Super-Sub Strikes Twice in Quick Succession to Propel Melbourne Victory to Thrilling Original Rivalry Triumph

Melbourne Victory were in search of a match-winning hero, and Nikos Vergos answered the call. Coming off the bench, he netted two late goals to lead Victory to an exhilarating 5-3 triumph over Adelaide United in the Isuzu UTE A-League.

With the fierce Original Rivalry clash locked at 3-3, Vergos made his entrance and struck in the 88th and 90th minutes, leaving Adelaide stunned at AAMI Park on Saturday night.

The Reds had been in front 3-2 in the 56th minute, having staged a comeback from 2-1 down. However, Victory mounted a spirited response, bolstered by Subway Socceroos stars Nishan Velupillay and Daniel Arzani.

With Ryan Teague watching from the stands following his Socceroos adventures in China, Velupillay and Arzani turned the tide in favour of Victory, scoring to establish a 2-1 lead after Adelaide’s Jonny Yull bagged his first A-League goal.

Quick succession goals from Archie Goodwin and Zach Clough at the start of the second half flipped the match on its head until Arzani converted a contentious penalty in the 71st minute to level the score.

Vergos was introduced in the dying stages of the match, proving to be a tactical masterstroke from Victory head coach Arthur Diles, as the Greek forward delivered two crucial goals to secure victory.

Following this eight-goal thriller, Victory climbed to fourth place, sitting on 36 points, just two behind Western United, while Adelaide maintained their sixth spot, desperately clinging to a position in the top six amidst a challenging seven-game winless streak.

Velupillay nearly put Victory ahead early, glancing a header narrowly wide in the third minute.

Adelaide threatened on the counter, and Stefan Mauk came extremely close to scoring five minutes later, but a timely intervention from Kasey Bos thwarted the effort.

In the 12th minute, the Reds finally broke the deadlock with Yull’s superb footwork, allowing him to unleash a powerful strike that beat Mitch Langerak.

Arzani responded near the half-hour mark, bringing the score level after Zinedine Machach orchestrated a brilliant move by evading two defenders, culminating in a beautiful curling shot by Arzani into the back of the net.

Bruno Fornaroli nearly found the far corner seconds later, but it was Velupillay who then put the home side ahead in the 39th minute. He deftly took the ball away from Bart Vriends at the edge of the penalty area, slotting it past James Delianov with poise.

Just two minutes into the second half, Adelaide equalised. Ethan Alagich delivered a ball into the six-yard box, and Goodwin was perfectly placed to head it home for his 10th goal of the season, one shy of the Golden Boot leader Noah Botic.

The match continued to swing back and forth after Machach was penalised for a handball inside the box, allowing Clough to expertly convert the penalty.

Another penalty was awarded 19 minutes from the end, this time in favour of Victory. Arzani went down under pressure from Panagiotis Kikianis, and although initially no penalty was given, a VAR review overturned the decision. Arzani stepped up to take the spot-kick and scored.

Victory pushed for more goals as substitute Alex Badolato forced a fantastic save from Delianov towards the end, while Velupillay, unmarked, saw his header skim just over the bar.

Ultimately, Vergos delivered the decisive blow to Adelaide, finding the net twice within two minutes to seal the win.