Melbourne City’s young guns shone under the AAMI Park lights on Saturday evening, delivering an impressive 4–0 win over Perth Glory in the Club’s first home fixture of the Isuzu UTE A-League season.
Despite persistent rain throughout the evening, the City faithful were treated to a sparkling display from Aurelio Vidmar’s side, who built on their midweek Champions League triumph with another confident performance.
Twenty-year-old Max Caputo led the way with a first-half brace, before fellow young guns Zane Schreiber (20) and Kavian Rahmani (18) both netted their maiden A-League goals with stunning late strikes to cap off a memorable night.
Team News
Aurelio Vidmar made three changes to the starting XI that defeated Buriram United midweek, with two of those enforced through injury.
Young defender Liam Bonetig was handed his first professional start, joining Mathew Leckie and Ben Mazzeo in the line-up. Samuel Souprayen and Elbasan Rashani (both hamstring) missed out and are set for stints on the sidelines, while Harry Shillington was unavailable due to concussion protocols.
Starting XI: 1. Patrick BEACH (GK), 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON, 22. Germán FERREYRA, 4. Liam BONETIG, 16. Aziz BEHICH (C), 27. Kai TREWIN, 7. Mathew LECKIE, 30. Andreas KUEN, 20. Ben MAZZEO, 10. Takeshi KANAMORI, 17. Max CAPUTO.
Substitutes: 33. Dakota OCHSENHAM (GK), 19. Zane SCHREIBER, 34. Jayden NECOVSKI, 38. Beckham BAKER, 39. Emin DURAKOVIC, 44. Besian KUTLESHI, 47. Kavian RAHMANI.
What happened?
City wasted no time asserting ourselves, pressing high and attacking with intent from the opening whistle. The early pressure paid off inside five minutes, as Leckie drove powerfully down the right and squared a perfect ball across goal for Caputo to finish past Matthew Sutton.
From there, City controlled possession and territory, with Leckie and Kuen both lively through midfield. The home side’s front third movement caused constant headaches for Perth, while Bonetig and Ferreyra anchored a defence that looked composed and assured throughout.
Caputo doubled City’s advantage in the 36th minute after capitalising on a defensive mix-up. Showing maturity beyond his years, he took a clever touch to round the keeper before slamming home his second of the night to make it 2–0.
Kuen came close to adding a third before half-time with a strike that whistled just wide, but City would go into the sheds two goals to the good after a dominant opening 45 minutes.
Perth emerged with renewed energy after the break, but City’s backline held firm. Ferreyra and Bonetig combined well at the heart of defence to deny the visitors any real clear-cut chances, while Trewin’s composure in midfield continued to dictate the tempo.
Vidmar turned to his bench just after the hour mark, introducing Schreiber and Besian Kutleshi – who made his ALM debut – before later handing minutes to Rahmani, Emin Durakovic, and Beckham Baker. It was the younger brigade who provided the perfect finish to the night.
In the 84th minute, Schreiber picked up possession just inside the Perth half, drove forward, and unleashed a superb left-footed strike into the top corner – his first A-League goal and one to remember.
Not to be outdone, Rahmani followed suit in stoppage time with another moment of brilliance. Cutting inside from the left, the 18-year-old curled a stunning right-footed effort beyond Sutton to make it 4–0, sparking celebrations both on the pitch and in the stands.
Despite the wet conditions, City’s supporters made plenty of noise as the team sealed a dominant victory – the Club’s first home win of the new ALM campaign and another reminder of the exciting talent emerging through the Academy ranks.
What’s next?
City will now turn its attention to a Friday night trip to face Brisbane Roar, before heading directly to Japan for our next AFC Champions League Elite clash against Machida Zelvia.
With momentum building and the confidence of back-to-back wins, Vidmar’s side will be eager to continue their strong start across both domestic and continental fronts.
