Melbourne City FC
2
Match Complete
Melbourne Victory
1
| 78' |  | O. Toivonen | ||
| J. Maclaren | | 71' | ||
| F. Berenguer |  | 66' | ||
| 56' | | J. Donachie | ||
| S. Jamieson | | 46' | ||
| N. Atkinson | | 45' | ||
| F. Berenguer | | 8' |
| 8 | Shots | 12 | ||
| 2 | On Target | 2 | ||
| 13 | Fouls | 11 | ||
| 4 | Corners | 4 | ||
| 3 | Offsides | 2 | ||
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 | ||
| 3 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
What better start to Round 18 of the A-League than a derby between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park. Tune in to The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, with the game commencing at 7:30pm (AEDT).
Melbourne City were the victims of awful news during the week, with injury replacement centre back Jack Hendry undergoing knee surgery following a torn medial collateral ligament in the last ten seconds of Melbourne City’s clash with Adelaide United. Hendry will probably return later in the season but will be out for the majority of the rest of the campaign.
This will most likely see Erick Mombaerts switch from the 3-5-2 of recent weeks to a 4-2-3-1, which was what they played during the first half of the season. With Hendry injured and Harrison Delbridge suspended following his red card against Adelaide United, the centre back stocks remain thin and Rostyn Griffiths will most likely resume the role of centre back alongside Curtis Good.
City also welcome back Adrian Luna from injury and club captain Scott Jamieson from suspension.
Melbourne Victory have had a rollercoaster run of a season so far, but a win may see them finally gain some stability.
Melbourne Victory made a signing during the week, as former Central Coast Mariners Giancarlo Gallifuoco joins the club on a six-month deal, which will add much-needed depth to both the midfield and defensive lines.
In other good news for Melbourne Victory, both Tim Hoogland and Robbie Kruse have been added back into the side, following a long injury for Hoogland and a short stint on the sidelines for Kruse.
Hoogland’s last game for Melbourne Victory came after he was thrust straight back into the starting 11 in this fixture almost seven weeks ago, but things didn’t end well and he faced a lengthy stint on the sidelines, so he most likely won’t start despite improving his team considerably.
Melbourne Victory are coming off an impressive 2-2 draw against Perth Glory and will be looking to continue their good form here.
Prediction
Because of Melbourne City’s lack of mental stability in pressure situations, most people are seeming to predict Melbourne Victory to win this clash, making them slight underdogs, which could mentally be enough to spur them onto a win. 2-1 to City.
Remember to join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, with the ball first rolling at 7:30pm (AEDT).
Game information
Where: AAMI Park
When: 7:30pm (AEDT)
Coverage: Fox Sports
Odds: City $2.20, draw $3.40, Victory $3.20
fabian gulino
Roar Rookie
Melb victory bye bye season done.
Jack George
Roar Guru
Thank you for joining me in tonights Melbourne derby and make sure to stick around for the distance derby, as well as all other A-League action this weekend. I will see all of you on Sunday, where I will blog the F3 derby but in the meantime, have a good night and weekend!
Jack George
Roar Guru
Match Report: Melbourne City has prevailed in the third and final matchup between these two sides this season as Melbourne Victory take another major blow to their top-six hopes. Florin Berenguer opened the scoring early in the seventh minute with his maiden A-League goal in clinical style. Adrian Luna took a breathtaking touch with his back to steer clear of Benjamin Carrigan and squared it wonderfully to Florin Berenguer, who set it perfectly on his right-foot and made no mistake with the finish. Melbourne Victory struggled to find any sort of openings to equalise but kept the ball well inside City’s half and kept the pressure on. However, City responded strongly and set up a low block which Melbourne Victory struggled to find a way out of. This was tactically brilliant from Erick Mombaerts and his tactics team, as they analysed that most of Melbourne Victory’s joy comes from a looping pass around the outside of the fullback which frees up either one of their wingers in behind and set up a perfect formation in defence, more on that in an article later this week. Neither Melbourne side struggled to create too many more chances in the first half, and it remained 1-0 to City going into the break. There were shouts for handball against Rostyn Griffiths just after half time, but VAR quickly gave the all-clear, declaring that his hands were in a natural position on his body. Melbourne City’s second goal was a thing of beauty, coming on the seventieth minute following great interplay between multiple Melbourne City players. Adrian Luna found a pocket of space in the centre circle, before squaring to Florien Berenguer, who played a one-touch pass through to Jamie Maclaren on the left flank. Berenguer continued his run, and after interplay between Maclaren and Craig Noone he found himself in behind, but facing away from the goal. The solution: an audacious backheel, which found the feet of Jamie Maclaren who made no mistake in rifling the ball into the top of the net from inside the six-yard box. Melbourne Victory didn’t take long to respond through a horror error from Thomas Glover after a deflected Ola Toivonen free-kick, but Robbie Kruse had to limp off with an injury to leave Melbourne Victory with ten men, where they failed to deal too much damage. Melbourne City next faces Wellington Phoenix in a tricky game away from home, while Melbourne Victory has a bye before facing Chiangrai United in the Asian Champions League. Final score: Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
FULLTIME! Melbourne City prevails in the Melbourne derby to keep them near Sydney at the top, while Melbourne Victory has seen their top-six hopes take a set-back yet again. The match report will be out in ten minutes but in the meantime share your thoughts on the match! Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
90 + 4' Traore wins a throw in the left and Poulsen crosses in to the box but it is cleared. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
90 + 3' Rojas gets space down the right but can't dribble clear of his marker. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
90 + 2' The ball is played long but Good beats Toivonen in the air as we approach the final seconds. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
90 + 2' Storm Roux wins the ball in the corner and wins a throw-in, which could be Melbourne Victory's last chance to get up the field. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
90 + 1' Berenguer finds a pocket of space and plays it to Wales who goes for the corner flag again. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
90 + 1' Craig Noone gets the better of James DOnachie but his left-footed cross is straight at Thomas. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
90' There will be four minutes of added time here at AAMI Park. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
89' Galloway switches to Craig Noone and Noone heads towards the corner flag. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
89' James Donachie is walking a tight-rope as he fouls Craig Noone on the right, as he is of cause already on a yellow card tonight. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
88' It has been interesting to see that Andrew Nabbout has played the majority of tonight's game on the left-wing, it may show how Carlos Salvachua will line up with Marco Rojas in the team. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
87' Lachlan Wales finds space inside the right channel but his cut-back is intercepted by Carrigan. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
87' Play has just slowed down here with the ejection of Robbie Kruse who hasn't reappeared yet. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
86' The latest reports are that Robbie Kruse went down the tunnel holding his groin but no one knows what it is as of yet. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
85' Foul by Jakob Poulsen against Adrian Luna. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
85' Kruse is still off the field and it doesn't seem that he is healthy enough to continue. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1
Jack George
Roar Guru
85' Jamieson is back on his feet as Melbourne Victory have a throw-in. Melbourne City 2, Melbourne Victory 1