Melbourne City has suffered defeat on the road, going down 1-0 to Macarthur at Campbelltown Sports Stadium on Saturday night.
With City unable to capitalise on their chances in front of goal, Valère Germain’s second-half strike was the difference between the two sides.
TEAM NEWS
Head Coach, Aurelio Vidmar, made three changes to the starting XI that faced Auckland in New Zealand last weekend.
Lawrence Wong, Kavian Rahmani and Arion Sulemani replaced Zane Schreiber, Harry Politidis and Medin Memeti in the starting team.
The big team news of the evening was the inclusion of Marco Tilio, who returned to the bench in a welcome boost for City fans.
Starting XI: 33. Patrick BEACH (GK), 2. Callum TALBOT, 6. Steven UGARKOVIC, 27. Kai TREWIN, 22. Samuel SOUPRAYEN, 16. Aziz BEHICH (C), 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON, 20. Arion SULEMANI, 41. Lawrence WONG, 46. Ben MAZZEO, 47. Kavian RAHMANI.
Substitutes: 1. Jamie YOUNG (GK), 7. Mathew LECKIE, 19. Zane SCHREIBER, 22. Germán FERREYRA, 23. Marco TILIO, 38. Harry POLITIDIS, 50. Mikey GHOSSAINI.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Looking to bounce back from last week’s defeat to Auckland, City suffered an early injury blow with Kai Trewin forced to make way for Germán Ferreyra within the first few minutes of the fixture.
City’s youngsters were lively in the first period, with Kavian Rahmani and Ben Mazzeo both forcing sharp saves from Bulls shot-stopper, Filip Kurto.
Rahmani showcased his attacking flare with beautiful feet in the box, before his low drive from close range was well saved.
Aurelio Vidmar’s men looked more and more threatening as the half progressed and went close to breaking the deadlock when Lawrence Wong delivered a dangerous corner. As Kurto flapped at the set piece, the ball fell to Steven Ugarkovic who was unable to find his feet enough to execute a meaningful shot on goal and capitalise as the shot-stopper was out of position.
Down the other end, it was Callum Talbot who denied Marin Jakolis with a desperate block.
The hosts had the first chance of the second period, but were denied from close range by Patrick Beach. City’s goalkeeper produced a huge reflex save to ensure the score was locked at 0-0 in the 49th minute.
Four minutes later it was half-time substitute Harry Politidis who went inches away from having an instant impact. Meeting Talbot’s long ball, the City winger connected with a spectacular volley, hitting the roof of the net.
In the 62nd minute, it was the hosts who found the breakthrough through their skipper, Valère Germain. Played into the box by Drew, Germain produced a composed finish to make it 1-0.
As Vidmar and City looked to respond immediately, both Mathew Leckie and Mikey Ghossaini replaced Arion Sulemani and Wong.
Beach pulled off another big save for City with 15 minutes of regulation time remaining, before Marco Tilio made his long-awaited return from injury.
Tilio’s return caused issues for the hosts defence, he forced a sharp save before creating a couple of chances for his teammates, but it wasn’t to be for Vidmar’s men who suffered a 1-0 defeat on the road despite dominating possession.
WHAT’S NEXT?
City have no game next weekend, returning to action against Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium on Friday 7 February, kick-off 7:35pm.
