Despite plenty of chances for the Wanderers, it was Victory's Swedish international, Ola Toivonen who superbly drew first blood with a clinical finish before the half-time break.

Wanderers lacked the quality, and one would say some confidence in front of goal, whereas a potent Victory attack used theirs to their advantage. 

In the 74th minute, Alex Baumjohann drilled home his awarded penalty with a thunderous strike to beat Lawrence Thomas and put the game back to level pegging. 

But Toivonen grabbed his second and restored the lead for the boys in blue, tapping in Troisi's squaring ball to the back post. 

WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS

Vedran Janjetovic (GK) - 7 

Made some great saves but couldn't stop Toivonen's two goals. 

Tate Russell - 8

Excellent debut for the youngster. Was lively early and backed himself in both defence and attack.

Patrick Ziegler - 7

Lost his marker to firstly head forward to Kamau, and then again to try his luck with a chance of his own. Was also great defensively for most of the half, but gave away the ball in the lead-up to conceding. 

Brendan Hamill - 5

Solid first half before the opening goal. 

Tarek Elrich - 6

Pace down the flank, early cross in for Kamau's first chance. Provided plenty of joy down the left especially in the first half. 

Keanu Baccus - 5

Was involved in a few key moments but remained quiet. 

Jordan O'Doherty - 4

Made some great passes but was fairly quiet. 

Alex Baumjohann- 8.5

Perfect service with the free-kick and ball over to Riera. Also great defensively with some pick-pocketing to win back possession. 

Powerful and confident penalty to get off the mark and equalise. 

Bruce Kamau - 6

Early chance to open the scoring from kick-off. Second chance but it was a tame header. 

Oriol Riera - 5

Headed effort that you would expect a player of his calibre to put away. Showed hunger to get his team in front with a few other chances in the half but wasn't able to get on the score sheet.

Roly Bonevacia - 4.5

Was involved in the build-up of attacking plays, but his final pass was disappointing. 

SUBS

Nick Fitzgerald - 6.5

Had his shot cleared off the line by Broxham. And was again denied, this time by the post in the 90th minute. 

Abraham Majok - N/A

MELBOURNE VICTORY

Lawrence Thomas (GK) - 9

Committed as always, having made several brilliant saves throughout the match. Could say he kept his side in the game. No clean sheet to round off a great performance, unable to deny Baumjohann from the spot.

Storm Roux - 5

Failed to mark Ziegler and Riera on occasions in the first half, but made some solid interceptions. Nice cut-back for Barbarouses inside the box.

Poor play to give away a penalty on Baumjohann. 

Thomas Deng - 7.5

Interceptions, won the ball and stopped attacking moves. Outstanding defensively along with Broxham. 

Leigh Broxham - 8

Last-ditch tackles, reliable on his feet as well as in the air. Sensed danger and cleared Fitzgerald's shot off the line for Thomas. 

Corey Brown - 6

Studious defending in the second half. 

Carl Valeri - 5

Soild, but Wanderers were able move forward easily into their final third.

Josh Hope - 5.5

Was dispossessed by Russell in a dangerous position, needed to react quicker. Free header but was off the mark. Gave away a few fouls. 

Terry Antonis - 5

Was fairly quiet, didn't make an impact in attack. Attempted to pick out Toivonen but put too much on his cross. 

James Troisi - 7

Slipped in a ball for Toivonen who made it 0-1. Another assist to his name, again for Toivonen. 

Kosta Barbarouses - 6

Lovely cross in for Hope in the 14th minute. Won possession and had a decent half-chance in the first half. Saw his shot go to the wrong side of the back-post in the second half for a chance to double the lead. 

Ola Toivonen - 8.5

No intensity for about 40 minutes, but due to his quality, was able to open the scoring for Victory before the break. Chested Troisi's ball across the line to restore the lead. Should nickname him Thor, as he really brought the thunder to Sydney. 

Subs

Rahmat Akbari - 6

Involved in the action straight away, but gave away possession.

Raul Baena, Georg Niedermeier - N/A