Melbourne Victory seal third A-League title with 3-0 victory over Sydney FC in grand final but Football Federation Australia chairman falls off stage as he presents winners' trophy

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Besart Berisha scored his fourth goal in three A-League finals to help Victory claim the title with 3-0 win
FFA chairman Frank Lowy lost his footing and fell off the stage during the trophy presentation
Lowy recovered sufficiently after medical attention to present Victory with the A-League title
Kosta Barbarouses and Leigh Broxham's late goals sealed Melbourne's third title in 10 years
Victory became only the second team to win a hat-trick of Australian titles since the league was formed 10 years ago

Published: 06:03 EST, 17 May 2015 | Updated: 10:13 EST, 17 May 2015

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Melbourne Victory produced a performance of an intensity that recalled coach Kevin Muscat's playing career to claim a third A-League title with a deserved 3-0 win over Sydney FC in front of a passionate home crowd on Sunday.

Besart Berisha grabbed his fourth goal in three A-League finals in the first half but it was not until Kosta Barbarouses and Leigh Broxham goals in the last seven minutes that the scoreline reflected the dominance of the Dark Blues.

Victory are only the second team to win a hat-trick of Australian titles in the 10 years of the league after the Brisbane Roar, for whom Albanian Besart scored twice in the 2012 final and once in last year's championship decider.

Melbourne Victory players celebrate after winning the club's third A-League title

Melbourne Victory head coach Kevin Muscat celebrates winning the A-League title in his first full season in charge

A 3-0 win for Melbourne Victory over Sydney FC in the A-League grand final helped them secure the title

Archie Thompson celebrates with the crowd after his fourth grand final and third title in his 10 years with Melbourne Victory

Aussie FA chairman FALLS during Melbourne trophy presentation

Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy appeared to lose his footing as he presented the winners' trophy

'Better is not possible, we played an incredible season, we are the best attacking team and the best defending team," the fiery striker told the crowd of 29,843 fans at Melbourne's Rectangular Stadium.

'If this is not the best club in Australia then people should, I don't know, shut up. This is unbelievable.'

Sydney, who had also been chasing a third title, were a shadow of the team that set the pace in the second half of the season and crashed to their first away defeat of the campaign.

84-year-old Lowy stumbled and fell off the raised platform where the trophy celebrations were being held

The Football Federation Australia chairman then fell off the stage completely after falling during the trophy ceremony

Victory monopolised territory and possession in a tempestuous opening to the match and they got their reward in the 34th minute when Berisha controlled a ricochet off Gui Finkler and lashed the ball into the corner of the net with his left foot.

Sydney FC had a chance to equalise just before the break when a neat one-two between Marc Janko and Alex Brosque gave the Sky Blues' skipper space for a shot from the edge of the area but Victory keeper Lawrence Thomas saved well.

Melbourne came out firing after half-time and Barbarouses should have scored Melbourne's second but blasted his shot into the legs of Sydney goalkeeper Ivan Necevski.

After losing his footing Frank Lowy fell head first onto the pitch below the raised platform for the stage

Lowy appeared to be injured after falling off the stage but after attention by paramedics he was able to continue with proceedings

Frank Lowy was attended to by paramedics but recovered sufficiently to present the trophy to Mark Milligan

Clear chances were at a premium but Austrian Janko could have levelled the scores with a header from the penalty spot in the 76th minute only to guide it straight at Thomas.

Seven minutes later Barbarouses burst forward into the area, exchanged passes with Fahid Ben Khalfallah then kept his nerve when his first attempt on goal was blocked and buried the ball in the back of the net.

There was still time for Victory defender Carl Valeri to be sent off for a second yellow card before Broxham smashed the third goal into the net to put a gloss on the win.

Australia's octogenarian football supremo Frank Lowy fell off the stage during the post-match presentation but recovered sufficiently to present skipper Mark Milligan with the trophy.