Melbourne Victory FC–Western United FC rivalry
Other namesWestgate Derby
Battle of the Bridge
LocationMelbourne
TeamsMelbourne Victory
Western United
First meeting2 November 2019
A-League
Melbourne Victory 2–3 Western United
Latest meeting13 March 2023
A-League Men
Melbourne Victory 1–2 Western United
Next meeting16 March 2024
A-League Men
Western United v Melbourne Victory
StadiumsAAMI Park (Melbourne Victory and Western United)
Statistics
Meetings total14
Most winsWestern United (8)
Top scorerBesart Berisha
Jake Brimmer
Aleksandar Prijović
(4 goals each)
All-time seriesMelbourne Victory: 4
Drawn: 2
Western United: 8
Largest victoryWestern United 1–6 Melbourne Victory
2020–21 A-League
(28 May 2021)

The Melbourne Victory–Western United FC rivalry, also known as the Battle of the Bridge and the Westgate Derby, is a rivalry between Victorian clubs Melbourne Victory and Western United.

Despite the rivalry's short existence, it has garnered a reputation for producing talking points, controversy, tension, goals and drama.[1] In the team's first meeting, in November 2019 at Marvel Stadium, Western United won 3–2 despite going 2–0 down within the first 7 minutes. In February 2021 at Marvel Stadium, despite conceding the first goal of the match and despite being reduced to 10 men for the final half-hour of the match, Western United won 4–3, with Victor Sanchez scoring in the final minute of stoppage time.

Overall, Western United has won the most games in the rivalry's history, having won eight times with two draws while Melbourne Victory having won four times. Western United's record win was a 4–1 victory in an A-League Men Finals match at AAMI Park on 21 May 2022, with the Victory's record win being a 6–1 victory in an A-League match at AAMI Park on 28 May 2021. Besart Berisha, Jake Brimmer, and Aleksandar Prijović hold the mark for the most derby goals with four in all competitions.

Background

When Western United joined the A-League for the 2019–20 season as the competition's third Victorian club,[2] they formed a rivalry with the Melbourne Victory nicknamed the Westgate Derby[3] and the Battle of the Bridge.[4]

Results

Melbourne Victory vs. Western United

Venue Date Competition Score Home goalscorers Away goalscorers Attendance
Marvel Stadium 2 November 2019 A-League 2–3 Toivonen 6', Dobras 7' Diamanti 16', Donachie 29' (o.g.), McDonald 51' 20,865
Bankwest Stadium 25 July 2020 A-League 1–2 Roux 83' Uskok 38', Burgess 57' 0 (BCD)
Marvel Stadium 27 February 2021 A-League 3–4 McManaman 21', Butterfield 62', Gestede 82' Sánchez 42', 90+5', Berisha 53', 58' 7,190
AAMI Park 26 December 2021 A-League Men 3–1 Geria 18', Brillante 19', D'Agostino 90+4' Prijović 87' 13,186
23 March 2022 A-League Men 1–1 Hamill 85' Topor-Stanley 47' 5,022
21 May 2022 A-League Men Finals 1–4 Brimmer 37' Prijović 18', 49', Wales 78', Wenzel-Halls 90+9' 15,349
13 March 2023 A-League Men 1–2 Fornaroli 50' Botic 38', Prijović 69' 9,157
29 April 2024 A-League Men

Western United vs. Melbourne Victory

Venue Date Competition Score Home goalscorers Away goalscorers Attendance
GMHBA Stadium 8 December 2019 A-League 3–1 Berisha 17', 43', Kone 24' Nabbout 14' 10,128
AAMI Park 30 January 2021 A-League 0–0 7,016
28 May 2021 A-League 1–6 Diamanti 45+2' Brimmer 12', Gestede 22', Kamsoba 33', 50', Folami 36', Butterfield 82' 0 (BCD)
GMHBA Stadium 20 November 2021 A-League Men 0–1 Miranda 75' 8,120
AAMI Park 17 May 2022 A-League Men Finals 0–1 Brimmer 74' 7,295
3 August 2022 Australia Cup 2–1 Timotheou 24' (o.g.), Wales 53' Brimmer 48' 3,670
26 December 2022 A-League Men 1–0 Risdon 45+1' 2,867
16 March 2024 A-League Men

