Three goals inside seven second-half minutes against Central Coast Mariners at Docklands Stadium on Friday evening was enough for a convincing Melbourne win which keeps its Premiership Plate hopes alive with one round still to play, and puts Mariners' finals chances in jeopardy.
To compound the Mariners' misery, defender Dean Heffernan was dismissed late in the game after a nasty off-the-ball clash with Victory captain Kevin Muscat in the penalty-area, as both players awaited the taking of a Melbourne corner.
Danny Allsopp converted an Archie Thompson cross from close-range midway through the second-half to open the scoring.
Three minutes later, substitute Carlos Hernandez blasted home a free-kick from seventeen metres.
And not long after, Thompson made the victory secure when he was first to an Allsopp nod-on to put past a hopelessly exposed Danny Vukovic.
"We knew it was going to be a scrap," said Melbourne coach Ernie Merrick after the game. "So we picked a big strong team."
"We felt as if we did a strong defensive job (that) would be the foundation," he said. "Every time we win, we put the pressure on Adelaide. For twelve weeks we were top of the league and everyone was trying to knock us off. Now we put the pressure on (Adelaide) and see if they can cope with it."
"It was (those) seven minutes that killed us," said disappointed Mariners' coach Lawrie McKinna, for whom Melbourne has been somewhat of a bogey side over the four years of the league.
"We felt well on top and comfortable (and) we dealt with them really well, (but) within a seven minute period the game was gone. It was well in our grasp (but) it was gone in seven minutes," he said. "We were dominating (before) then."
First half chances were rare, surprisingly so for the two most prolific teams in the league.
The first fell to Allsopp after he'd robbed Mariners' captain Alex Wilkinson mid-pitch and galloped through into a shooting position. His left foot pile-driver struck the outside of Vukovic's far post and out of danger.
Andre Gumprecht, labouring under the handicap of a head injury collected before the half's midpoint when Muscat's high boot caught him on his skull as Victory defended a corner, created Mariners' first opportunity shortly after returning to the fray, his head bandaged up. The burly midfielder had correctly anticipated a pass from Allsopp and burst through a pressing Victory defence to cross when in a promising position. Somehow, the Melbourne defence was able to scramble the ball clear at the cost of a corner, subsequently more safely dealt with.
Ney Fabiano, making a start after successive introductions off the bench, should have put Melbourne ahead on the half-hour. Muscat had sent yet another Victory long ball forward from deep in defence, aimed at Allsopp. Allsopp's control and lay-off to Fabiano set up the Brazilian inside the Mariners' penalty-area and behind the defence. Despite the precise nature of the build-up, Fabiano's left foot shot was unconvincing and went well wide of the near post.
Just before the break, Nik Mrdja similarly wasted an opportunity when a better return was in prospect. Matt Simon had dispossessed Rody Vargas mid-pitch as Victory moved out from defence. Simon saw Mrdja fast approaching in a direct line on goal and left the ball to his striking partner, and made a supporting run centrally. Inexplicably, Mrdja elected to shoot when inside the penalty-area, when Simon and Dylan MacAllister were in much better positions.
The activity increased in the second half, however, with both sides crafting early chances in its opening moments.
Fabiano went on a storming run from the half-way line and was in the action of shooting when a last-ditch tackle from a lunging Wilkinson took the ball of his foot.
Central Coast then created three chances in almost as many minutes. Gumprecht and MacAllister had combined effectively up the right allowing Gumprecht to turn inside and cross back to MacAllister. Now in space, MacAllister had time to pick his spot with a volley, but went wide.
Simon then put over a fine cross from the hard-working John Hutchinson after the Mariners' midfielder had been set free on the left by Bradley Porter.
But the dam was sure to burst and when it did, it did so at a speed which left Mariners' heads reeling.
Allsopp converted probably the easiest chance of his career to date after Thompson had done some energetic lead-up work. Receiving a ball from Hernandez and with his back to goal, the Socceroo made a wide turn outside, outmanoeuvring his marker Pedj Bojic, and sped towards the goal-line before crossing low to the far post. Vukovic dived but just failed to reach the ball, and it fell nicely for Allsopp who had ghosted behind Wilkinson, barely two yards out and with an empty net.
Hernandez made it two inside three minutes direct from a free-kick. He'd been brought down by Wilkinson just outside the penalty-area and made it clear he wanted to take the ball. He struck it directly at the wall, which broke, and allowed a slight deflection to take the ball between Vukovic's legs as the Olyroo keeper was unable to adjust.
And four minutes later, the victory was complete. Allsopp received a long ball played by goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos from a free-kick, and flicked it on quickly to Thompson who by now had skipped clear of Bojic and ran unchallenged into goal. With Hernandez in support to his left, and Vukovic mindful of the cross-ball threat, Thompson elected to place his shot inside the near post with the outside of his right boot.
Mariners' substitute and Victory old-boy Adrian Caceres could have got his side on the scoresheet as full-time approached, bewildering Sebastian Ryall with his changes of direction before sending in a curling shot which just cleared the outside of Theoklitos' post.
McKinna was scathing in his comments regarding Heffernan's indiscipline which resulted in his dismissal as the game's end neared. It would likely be an uncomfortable plane trip north for the defender if McKinna's ire had not diminished before then. "It's shocking. We're down three-nil (with) a couple of minutes to go. He (Muscat) has just sucked him in and wound him up, and he's bit. It's ridiculous."
"He's probably out for two weeks, so hopefully whoever comes in next week does a great job and Hef doesn't get back in the team, because he doesn't deserve to after ill-discipline like that."
Merrick might have a discipline matter of his own to attend to. At the final whistle, unused substitute Jose Luis Lopez angrily took of his substitute's bib and threw it to the ground before storming off the field of play and up the tunnel as his team-mates celebrated the win.