Victory win A-League grand final

NEWCASTLE, Australia: Goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas was the hero as Melbourne Victory won a fourth Australia A-League grand final on Saturday. The Victory came out on top in the competition’s showpiece match, edging Newcastle Jets 1-0 in Newcastle. Kevin Muscat’s Victory did it the hard way winning the title from fourth place in the regular season. Kosta Barbarouses sealed the crown for Victory, scoring the earliest ever goal in a A-League Grand Final just nine minutes in. But it will be goalkeeper Thomas who was the game’s hero, producing three big first half saves as the Jets pushed for an equaliser. After Barbarouses scrambled the ball home from a set piece, the Jets went after the equaliser yet every time they mustered up a prime opening, Thomas was in the right place at the right time. Thomas finished as the official man of the match and ended the game with his head bandaged after a clash with the Jets’ Irish striker Roy O’Donovan. The hosts pushed late in front of 29,410 fans but it proved that Victory came closest to finding the back of the net as James Troisi struck the woodwork.