Melbourne City have claimed a W-League derby double for 2015, defeating crosstown rivals Victory 4-0 at the Veneto Club in Bulleen on Sunday.
David could not overcome Goliath on a warm day as Jen Beattie opened the scoring, Larissa Crummer netted a brace and Kim Little sealed the result for the league leaders, while the table propping Victory were powerless to resist in the second half after a solid showing in the first period.
Apart from an initial combination play between Natasha Dowie, Christine Nairn and Whitney Knight, it was the visiting side that took the ascendancy from the outset.
There were danger signs in the sixth minute when Kim Little’s set-piece was met by Jen Beattie, rattling the crossbar.
A second warning shot was fired just after half an hour, when Melissa Barbieri was forced to save competition top scorer Larissa Crummer’s strike onto the crossbar, with Aivi Luik and Lisa De Vanna unable to bury the rebound.
The pressure told in the 36th minute when Little and Beattie combined once more for the opening goal – the former’s corner was met by the latter to find the back of the net.
Crummer was busy albeit profligate up forward, having the chance to extend the lead before the break after pouncing on a loose ball, but missed wide.
She made amends minutes into the second half, teed up by De Vanna to score her ninth goal in just seven games.
The hosts momentarily looked like mounting a reply with a succession of set-pieces, but couldn’t convert them into goals.
Crummer’s personal tally rose to 10 for the season in the 72nd minute when she again linked up with De Vanna on the counter to effectively kill off the contest at 3-0.
Not even Gulcan Koca’s return from injury could inspire the troops, with Nairn hitting a shot in anger from distance that didn’t trouble Burke in goals.
Little was the next to benefit from a De Vanna assist to make it onto the scoresheet, tucking the ball past Slatyer and Barbieri to extend the lead to 4-0 and finish off proceedings.
Melbourne Victory 0 defeated by Melbourne City 4 (Beattie 36′, Crummer 50′ 72′ Little 80′) at the Veneto Club
Melbourne Victory: 2. Alex Natoli, 4. Melissa Taranto, 6. Annabel Martin, 8. Jamie Pollock, 10. Christine Nairn, 11. MelindaJ Barbieri (15. Adriana Taranto 90′), 12. Whitney Knight (17. Gulcan Koca 75′), 13. Thea Slatyer, 20. Melissa Barbieri (GK), 26. Cindy Lay (5. Briar Palmer 46′), 27. Natasha Dowie
Unused Subs: 1. Cassie Dimovski (GK),
Yellow Cards: Martin 27′, Nairn 42′
Melbourne City: 4. Jen Beattie, 5. Laura Alleway, 6. Aivi Luik, 7. Steph Catley, 8. Kim Little, 9. Larissa Crummer (15. Amy Jackson 77′), 10. Jess Fishlock, 11. Lisa De Vanna, 13. Rebekah Stott (18. Anisa Guajardo 61′), 17. Marianna Tabain (16. Beattie Goad 75′), 20. Trudy Burke (GK)
Unused Subs: 1. Brianna Davey (GK)