The loss even had the champion coach questioning her preferred attacking style of play, after her team also lost games in the past month against Sydney FC and Japanese side NTV Beleza in the International Women's Club Challenge by conceding last-minute goals.

''This is disappointing, we created chances, we should win this game and we lost it, and it's not first time, it's not second time, it's third time,'' she said.

''I always want to improve the team and we [have] just stayed in this position - we have to be concentrated all 95 minutes, not just 90.

''The question is if we should play possession and just be satisfied with one point, but that's really not me, I really want to win and I will always encourage the team to win the game.''

It was Victory's Welsh import Jessica Fishlock who scored the winning goal, chipping over United goalie Mackenzie Arnold to break the 1-1 deadlock in the 94th minute, silencing the 719 spectators, who had never seen United lose at McKellar Park.

It was the result feared by Jennifer Bisset, who had earlier scored her first goal in the W-League with a strike from the top of the box to equalise.

''I was waiting to score my first goal and I just had a feeling if something as good as that happened, something bad would happen as well. I'm glad I got the monkey off my back - [but] I don't know if it was worth it to lose that game,'' she said.

Bisset had earlier made a goal-line save from a Victory corner, but could not quite repeat her heroics in the 31st minute.

When Arnold dropped the ball from a corner and Michelle Heyman and Sally Shipard both failed in their attempts to clear it, Amy Jackson only had Bisset to beat on the goal line.

The diminutive midfielder lacked the height to get a full head on the shot, which found the net to open the scoring for Melbourne.

Victory coach Mike Mulvey was disappointed his side did not open a greater lead in the first half, with Jackson narrowly missing a connection on a Petra Larsson free kick at point-blank range in the eighth minute, and Jessica McDonald taking an air swing that should have been a goal five minutes later.

''I think we fully deserved the victory in the end,'' Mulvey said. ''We didn't exert our authority as much as I would have preferred, but the one thing that this group of girls have got is the ability to keep looking for the win.''

The loss will leave Canberra fifth on the ladder at the end of the round, with a tough road trip to Perth next week against Glory, which beat Sydney FC in a 7-5 goal fest on Saturday.

MELBOURNE VICTORY 2 (Amy Jackson 31m, Jessica Fishlock 90+3m) bt CANBERRA UNITED 1 (Jennifer Bisset 49m) at McKellar Park. Referee: Casey Reibelt.