Our first hit-out of the pre-season saw Melbourne City defeat Port Melbourne 5-0. See the five things we learned.
He hasn’t lost it…
Bruno Fornaroli was back to his best on Wednesday night, netting twice in the friendly and showing all City fans that he’s looking to pick up where he left off. ‘El Tuna’ wore the armband and stepped up to dead balls in the absence of Aaron Mooy and Patrick Kisnorbo and looked to take the responsibility upon his shoulders in the change room as well, vocal and encouraging to every player on the park.
A beautiful low free-kick into the bottom corner and a perfectly executed penalty capped off a solid 45 minutes from Fornaroli as our star striker gave a great indication of what he has in store for 2016/17
General Kilkenny
Two days on the ground in Melbourne, one training session and already Neil Kilkenny looks like he will be the goods for us this season. An industrious 30 minutes just after the break with jetlag still under his belt, our new midfield signing was impressive on debut, looking to create from the number six position and incredibly vocal.
After 12 years in the English Championship and Premier League system and plenty of positive comments from fans of his previous clubs on board, watch this space with Neil Kilkenny as he looks to cement a starting position in John van’t Schip’s side.
New faces, no worries
All of our new signings bar Bruce Kamau, who was a late scratching, made their first appearances for City and none looked out of place in their respective position. Manny Muscat began the match in the right back position and looked impressive in his first outing. With Port Melbourne sitting deep, Muscat had the freedom to play in an advanced overlapping role and looked dynamic with his combinations with Nick Fitzgerald and Fornaroli.
Luke Brattan started the match in the number six role and was important in the link up play in the early stages of the match. The high tempo first 30 minutes saw the loanee almost find the back of the net but the midfielder would have been happy with his first outing for the Club.
The second half also saw Ruon Tongyik and Daniel Arzani make appearances and the duo showed why they were on City’s recruiting radar, fitting in perfectly in their respective positions.
Youth’s the word
Our second half saw a number of NPL and NYL players take the field for City for the first time in senior colours as our youth stars were rewarded with a chance to impress the head coach. Most notably, Luke Gallo, who replaced Kamau in the starting eleven, put in a tireless shift on the wing and didn’t look out of place with his speed on and off the ball.
The turnover of players in the 60 minute mark saw the likes of Yusuf Ahmed, Dennis Genreau and Austin Wong enter the field with the latter even finding the back of the net in the advanced midfield position.
Football’s back!
How good is it to have football back! With souvlaki in the air, action from ground level and freezing hands and toes to take home as souvenirs, there’s nothing better than getting out and seeing live football, especially our Melbourne City boys in action.
With this in mind, there is no better time to sign up as a Melbourne City member! With all 13 home matches at the world-class AAMI Park, membership is the most affordable way to see your City throughout the 2016/17 season!
