Craig Goodwin gifted Adelaide the advantage after Nikola Mileusnic broke past Corey Brown and tucked in a beautiful cross for the winger to tap in - his fifth goal of the season.

Thomas Deng then had a nightmare of a giveaway, Ken Ilso pouncing upon the dawdling centreback, carrying the ball into the box and cooly slotting underneath an onrushing Lawrence Thomas.

Adelaide's superhuman pressing abilities allowed the Reds to hold on for the 2-0 win, which keeps them level with Wellington Phoenix on 19 points in the race for fifth place.

"This is the most important game of the season for us, it's the best present for me after the service yesterday, to get the three points," Isaias said.

"We scored two goals, I think we needed to score early, it's very important to score first against Victory. This game was so important because we play at home and we haven't had enough wins this season at home."

Victory meanwhile sit three points behind Perth Glory, with Tony Popovic's side a chance to instill a two-win buffer should they claim redemption against Sydney FC in tonight's next clash.

Debutant Elvis Kamsoba was a shining light among a rather dark night for the Victory and said it's only going to get better from him. 

"Very happy for my debut but it's disappointing for the team, we didn't play well and if you make mistakes you pay for them," Kamsoba said.

"I was a bit nervous and as you saw, I wasn't very confident on the ball in the first half but in the second I felt much more confident. I think I'll get better."