicking the ball away from a free kick for a second yellow card. Despite being a man up, Sydney couldn't capitalise and conceded another before full-time, with
Leigh Broxham slotting the ball into the top right corner of the net.
Archie Thompson and
Jason Geria were brought on to see out a 3–0 win for Victory. Captain of the winning side,
Mark Milligan was named Man of the Match, and as such was the recipient of the
Joe Marston Medal.
Details Statistics ==Records==