BY JAMES MANTON

Richmond gave its NPL 1 East title chances a massive boost on Friday night as it thrashed table-topping Melbourne Victory 4-0 at Kevin Bartlett Reserve.

The hosts dominated proceedings from kick-off, with Victory barely able to muster a shot at any point of the 90 minutes.

Alex Caniglia - who was a menace to the table leaders all night - could have scored the opener just minutes after kick off after controlling a long ball in the box, however his shot was well saved by Wyatt Chant.

Though it did not matter much as from the resulting corner Josh Valadon managed to get his head to the ball, putting it in the net barely five minutes into the match.

Richmond could have easily been further ahead not long afterwards, as chances from Caniglia, Samuel Catherine, and Hamlet Armenian were all kept out in the space of a few minutes.

Richmond's second goal came courtesy of a poor attempted header from Damien Miskulin, as the ball landed at the feet of Caniglia inside the box, who calmly slid the ball past the keeper.

The slippery conditions and the home sides rampant pressuring completely neutralised Victory's passing game, as the second half took on much the same story as the first.

The visitors were powerless to stop Richmond's third of the night when Valadon ran onto the end of a headed clearance, powering a shot from outside the area and finishing off Victory's chances with more than 30 minutes still to play.

Melbourne Victory finally fashioned itself an opportunity as Pierce Waring was put through on goal by Joey Katebian, however his effort was tame and straight at Christian Rossi.

A tight offside call was all that stopped Cahill from finding the net as well after he found himself one-on-one with Chant, just sliding the ball into the net before the referee saw the linesman's flag.

But Richmond had one final highlight to finish the night on, as Josh Knight picked up the ball wide in the box before hitting a shot which clattered off Mickael Catalano to seal a crucial four-goal victory.

MATCH DETAILS

Richmond 4 (Valadon 5' 57', Caniglia 26', Catalano 88') defeated Melbourne Victory 0

RICHMOND: 1. Christian ROSSI, 2. Andrew GOFF, 23. Joshua VALADON, 18. Jordan SEETO, 11. Liam FLYNN (8. Joshua KNIGHT 76'), 6. Peter SAWAN, 17. Samuel CATHERINE, 7. Hamlet ARMENIAN (15. Jay KELLY 70'), 10. Alex CANIGLIA (12. Matthew WATERS 82'), 9. Tom CAHILL

Unused substitutes: 20. Chris DAVIS, 14. Mate ETEROVIC

Yellow card(s): Nil

Red card(s): Nil

MELBOURNE VICTORY: 1. Wyatt CHANT, 18. Christian CAVALLO, 5. Damien MISKULIN (19. Nick GLAVAN 62'), 3. Milos RIDESIC, 2. Reece CALDECOURT (13. Lucas DERRICE 46'), 6. Stefan NIGRO, 8. Anthony DUZEL, 14. Jordan BROWN (16. Patrice AVICE 68'), 17. Pierce WARING, 9. Joey KATEBIAN, 11. John MACLEAN

Unused substitutes: 10. James XYDIAS, 20. Andre JANNESE

Yellow card(s): Cavallo 23', Miskulin 56'

Red card(s): Nil