Melbourne City huffed and puffed but couldn’t find a way through on Saturday night, made to settle for a scoreless draw against Adelaide United at AAMI Park.
While the result wasn’t quite what we were after, we remain in control of our destiny for a top-two finish and the AFC Champions League Elite qualification that comes with it. The race will now come down to the final round of the season.
Team News
Aurelio Vidmar made one change to his starting XI from last week’s draw with Western Sydney, with Steven Ugarkovic ruled out after picking up a hamstring injury at Friday’s training session.
Zane Schreiber stepped into the midfield, while Emin Durakovic was added to the bench.
Starting XI: 33. Patrick BEACH (GK), 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON, 22. Germán FERREYRA, 27. Kai TREWIN, 16. Aziz BEHICH (C), 19. Zane SCHREIBER, 21. Ale LOPANE, 30. Andreas KUEN, 10. Yonatan COHEN, 23. Marco TILIO, 17. Max CAPUTO.
Substitutes: 18. Dakota OCHSENHAM (GK), 2. Callum TALBOT, 35. Medin MEMETI, 36. Harry SHILLINGTON, 39. Emin DURAKOVIC, 41. Lawrence WONG, 47. Kavian RAHMANI.
What happened?
City looked bright from the outset, creating the first real chance of the night just six minutes in. A smart ball across from Yonatan Cohen found Marco Tilio at the back post, who nodded it back across the goal, but Max Caputo couldn’t quite adjust in time to direct his header on target.
The general flow of the game was relatively even through the opening 25 minutes, but City gradually began to take control, with Zane Schreiber and Andreas Kuen dictating the tempo in midfield.
Tilio was a constant creative spark, with a penalty shout waved away after he appeared to be pushed in the back inside the area just before the half-hour mark.
City lifted the intensity after the break, and it felt like a matter of time before the deadlock would be broken. A clever short corner routine saw Tilio float a dangerous ball into the box, but Kai Trewin’s goal-bound effort was dramatically cleared off the line.
Kuen then came close to breaking the deadlock in the 64th minute after being played through by a precise Nathaniel Atkinson pass, only to be denied by the Adelaide goalkeeper.
City continued to apply relentless pressure, with Cohen forcing a sharp save in the 70th minute with a powerful strike from distance.
Despite controlling the majority of possession and territory, City just couldn’t find the decisive moment in front of goal.
Lawrence Wong flashed a ball across the six-yard box in stoppage time, but it agonisingly evaded everyone in blue as the match ended scoreless.
What’s next?
One game remains in the regular season for City, as we return home to AAMI Park once again next Saturday night to host Sydney FC.
