A-League Premiers Melbourne Victory dispatched a wasteful and injury-cursed Melbourne City 3-0 at a packed Etihad Stadium on Friday to book a home Grand Final against arch-rivals Adelaide United or Sydney FC.
Goals from Besart Berisha, Kosta Barbarouses and Archie Thompson sealed a flattering win for Victory, who survived a host of missed chances from surprise semi-finalists City.
Both sides were understandably nervous in the opening exchanges but Victory were the first to settle, Berisha taking advantage of some sloppy defending to open the scoring from close range 18 minutes in.
Conceding the opener appeared to sting John van 't Schip's side into action and they began to assert themselves.
However, they could not translate a brief period of sustained pressure into an equaliser and were made to pay when Barbarouses volleyed home a stunning second to put Victory well on top in the 30th minute.
City had several more chances in the second half but were simply unable take them as Thompson put the gloss on the win in the final moments to seal Victory's place in the season decider.
