Melbourne City sealed our first three points of the AFC Champions League Elite competition in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night, coming from behind to defeat Buriram United 2-1 at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
The visitors struck first through Goran Causic midway through the second half, but City showed plenty of resilience to turn the contest on its head in the dying minutes.
Elbasan Rashani equalised with his first goal in City colours in the 88th minute, before Max Caputo continued his hot streak in front of goal by finding the winner deep into stoppage time.
Team News
With just three days between fixtures, Head Coach Aurelio Vidmar made three changes to his starting XI from Saturday’s A-League Men’s season opener.
Beckham Baker headlined the inclusions, earning his first continental start alongside fellow young winger Kavian Rahmani and defender Harry Shillington.
Elbasan Rashani and Nathaniel Atkinson both moved to the bench, while Mathew Leckie was out of the matchday squad after copping a knock at the weekend.
Starting XI: 1. Patrick BEACH (GK), 36. Harry SHILLINGTON, 22. Germán FERREYRA, 26. Samuel SOUPRAYEN, 16. Aziz BEHICH (C), 27. Kai TREWIN, 30. Andreas KUEN, 10. Takeshi KANAMORI, 38. Beckham BAKER, 47. Kavian RAHMANI, 17. Max CAPUTO.
Substitutes: 33. Dakota OCHSENHAM (GK), 60. Lachie CHARLES (GK), 4. Liam BONETIG, 11. Elbasan RASHANI, 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON, 19. Zane SCHREIBER, 20. Ben MAZZEO, 37. Peter ANTONIOU, 39. Emin DURAKOVIC, 44. Besian KUTLESHI, 53. Angus MACKINTOSH.
What happened?
City began brightly, controlling possession and dictating the tempo in the opening stages. Kai Trewin, again deployed in the holding midfield role, was instrumental in setting the rhythm, combining well with Andreas Kuen as City looked composed and confident in build-up.
Max Caputo went close within minutes after being teed up by Rahmani, while a handful of promising moves followed, though the breakthrough eluded City. VAR took a lengthy look at a potential penalty when Baker was brought down in the area, but play was waved on.
Patrick Beach remained largely untested throughout the opening half, though Buriram’s Peter Zulj briefly thought he’d opened the scoring in stoppage time – only for VAR to intervene and chalk it off when replays showed a clear offside.
The second half began with intensity as both sides looked to gain the ascendancy. Beach was called into action early before City quickly countered, with Rahmani going down under contact in the box – but once again, VAR ruled no penalty.
Vidmar was forced into two early changes in the second half, with Samuel Souprayen (hamstring) and Harry Shillington (concussion) both withdrawn following injuries – replaced by Liam Bonetig, who made his City debut, and Atkinson.
The contest opened up as fatigue crept in, and Buriram found the opener in the 72nd minute. A corner wasn’t fully cleared, allowing Beach to make a strong initial save before Causic pounced on the rebound to put the visitors ahead.
Vidmar’s side refused to drop their heads, rallying impressively in the final stages. The introduction of Rashani added fresh energy, and it was the Kosovan international who brought City level in the 88th minute – finishing superbly off the underside of the crossbar after a clever cutback from Aziz Behich.
The equaliser reignited the home crowd, and City surged forward in search of a winner. Eight minutes of stoppage time were signalled, and the decisive moment arrived right at the death.
Atkinson whipped in a pinpoint delivery from the right, and Caputo showed all his striker’s instinct to find space and tuck home from close range to seal a memorable win.
It marked a second goal in as many games for the 20-year-old and his fourth in three competitive appearances stretching back to the U20 World Cup.
What’s next?
The victory marks City’s first in this season’s AFC Champions League Elite campaign and keeps the team’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stages well and truly alive.
Attention now shifts back to domestic action, with City set to host Perth Glory in our A-League Men’s home opener this Saturday evening at AAMI Park.
