Victory reaches grand final

Victory went through 4-3 on aggregate after it won the first leg 2-1 in Melbourne two weeks ago.

Archie Thompson returned from injury to score in the 113th minute of play to book Melbourne a third A-League grand final berth.

The striker's goal ensured defending champions Melbourne will host the March 20 decider at Etihad Stadium, while Sydney must now play Wellington Phoenix at home next Saturday for a second shot at a spot in the championship finale.

Thompson's goal arrived from a quickly taken Kevin Muscat free-kick that perhaps should not have been awarded.

Referee Stebre Delovski penalised Sydney's Terry McFlynn for handball just outside the box, but replays showed the ball came off the midfielder's head.

Melbourne skipper Muscat quickly took the ensuing free kick and played it into Thompson's path for an easy finish.

It was a cruel blow to Sydney, who had fought back from a goal down to square the tie in front of 23,818 fans, and its goalkeeper Clint Bolton, who made a string of brilliant saves to keep the Sky Blues in the tie.

Earlier, Victory striker Robbie Kruse had scored a stunning opener before a Karol Kisel penalty gave Sydney hope and Mark Bridge scored on his return from a toe injury.

Kruse's 15th-minute opener was one of the goals of the season, and remarkable for Victory given it was feared he would miss the finals after a serious ankle injury against Sydney in the final round of the regular season.

The striker collected a ball from Nick Ward after Sebastian Ryall had been dispossessed before turning and unleashing an unstoppable, curling shot to silence the home fans.

Carlos Hernandez and Bridge both came close before Sydney fought its way back into the contest when Kisel slotted a penalty in the 35th minute.

Delovski had no hesitation in pointing to the spot when Adrian Leijer unnecessarily barged Alex Brosque over in the box and the Slovak international made no mistake with the spot kick.

Sydney came out in desperate search of another goal after halftime with Sung-Hwan Byun stinging Mitch Langerak's hands with a powerful long-range effort.

But it was Bridge, in his first match in more than a month, who squared up the ties in the 53rd minute.

Kisel squared a ball up for the striker, who took a delightful first touch to get himself in the clear before curling a left-footed shot past Langerak for his first goal since round 13.

Victory coach Ernie Merrick injected Thompson in the 65th minute in his return from an ankle injury and he almost made an instant impact, setting up a golden chance for Grant Brebner that was squandered.

The impressive Byun went close with another spectacular effort while Thompson was denied by a brilliant one-on-one save from Bolton late in regluation time.

Sydney FC: 1. Clint BOLTON (gk), 2.Sebastian RYALL (5. Hayden FOXE 90’), 3. Stephan KELLER, 4.Simon COLOSIMO, 6. Karol KISEL, 8. Stuart MUSIALIK, 9. John ALOISI (c), 14. Alex BROSQUE (16. Chris PAYNE 112’), 15. Terry MCFLYNN (7. Brendan GAN 118’), 19. Mark BRIDGE, 22. Sung-Hwan BYUN

Melbourne Victory: 1.Mitchell LANGERAK (gk), 2.Kevin MUSCAT (c), 5.Surat SUKHA (11.Marvin ANGULO 79’), 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 8.Grant BREBNER, 12.Rodrigo VARGAS, 15.Tom PONDELJAK, 16.Carlos HERNANDEZ, 21.Robbie KRUSE (10.Archie THOMPSON 65’), 22.Nick WARD (19. Evan BERGER 68’), 23.Adrian LEIJER