Melbourne City continued our preparations for next week’s AFC Champions League Elite Matchday 2 clash with an entertaining 3-2 victory over Newcastle Jets in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Tuesday afternoon.
It was a strong hit-out for Aurelio Vidmar’s side, who looked sharp in possession and produced a flurry of attacking football in the first half to set up the result.
Goals from Emin Durakovic, Kavian Rahmani and Aziz Behich all came inside a 25-minute spell, before the Jets fought back with one goal on either side of the break.
Team News
Vidmar named a strong line-up, sticking with nine of the players who started in last week’s Champions League opener.
Max Caputo and Liam Bonetig were both away on international duty, while Mathew Leckie was among a handful of players managed on a separate training program with one eye on next week’s trip to Japan.
Elbasan Rashani was included on the bench following his arrival earlier this month and showed plenty of promise in a second-half cameo.
Starting XI: 1. Patrick BEACH (GK), 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON, 22. Germán FERREYRA, 26. Samuel SOUPRAYEN, 16. Aziz BEHICH (C), 27. Kai TREWIN, 19. Zane SCHREIBER, 30. Andreas KUEN, 39. Emin DURAKOVIC, 47. Kavian RAHMANI, 10. Takeshi KANAMORI.
Substitutes: 33. Dakota OCHSENHAM (GK), 11. Elbasan RASHANI, 34. Jayden NECOVSKI, 36. Harry SHILLINGTON, 37. Peter ANTONIOU, 38. Beckham BAKER, 44. Besian KUTLESHI, 45. Ryan KALMS, 48. Mathew BAKER, 53. Angus MACKINTOSH, 54. Luke BECVINOVSKI.
What happened?
In blustery conditions at the City Football Academy, City began confidently, moving the ball with purpose and asking questions of the Jets’ defence. Germán Ferreyra and Samuel Souprayen marshalled the backline well, allowing Andreas Kuen and Zane Schreiber to dictate play through midfield.
The breakthrough came in the 17th minute when Nathaniel Atkinson played Takeshi Kanamori through on the right, who delivered a low cross that Emin Durakovic met with a sweet half-volley, firing City into the lead.
Just four minutes later, Kuen dribbled through two defenders on a driving forward run before sliding a clever ball across goal for Rahmani to double the advantage.
City were firmly in control, limiting Newcastle to a slim number of opportunities and then adding a third through our skipper late in the half.
Kuen chalked up his second assist of the afternoon, finding Behich in space on the left, who finished off the impressive team move with a composed finish across James Delianov into the far corner.
While their opportunities had been few and far between, Newcastle made City pay for a defensive lapse when Xavier Bertoncello found space and tucked home a cutback moments before the half-time whistle.
The second half brought a different dynamic, with the Jets pressing higher up the pitch. Patrick Beach was largely untroubled until the 67th minute when Max Burgess’ strike from the edge of the area snuck through a sea of legs into the bottom corner to make it 3-2.
Despite those two lapses, City continued to look composed in possession and still carved out quality chances. Behich went close to his second of the afternoon, while Kuen almost added a goal of his own with a powerful run and strike that forced a sharp save from Delianov.
Rashani entered the fray with 15 minutes to play and quickly showed glimpses of his quality on the wing, creating an opportunity immediately after coming on that saw Schreiber denied on the goal line.
A host of late changes gave several Academy products valuable minutes, and they impressed with their energy in the closing stages as City saw out the 3-2 scoreline until the final whistle.
What’s next?
Attention now turns to the next challenge – an away trip to Japan to face Vissel Kobe in Matchday 2 of the AFC Champions League Elite. The J1 League heavyweights currently sit fourth in their domestic competition and will provide another stern test for Vidmar’s men.
City fans can catch all the action live on Paramount+, with kick-off set for 8:00pm AEST on Wednesday 1 October.
