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Melbourne City have booked their place in the semi-finals courtesy of two fine Bruno Fornaroli goals that have seen them triumph 2-0 over the Perth Glory.
REPORT: FORNAROLI SENDS GLORY PACKING
City were on top for much of the match with their Uruguayan strike weapon firing when his team needed him most.
Dominating the first half as Glory struggled to click, City thought they went ahead on 17 minutes only for a Fornaroli strike to be rightly ruled out for an offside City player obstructing the sight of Ante Covic.
City’s dominance was rewarded however just before the break with a Fornaroli bicycle kick in the 40th minute giving them the edge on the scoreline. An Aaron Mooy corner was flicked on and allowed to bounce in the box with Fornaroli setting himself well to bicycle home beautifully to the left of goal.
Glory emerged from the break with greater intensity but struggled to create with both Andy Keogh and Diego Castro unable to insert themselves on the game.
City were having no such difficulties going forward though as Fornaroli again stepped up to further their lead in the 76th minute. The striker took command of a free-kick on the edge of the box, to the right of goal, and struck the ball powerfully past Covic at the right post.
With Glory pushing men forward desperate to get themselves back in the game, City could have added to their tally but were happy to settle for two goals and just their sixth clean sheet of the season at full-time.
City too strong across the park in the end for a Glory side that never really clicked into gear this evening. They will now play Adelaide United on Friday night for a spot in the grand-final.
Final Score:
Melbourne City 2
Perth Glory 0
The last semi-final spot is on the line as Melbourne City and Perth Glory square off. Join us on The Roar from 5pm (AEST) to follow all of the action.
Despite hitting some ridiculous highs and scoring some amazing goals, Melbourne City could only manage a fourth-place finish, ending the regular season with two consecutive defeats.
With the top goal-scorer and assister in Bruno Fornaroli and Aaron Mooy respectively, City have had no trouble finding the back of the net this season.
They have however had trouble finding consistency, something they really need to find if they are to prove a threat in the finals.
After a patchy start to the season, Perth had a glorious final third to secure their spot in the finals. Prior to last week’s heavy 4-0 loss to Sydney FC, the Glory had won five games in a row, with striker Andy Keogh scoring in eight consecutive matches.
They really stumbled last week however against a Sydney side with nothing to lose, so Perth must regather quickly to ensure their finals campaign isn’t derailed after they had built so much momentum.
Melbourne City are without Harry Novillo, after his mid-week, two-week suspension for a halftime scuffle with Adelaide United last week. In his stead, Aaron Hughes, James Brown and Ben Garuccio have all been promoted into a squad that remains without injured trio Corey Gameiro, Michael Zullo and Wade Dekker.
The Glory welcome back both Chris Harold and Diego Castro from minor injuries – their absence was felt heavily last week. Ruben Zadkovich remains out injured.
Join The Roar from 5pm (AEST) to follow all the action as two teams who know how to find the back of the net do battle for the last semi-final spot.
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