Melbourne City FC
2
Match Complete
Macarthur FC
0
| 94' |  | A. Susnjar | ||
| B. Garuccio | | 87' | ||
| A. O'Neill | | 84' | ||
| 59' | | C. M'Mombwa | ||
| M. Tilio |  | 55' | ||
| S. Colakovski | | 54' | ||
| F. Berenguer | | 30' |
| 12 | Shots | 11 | ||
| 4 | On Target | 1 | ||
| 16 | Fouls | 13 | ||
| 6 | Corners | 7 | ||
| 3 | Offsides | 2 | ||
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 | ||
| 3 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
Destiny – and Sydney FC – awaits for the victor as Melbourne City take on A-League newbies Macarthur FC in a semi-final showdown in Sydney. Don’t miss a moment of this second semi-final with live scores on The Roar from 4:05pm (AEST).
Melbourne’s ongoing COVID-19 restrictions have forced this game away from City’s AAMI Park fortress to Kogarah Oval, in a major early win for underdogs Macarthur FC. Expect to see the Macarthur fans turn out in force as they hope to crown a successful debut season with a grand final berth.
It’s been a strange old season for the newbies, perennially knocking on the door of the best teams in the competition without ever really threatening to dethrone them. However, last week’s stirring triumph on the road against the Mariners, surging in extra time to win 2-0 despite being a man down throughout, shows the Bulls are already an A-League heavyweight.
The man they lost, James Meredith, will miss this match through suspension but be available for the grand final should they make it; Loic Puyo slots back into the team from his own ban. Other than that, the Bulls are at near-full strength, with Denis Genreau the only player on Socceroos duty. However, coach Ante Milicic will be hoping star pair Matt Derbyshire and Markel Susaeta get up for the crunch game, having struggled with hamstring injuries against the Mariners.
D-Day has arrived for Melbourne City; after a dominant A-League season in which they clinched the Premiers Plate with three rounds remaining, to fail to secure a maiden championship, let alone failing to even make the grand final, would be disastrous.
However, their form of late has been troubling, losing twice and drawing once in the three home-and-away games they played after sewing up top spot, leaving the top dogs as vulnerable as they’ve looked all season. Compounding the issue is the unavailability of star striker Jamie Maclaren, as well as Connor Metcalfe and Curtis Good, with the national team.
Craig Noone’s return from injury is a big boost, though coach Patrick Kisnorbo will have to wait until kick-off to know whether Rostyn Griffiths and Andrew Nabbout are good to go with their own injury concerns.
City soundly beat the Bulls 3-0 in their first match of the season, before they had a 1-1 draw back in April on the Bulls’ home turf. Should they win, City will take on Sydney FC in a rematch of last season’s grand final.
Game information
Kick-off time: 4:05pm (AEST)
Venue: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney
TV: Fox Sports 5 (505)
Live stream: Kayo Sports, Foxtel Now, Foxtel Go, MyFootball Live app
Betting: City $1.52, Macarthur FC $5.80, draw $4.10 (odds via PlayUp)
Squads:
Melbourne City
1. Tom Glover (gk), 2. Scott Galloway, 3. Scott Jamieson (c), 4. Nuno Reis, 7. Rostyn Griffiths, 8. Aiden O’Neill, 10. Florin Berenguer-Bohrer, 11. Craig Noone, 13. Nathaniel Atkinson, 14. Naoki Tsubaki, 15. Andrew Nabbout, 16. Taras Gomulka, 17. Stefan Colakovski, 19. Ben Garuccio, 20. Adrian Luna, 23. Marco Tilio, 33. Matthew Sutton (gk), 35. Raphael Borges Rodrigues, 36. Kerrin Stokes, 39. Anthony Lesiotis
Macarthur FC
1. Adam Federici (gk), 2. Jake McGing, 3. Antony Golec, 4. Benat Etxebarria, 5. Mark Milligan (c), 7. Ivan Franjic, 11. Tommy Oar, 10. Loic Puyo, 15. Aleksandar Susnjar, 16. Nick Suman (gk), 17. Kyle Cimenti, 19. Michael Ruhs, 21. Jake Hollman, 22. Liam Rose, 23. Walter Scott, 24. Charles M’Mombwa, 27. Matt Derbyshire, 29. Antonis Martis, 31. Lachlan Rose, 33. Markel Susaeta
TheSecretScout
Roar Guru
Misconception that I "hate" all teams, I hate what certain clubs stand for. Didn't even wqtch the match today, was too busy at balcktown this afternoon
Grem
Roar Rookie
No
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Congratulations to Melbourne City. Honest though, a rightful outcome given you've already won the title, this is just a little post season finals cup thing, to shine a light on our beautiful game. Good luck next week. Are Jamie Mac & co back next week?
Grem
Roar Rookie
Ninkovic cancels out those 2 and then we add in Zullo, Buhagiar and Zuvella.
.kraM
Roar Rookie
I guess Grant, Redmayne and McGowan cancel out Jmac, Metcalfe and Good but we were also missing Nabbout and Noone.
NoMates
Roar Rookie
Couldn't have said it better my self.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Fantastic effort in spite of the hurdles thrown at the team. Respect.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Grem, Nomates hates Sydney. Adelaide Andy hates all the teams, but maybe Sydney a little more.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Easily the Best two teams this year in the final, with Melb City the best team. The Cream rises to the top.
pete4
Roar Rookie
Very big win considering City are missing Maclaren, Nabbout, Noone, Metcalfe and Good there looking in solid form for the Grand final next week :football:
Grem
Roar Rookie
Congratulations Melbourne City - best team this year. The best 2 teams have now made it to the grand final. Hopefully an exciting game in Melbourne coming up but I'm not sure it will be - according to NoMates and Adelaide Andy and others Fixtel, The VAR refs, the APL, the FA, etc have already determined Sydney will win!
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
Epic win by City. Great work by Macarthur on a semi final in their first season. Stole Noone on their way for next season :silly: . Macarthur will be strong next season.
NoMates
Roar Rookie
Well done City much deserved playing with a reserve squad. Please win the final
Grem
Roar Rookie
Hopefully Melbourne can host but???
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
Looking at the Sydney attendance last night, it seems like Melbourne will have a higher turn out. AAMI at 50% is still around 15k
pete4
Roar Rookie
Back to back Grand finals for Melbourne City :thumbup: Macarthur go down and will be thinking what could have been if M’Mombwa scored in the 1st half but for Nuno Reis clearance off the line. A great season for the expansion club and the Bulls have reportedly signed Davila and Noone for next season so have much to looked forward too
94'
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
Things develop on a daily basis with lock downs so it could end up in Sydney
Micko
Roar Rookie
Even with an empty/very limited crowd though?
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
With Rafael on is this the youngest attacking squad with Colakovski?