The “West Melbourne Derby” threw up a surprise result when the out of form and shell-shocked Melbourne Victory put six past Western United.
Jake Brimmer opened the scoring when his volley from the edge of the box found the top right corner.
Rudy Gestede made it two when his volley from a brilliant ball from Adama Traore found his trailing leg. He only had to guide it into the net, much to the delight of the Victory fans watching along from home.
Eleven minutes later, the hosts made it 3-0 inside 35 minutes when Elvis Kamsoba tapped the ball home following an emphatic run by Olyroo hopeful Ben Folami. Three minutes later, it was the away side scoring again, finding their fourth of the match.
Another perfect counterattack found the feet of central-midfielder Jacob Butterfield, who found the overlapping pace of Ben Folami. The winger beat his man and finished into the bottom left corner in the 36th minute.
An Alessandro Diamanti penalty restored some sense of pride for the hosts just before halftime. Still, unfortunately for them, the second half was not too dissimilar from the first half.
Victory continued to pile on the pressure, and the Western United defence crumbled again.
Kamsoba started another counterattacking move which found the feet of Callum McManaman. The ex-Premier League winger played a one-two again with Kamsoba, who finished through the legs of three United players and into the back of the net for Victory’s fifth of the evening.
Elvis Kamsoba netted a brace on the night for the Victory.
In the 82nd minute, a neat corner found Butterfield, who netted the sixth of the evening by beating his man and launching a rocket into the top right corner past Ryan Scott.
Western United came close to grabbing their second of the evening. However, Melbourne Victory goalkeeper Matt Acton made an excellent save near the end to keep it at 6-1.
The result sees Melbourne Victory move four points above the Newcastle Jets – who have two games in hand – and it ends Western United’s finals hopes this season.
Victory face Melbourne City in the Melbourne Derby next Sunday, whilst Western face Macarthur in three days on Monday night.
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