Melbourne City’s unbeaten streak came to an end at seven on Saturday evening, as Auckland capitalised on its chances to claim a decisive victory across the ditch.
Despite a promising start from City, the hosts proved more clinical, handing Aurelio Vidmar’s side a first defeat in seven games.
TEAM NEWS
Aurelio Vidmar made two unforced changes to the starting XI that cruised past Brisbane last weekend.
Samuel Souprayen and Zane Schreiber returned to the lineup, with Germán Ferreyra and Kavian Rahmani moving to the bench.
The standout news, however, was the inclusion of Mathew Leckie in the matchday squad for the first time since Round 4, providing a welcome boost for City fans.
Starting XI: 33. Patrick BEACH (GK), 2. Callum TALBOT, 27. Kai TREWIN, 22. Samuel SOUPRAYEN, 16. Aziz BEHICH (C), 19. Zane SCHREIBER, 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON, 6. Steven UGARKOVIC, 46. Ben MAZZEO, 38. Harry POLITIDIS, 35. Medin MEMETI.
Substitutes: 1. Jamie YOUNG (GK), 7. Mathew LECKIE, 20. Arion SULEMANI, 22. Germán FERREYRA, 41. Lawrence WONG, 47. Kavian RAHMANI, 50. Mikey GHOSSAINI.
What happened?
City began brightly, dominating possession with 75% control in the opening 20 minutes. The pressing game was relentless, and the team consistently looked to recover the ball quickly when lost.
However, it was Auckland who created the first real chance, with Jesse Randall’s effort testing Patrick Beach, who made a comfortable save.
Unfortunately for City fans, this foreshadowed what was to come.
In the 32nd minute, Guillermo May unleashed a stunning long-range strike to give the hosts the lead. Despite a full-stretch dive from Beach, there was little the City shotstopper could do.
Auckland doubled their advantage less than 10 minutes later, capitalising on a failed clearance from a corner. Nando Pijanker was quickest to react, firing into the roof of the net during the second phase.
The first half went from bad to worse just before the break. Another corner caused chaos in the box, with Max Mata scrambling the ball over the line. Beach who was heavily impeded, could do little to prevent Auckland from taking a commanding 3-0 lead into halftime.
City emerged from the break with renewed intensity, controlling the momentum in the second half but struggling to convert our dominance into goals.
A triple substitution on the hour mark introduced Lawrence Wong, Mikey Ghossaini, and Kavian Rahmani, injecting energy into the attack.
Leckie later made his long-awaited return, further lifting the team.
While both Leckie and Rahmani had promising moments, including a couple of efforts thwarted by last-ditch defending, City couldn’t breach Auckland’s defence.
The halftime scoreline remained unchanged as the match concluded with a disappointing result.
What’s next?
City’s challenging away run continues next Saturday night with a trip to New South Wales to face Macarthur FC.
