Melbourne City FC has shared the points with Brisbane Roar away from home, drawing 2-2 at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
City trailed twice but goals to Craig Noone and Nathaniel Atkinson ensured City would return to Melbourne with a point.
Head Coach Erick Mombaerts and his men will be eager to extend their unbeaten run when they host Newcastle Jets in a blockbuster double header at AAMI Park on Saturday 18 January.
Starting XI
Erick Mombaerts made just the one forced change to the team that defeated Western United 3-2 at home last week. Harrison Delbridge missed through suspenion after having been red carded last week and it was Rostyn Griffiths taking his place at centre-back.
Our team is in for today's clash with Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium. 🦁 #BRIvMCY #ForeverCity pic.twitter.com/HZcz43jQfL
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) January 11, 2020
What happened?
The fixture got off to a fast start with both teams having chances to score in the early moments.
Lachie Wales got onto a cross in the second minute, but his volley was straight at keeper Jamie Young. The Roar came close to scoring on the counterattack but Dean Bouzanis was off his line to clear any danger.
Jamie Maclaren almost got through on goal in the eighth minute, but a good challenge from Macaulay Gillesphey at full stretch denied him a chance to open scoring.
Despite City controlling the first half an hour, it was the Roar who found the back of the net first with Brad Inman coolly slotting the opener past Bouzanis in the 34th minute.
Brisbane held the lead for just five minutes before City was able to find their first through Noone.
Scott Jamieson played a lofted ball to Maclaren at the back post who headed it to the perfect spot in the middle of the box for Noone to run onto and equalise with the help of the upright.
The goals continued to come just ten minutes later when Inman had his second goal, splitting the City defence with his strike.
After going into half-time trailing despite looking the better team, it didn’t take long for City to find an equaliser.
It took until his 42nd match but Atkinson was able to find his first A-League goal early in the second half, latching onto an absolute rocket from outside of the box which left Young no chance.
City defended valiantly in the second half to deny the home side a chance to take all three points, while also looking threatening at the other end of the pitch.
Maclaren again looked like getting on the scoresheet in the 81st minute but like in the first half, a crucial challenge from Gillesphey denied him the chance to shoot.
After being subbed on for goalscorer Atkinson, it was a disappointing end to the game for Scott Galloway who had to be helped from the field in injury time after an ankle injury that could potentiality see him sidelined for a period of time.
This left City to finish the game with 10 men and the Roar almost looked like finding a winner in the 98th minute but Bouzanis was able to pull off a strong save to deny Inman his hattrick.
What’s next?
City will return to AAMI Park next week where they will host the Newcastle Jets. The fixture will kick off at 7:30pm next Saturday night and will be part of a W-League double header. You can get your tickets here!
