Melbourne Victory finished the A-League season with a 3-1 win over Central Coast Mariners, cementing their place at the top of the table.
Kosta Barbarouses had a chance to put the league leaders in front early on at AAMI Park, but his shot was straight at Matthew Nash in the visiting goal.
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Victory were ahead with just over half an hour gone, with Daniel Georgievski playing his way through midfield before curling the ball into the top of the net from the edge of the box.
It did not take Melbourne long to double their lead as Archie Thompson rose highest in the box to head in from a Guilherme Finkler corner just two minutes later, taking his total for the season to 10 goals.
The Mariners kept themselves in contention at the break, though, winning a free kick 25 yards out in first-half stoppage time which Eddy Bosnar's struck via a deflection off the wall to leave Lawrence Thomas stranded.
However, the hosts took just two minutes after the restart to reestablish their two-goal cushion as Besart Berisha drew Nash out, chipping the ball over the keeper on the edge of the six-yard box before guiding it into an empty net.
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The hosts pushed for a fourth and wanted a penalty when Nash and Berisha collided while battling for a high ball into the box, but the referee ruled it to be a fair challenge.
Central Coast pushed hard in the final 10 minutes as they tried to get another goal back, but Glen Trifiro scuffed his finish wide, while Matthew Simon was denied by a diving save from Thomas.
Finishing at the top of the table puts Victory in the Finals series semi-finals, where they will face the lowest-ranked team to come through the elimination finals. Central Coast finish the campaign in eighth.
Sian Cowper
