Melbourne City fell to a 2-0 defeat against Sanfrecce Hiroshima in our AFC Champions League Elite opener at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Tuesday night.
It was a hard-fought first half where City more than held their own, but the visitors showed their mid-season sharpness after the break, capitalising on their chances to claim all three points.
Team News
Aurelio Vidmar named a strong starting XI for City’s first competitive home fixture of the season, with eight players from last year’s A-League Men’s Grand Final triumph taking their place in the line-up.
New signing Takeshi Kanamori was handed his debut on the right wing and looked lively throughout, while Patrick Beach started in goal after inheriting the number one shirt this season. Andrew Nabbout (knee), Medin Memeti (hamstring) and Alessandro Lopane (knee) all missed out through injury.
Starting XI: 1. Patrick BEACH (GK), 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON, 22. Germán FERREYRA, 26. Samuel SOUPRAYEN, 16. Aziz BEHICH (C), 27. Kai TREWIN, 30. Andreas KUEN, 7. Mathew LECKIE, 10. Takeshi KANAMORI, 47. Kavian RAHMANI, 17. Max CAPUTO.
Substitutes: 33. Dakota OCHSENHAM (GK), 4. Liam BONETIG, 19. Zane SCHREIBER, 20. Ben MAZZEO, 36. Harry SHILLINGTON, 39. Emin DURAKOVIC, 41. Lawrence WONG, 44. Besian KUTLESHI, 45. Ryan KALMS, 48. Mathew BAKER, 52. Aaron CARTWRIGHT, 53. Angus MACKINTOSH.
What happened?
It was an even start to proceedings, with Hiroshima enjoying slightly more of the ball but City looking organised and dangerous on the break. A well-worked set-piece routine almost paid off early, only for Max Caputo’s touch to let him down at the vital moment.
Kanamori looked bright on debut, causing problems down the right flank, while at the other end Beach produced a stunning reflex save to deny Marcos Junior in the 29th minute.
Sanfrecce pushed hard before the interval, forcing a flurry of corners, but City stood firm to go into the break level.
The visitors broke through early in the second half when Beach rushed out to cut off a ball in behind but clipped the attacker inside the area. Marcos Junior stepped up to the spot and calmly converted to give Hiroshima the lead in the 51st minute.
City battled to find a way back but, as expected with this being their first competitive outing of the season, struggled to match the tempo of a side already deep into their J.League campaign.
Our best chance came in the 73rd minute when Kanamori picked out Nathaniel Atkinson’s late run into the box, but the full-back scuffed his finish wide.
Vidmar turned to his bench with 15 minutes to play, introducing Zane Schreiber, Ben Mazzeo and Harry Shillington. Moments later though, Sanfrecce doubled their advantage as Nakajima Yotaro rose highest to head home and make it 2-0.
What’s next?
City will now hit the road for Matchday 2, travelling to Japan to face fellow powerhouse Vissel Kobe. The clash is set for Wednesday 1 October, with kick-off at 8:00pm AEST and live coverage on Paramount+.
