Melbourne City suffered a tough late defeat in Saturday night’s Christmas Derby, going down 1-0 to Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park.
Despite having the better of the chances across the 90 minutes in a fiercely contested encounter, it was Victory substitute Matthew Grimaldi who struck in stoppage time to snatch all three points.
Team News
With a week and a half between fixtures, Aurelio Vidmar made just one change to the side that last took to the pitch in South Korea. Takeshi Kanamori returned to the starting XI following his equalising goal against FC Seoul in the AFC Champions League Elite, while Kavian Rahmani was unavailable after entering concussion protocols following a training incident.
There was positive news on the bench, with both Andrew Nabbout and Besian Kutleshi returning to the matchday squad after overcoming respective concussion and ankle setbacks, providing Vidmar with additional options as the game wore on.
Starting XI: 1. Patrick BEACH (GK), 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON, 22. Germán FERREYRA, 27. Kai TREWIN, 16. Aziz BEHICH (C), 19. Zane SCHREIBER, 39. Emin DURAKOVIC, 30. Andreas KUEN, 10. Takeshi KANAMORI, 11. Elbasan RASHANI, 17. Max CAPUTO.
Substitutes: 33. Dakota OCHSENHAM (GK), 4. Liam BONETIG, 15. Andrew NABBOUT, 35. Medin MEMETI, 37. Peter ANTONIOU, 38. Beckham BAKER, 44. Besian KUTLESHI.
What happened?
Victory made a brighter start to the contest and nearly took the lead inside the opening quarter-hour when Nikos Vergos found space in the area but dragged his effort wide. City were forced to scramble defensively early, but gradually grew into the game and began to impose ourselves in possession.
City’s first real opening arrived in the 18th minute when Elbasan Rashani cut the ball back towards Max Caputo, only for Victory captain Roderick Miranda to get just enough on the ball to deny what looked a certain opener.
Andreas Kuen was influential driving City forward through midfield, and another of his surging runs helped spark a dangerous moment on the half-hour mark.
Rashani forced a save from Jack Duncan, with the rebound falling to Caputo, who narrowly missed the target while swivelling and shooting under pressure.
While City enjoyed more of the ball across the first half, clear chances were limited at both ends, and the sides went into the break level in what had been a tense but even opening 45 minutes.
The intensity lifted immediately after the restart, with challenges flying in as neither side held back in a fiery Derby atmosphere. City came close in the 52nd minute when Zane Schreiber unleashed a powerful strike from range, but Miranda again put his body on the line to block the effort. Moments later, Patrick Beach was called into action, tipping a clever Vergos effort over the bar after the striker attempted to chip him.
City’s pressure continued to build and we went agonisingly close just before the hour mark when Caputo rose highest to meet a Kanamori corner, only to see his header crash against the crossbar. Another promising attack followed soon after, with Caputo driving forward before teeing up Rashani, whose low effort forced a strong diving save from Duncan.
Vidmar turned to his bench in the 68th minute, introducing Andrew Nabbout, Liam Bonetig and Peter Antoniou in search of a breakthrough. The changes almost paid immediate dividends, and City again went close in the 79th minute when fellow substitute Medin Memeti met a Kanamori corner with a powerful header, only for Duncan to produce a superb reflex save.
As the clock ticked down, City continued to push and had another sight of goal late on, but couldn’t find the decisive touch. The missed chances proved costly. In the first minute of stoppage time, Victory worked a short corner and Grimaldi found space outside the box, drilling a low strike inside Beach’s near post to ultimately decide the contest.
What’s next?
The good news is we won’t have to wait long for a chance to respond, returning to AAMI Park on Tuesday night to take on Macarthur FC in a midweek clash.
