Melbourne Victory moved to third place in soccer's A-League and left the New Zealand Knights rooted to the bottom of the ladder with a comfortable 3-0 win at Olympic Park.

Richard Kitzbichler, Kevin Muscat and Ricky Diaco scored as the Victory cruised past an ordinary Knights outfit to post a third successive triumph.

Melbourne had led 1-0 at halftime through a neat left-foot strike from man of the match Kitzbichler after some neat interplay on the edge of the box with striker Danny Allsopp.

New Zealand had two good chances early in the second half to equalise through Josh Rose and Sean Devine, but Victory goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic pulled off two good saves to keep his side ahead.

The Victory then asserted superiority, scoring twice in three minutes midway through the second half.

First skipper Muscat played a neat one-two with substitute Ricky Diaco before collecting and finding the net.

Diaco scrambled one home from close range after good lead-up work from Kitzbichler.

The Knights were weakened with the loss of experienced defender Neil Emblen in the first half to what appeared to be a knee injury.

Melbourne is now two points behind league leader Adelaide United and just a point behind second-placed Sydney FC - the Victory's opponent in Melbourne next Sunday.

The Knights have managed just one win from their seven matches to date and sit well adrift at the bottom of the league.

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