Saturday 27 May - Melbourne Ground
Crowd: 5000
Melbourne 0
Albert Park 1 (half time 0-1)
Albert Park win by 1 goal
A large crowd gathered to watch a game marred by extreme roughnness and some questionable decisions by the umpires, but also by Melbourne not taking a new look Albert Park combination seriously enough.
Ex-North Melbourne players who had joined the Park in the off-season were prominent, and they put Melbourne on the back foot from the first kick off. They soon took the lead and the Reds never managed an equaliser. They missed several chances through the rest of the game.
It was the only game Melbourne played against Albert Park for the season. The two clubs had previously fallen out, and Melbourne were also not on the best of terms with the North Melbourne side who had merged with Albert Park during the off-season.
Best were Sillett, Bennie and Longden.
Media
The Argus - 29/05/1876
The Australasian - 03/06/1876