Fixture top scorers in the derby

As of 29 April 2023
Rank Scorer Club(s) Goals
1 Kosovo Besart Berisha Western United 4
Australia Jake Brimmer Melbourne Victory
Serbia Aleksandar Prijović Western United
2 Italy Alessandro Diamanti Western United 2
Burundi Elvis Kamsoba Melbourne Victory
Spain Víctor Sánchez Western United
Australia Lachlan Wales Western United

Statistics and records

As of 13 March 2023, there have been 14 first-class meetings between the two teams since the first meeting in 2019, of which Western United have won eight, Melbourne Victory with four and two draws. The most goals in one game were scored in was a 4–3 away win by Western United on 27 February 2021 and a 6–1 away win by Melbourne Victory on 28 May 2021. Western United have twice won in Victory's former home Docklands Stadium. Western United's record for goals scored against Melbourne Victory is three goals by Besart Berisha and 2 by Víctor Sánchez.

Summary of results

As of 13 March 2023
Competition[5] Matches played Victory wins Draws Western United wins Victory goals Western United goals
League 134272122
Australia Cup 100112
Total 144282224

Players who played for both clubs

Connor Pain training with Melbourne Victory in 2013
Besart Berisha training with Melbourne Victory in 2015
Connor Pain and Besart Berisha have played for both Melbourne Victory and Western United

Six players have played for both Melbourne Victory and Western United in senior football since 2019, with inaugural Western United squad members Besart Berisha and Connor Pain being the first players to have played for both Melbourne Victory and Western United, with both players starting for Western United in their inaugural A-League match against Wellington Phoenix FC on Sunday 13 October 2019.

Josh Cavallo and Thiel Iradukunda had previously played for Melbourne Victory's youth team before going on to represent Western United's senior team.

Dalibor Markovic was the first player to directly transfer between the two clubs when he signed for Western United from Melbourne Victory midway through the 2020–21 A-League season, while Brendan Hamill became the first player to transfer directly from Western United to Melbourne Victory when he joined the Victory in July 2021.

Name Pos Victory Western United
CareerAppsGoals CareerAppsGoals
Australia Connor PainFW 2013–18675 2019–645
Kosovo Besart BerishaFW 2014–1613786 2019–215026
Australia Sebastian PasqualiMF 201640 2019–150
Australia Dalibor MarkovicDF 2020–202140 2021–40
Australia Brendan HamillDF 2021–70 2019–2021200
Australia Christian TheoharousFW 2017–2018251 2021–202341
Australia Connor ChapmanDF 2023–00 201980

Highest attendances

  • Melbourne 2–3 Western; 20,865 (2 November 2019); Marvel Stadium
  • Melbourne 1–4 Western; 15,349 (21 May 2022); AAMI Park
  • Melbourne 3–1 Western; 13,186 (26 December 2021); AAMI Park
  • Western 3–1 Melbourne; 10,128 (8 December 2019); GMHBA Stadium
  • Western 0–1 Melbourne; 9,157 (13 March 2023); AAMI Park

Honours

As of 1 October 2022
Competition Melbourne Victory Western United
A-League Men Premiership 3 0
A-League Men Championship 4 1
Australia Cup 2 0
Total 10 1

See also

References

  1. ↑ Comito, Matthew. "Rudan: United's erupting rivalry with Victory helping A-League become 'one of the best products in the world'". A-League. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  2. ↑ "FFA goes west with two clubs confirmed for A-League expansion". The World Game. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  3. ↑ Green, Samuel. "Berisha leads United to Westgate Derby dominance". A-League. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  4. ↑ "Western United, Victory share spoils in action-packed 'Battle of the Bridge'". Football Nation Radio. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  5. ↑ "Melbourne Victory » Record against Western United FC". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
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