Melbourne City produced a dominant display on Friday night, defeating Bentleigh Greens 7-0 at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex.
A high-scoring first half set the tone for the contest, with Medin Memeti starring in an emphatic team performance as City controlled proceedings from start to finish.
Team News
Following our win against South Melbourne last week, Head Coach Stuart McDonald made three changes to the starting lineup. Medin Memeti, Harry Shillington and James Nieuwenhuizen all returned after spending time with our A-League squad.
Starting XI: 2. Peter ANTONIOU, 3. Ryan KALMS (C), 4. Jayden NECOVSKI, 6. Angus MACKINTOSH, 10. Beckham BAKER, 12. Isiah BOSTON, 14. Roland BALLAH, 18. Medin MEMETI, 20. Lawrence WONG, 24. Harry SHILLINGTON, 41. James NIEUWENHUIZEN (GK)
Substitutes: 8. Christian POLYZOUDIS, 13. Daniel MATINA, 16. Nikola DJUROVIC, 31. Thomas NASSO, 67. Sam ROBSON (GK).
What Happened?
City opened the game with high intensity, putting the Bentleigh defence under immediate pressure with aggressive pressing and controlled possession. That strong start allowed us to create several shooting opportunities within the opening minutes.
The early pressure paid off in the ninth minute when Jayden Necovski and Isiah Boston combined nicely in the build-up before Medin Memeti struck cleanly from outside the box to open the scoring.
Just two minutes later, the lead was doubled as Memeti turned provider, finding Lawrence Wong on the edge of the area where he calmly finished into the bottom corner.
Bentleigh threatened briefly in response, but James Nieuwenhuizen was alert to the danger, producing a full-stretch save to deny the hosts, with the effort later ruled offside.
As City’s confidence continued to grow, gaps began to open in the Bentleigh defence. Boston came close with a curling effort before Beckham Baker struck the inside of the post only moments later.
City soon added a third goal after Baker capitalised on a poor Bentleigh pass following a throw-in, driving forward before squaring the ball for Roland Ballah, who made no mistake with the finish.
Peter Antoniou was then brought down inside the penalty area, allowing Memeti to step up and confidently convert from the spot at the half-hour mark.
Despite holding a four-goal advantage, City continued to press and remained firmly in control of the contest. Nieuwenhuizen was again called into action shortly after, making another sharp save to prevent Bentleigh from reducing the deficit.
In the 40th minute, Harry Shillington produced a moment of quality, striking first time into the top corner from the edge of the area after a clever backheel assist from Memeti.
Then, on the cusp of half-time, Memeti completed a brilliant first-half hat-trick, latching onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Necovski before calmly finishing one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
City went into the break with a commanding 6-0 advantage following a clinical opening 45 minutes.
The second half proved a more even contest, with Bentleigh enjoying longer spells of possession while City continued to look dangerous on transition.
Memeti would again find the scoresheet in the 57th minute after a well-worked move from the back through Necovski and Wong, before the winger drove past his defender and slotted home to complete his fourth goal of the night.
City managed the remainder of the contest comfortably, introducing fresh legs through several substitutions while continuing to search for further opportunities in attack.
Although an eighth goal wouldn’t arrive, City closed out the evening in complete control to secure an emphatic 7-0 victory away from home.
What’s Next?
City will look to extend our winning run on Friday night when we travel to face Green Gully at Green Gully Reserve, with kick-off scheduled for 7:30pm.
