Melbourne Victory have powered their way into the A-League Women grand final after cruising past Adelaide 3-1 on the day and 6-2 on aggregate in their two-leg semi-final series.
Victory entered Saturday’s second leg already holding all the cards after snaring a 3-1 win over Adelaide on enemy territory last week
Buoyed on by their adoring fans at the Home of the Matildas in Bundoora on Saturday, Victory sealed the deal with another 3-1 win courtesy of a Rachel Lowe double and Sara D’Appolonia’s second-half strike.
Adelaide scored a consolation goal in the dying seconds via Isabel Hodgson.
Victory, who have now won their past 10 matches in a 15-game unbeaten run, will meet either Central Coast or Melbourne City in the grand final.
The Mariners and City drew 2-2 in Gosford last week, with Sunday’s second-leg clash in Melbourne to decide who progresses.
Adelaide needed to strike early on Saturday in order to give themselves a genuine chance.
Instead, it was Victory who struck in the 11th minute to all but put the tie to bed.
Alana Jancevski’s bullet free kick was palmed down by Adelaide goalkeeper Claudia Jenkins, only for Victory striker Lowe to chest down the ball and tuck it away from close range.
Adelaide midfielder Dylan Holmes had the perfect chance to level things up in the 31st minute when she raced into the box, but she was unbalanced and fired her shot straight at the goalkeeper.
Victory’s defence endured a few more nervy moments as Adelaide increased their urgency, but the score remained 1-0 heading into the half-time break.
Adelaide’s desperation continued in the second half, but it was the Victory who struck gold in the 61st minute following a nice cut back pass from Nickoletta Flannery.
D’Appolonia controlled the ball with her right foot before unleashing the shot off her left to score from the edge of the box.
Lowe put the icing on the cake when she latched on to Holly Furphy’s pass across goal to tap in for the easiest of goals in the 78th minute.
Victory captain Kayla Morrison was thrilled with the win.
“We tried to convince ourselves we were starting fresh and it was an elimination final, so it was a 0-0 game and we couldn’t sit back and hope,” Morrison said.
“We had to go forward and put away the chances when we could.
“It was a big effort defensively.
“Frustrating to let one in right at the end, it would have been great to seal a clean sheet, but we’ll take it.”
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