Melbourne City returns to AAMI Park this Friday night, hosting Central Coast Mariners under lights. Ahead of our Round 5 clash, we take a look at the five things we’re looking forward to.
10 year celebrations
We will celebrate our 10th year anniversary when we host Central Coast Mariners, our very first A-League opponents, at AAMI Park on Friday night.
As Melbourne Heart, we kicked-off our inaugural season against the Mariners on August 5 2010. Suffering a 1-0 loss at AAMI Park on that day, City will be eager to reverse the result when hosting the Mariners this time round.
Join us as we celebrate the past decade of our Club on Friday night, get your tickets here!
The Red and White stripes return to AAMI Park
As part of our 10 year celebrations, City will wear this season’s third kit when they take on the Mariners at AAMI Park.
To celebrate our roots, the red and white stripes will return to AAMI Park and we’re encouraging all our fans to don their favourite red and white kits from over the years as we reflect on our foundations.
Strong starters
After four rounds, we sit on top of the league table with three wins and one draw.
It might be a long season but getting off to a strong start is always important.
We’ve recorded three consecutive wins on the bounce and will be eager to make it four when we take on the Mariners.
The exuberance of youth
Without key senior players in Jamie Maclaren, Harrison Delbridge, Florin Berenguer and Richard Windbichler, City’s youngsters stood tall against the ‘Nix.
19-year-old Moudi Najjar started in the number 9 position, as Connor Metcalfe netted his first A-League goal in impressive fashion before Stefan Colakovski made his senior debut.
Denis Genreau and Lachie Wales also started the match, as Ramy Najjarine came on in the second half, demonstrating the strength and depth of City’s youngsters.
Home dominance
City have won their last six A-League games against Central Coast at AAMI Park, keeping a clean sheet in their past three fixtures.
City’s dominance over the Mariners in recent times extends beyond AAMI Park, with the team in City blue winning eight of their past 12 encounters – with three draws and one loss in that time.
The last time we took on the Mariners it was all about the kids as we put five past our rivals, and this time might be no different!
