“The future is looking very bright for Melbourne Victory," said Victory coach Ernie Merrick. "I think we had four 19-year-olds out there today.

“Mitchell Langerak was due his debut and he copped a few jokes from the boys before the kick-off but I thought he was quite outstanding.”

Regular keeper Michael Theoklitos, a mainstay over the last two seasons, was benched for this the final A-League game of this campaign for the reigning premiers.

Langerak, 19, has impressed in training all year and took his chance with both hands pulling off some fine saves and marshaling his defence with confidence.

“He wasn't at fault for the goals and showed good reflexes in the air ... he's a great prospect,” added Merrick.

The Victory coach also said that he felt he'd found “a new midfield combination looking ahead to the Asian Champions League which kicks off in March.

He added: “Tonight is confirmation of a new midfield.

"We've been working on it all year – I think the final signing Nick Ward has just complemented Carlos Hernandez, Leigh Broxham.

"And those three are our new midfield, especially with Kevin [Muscat] moving into the backline.

“And [Grant] Brebner has to come back while [Kaz] Patafta is a good signing. It's taken a while to gel but we've caused some sides in the top four some problems.”