Victory get revenge on Heart

Melbourne Victory avenged their early season loss to cross town rivals, Melbourne Heart, in a convincing 3 - 1 win which has seen them climb back into the top six.

Robbie Kruse was the shining light for the Victory, bagging a double in his sides first win in six matches.

23,000 fans packed into AAMI Park to witness an attacking contest that saw Robbie Kruse net the first goal after just 12 minutes.

However, the Heart soon equalised through a Gerald Sibon free kick, which broke a depressing goal scoring drought of over seven and a half hours for the Heart.

Sibon curled the ball around Victory goalkeeper, Michael Petkovic, to earn my vote for goal of the season so far.


This is the type of individual brilliance the Heart needed to jump start their season, however, it wasn't to last.

Kruses' counter-attacking ability was then on display after he pounced on a clumsy error from Heart defender Matt Thompson to score his second goal for the match.

The Heart had their chances to equalise before the break, most notably through Wayne Srhoj and Nick Kalmar, however, lacked that finishing touch they are becoming renowned for.

Fortunately for Matt Thompson, he wasn't the facilitator in the Victory's final goal, but rather another Thompson, Archie.

His perfectly weighted cross was neatly glanced into goal by Adrian Leijer to finish off the hapless Heart.

The Heart continue to show their inability to unlock opposition defences, whilst the Victory send a strong message to any would be contenders in this year's A-league.

Both Melbourne derby fixtures have been a success in regard to excitement and crowd attendance. However, this is another disappointing outcome for the adventurous Heart, as they stoop to their sixth loss in their past seven matches.