Melbourne City FC has secured a crucial 2-3 win over Perth Glory at HBF Park on Sunday afternoon.
In what was a tale of two halves, City took a 3-0 lead into the break following goals to Rostyn Griffiths, Florin Berenguer and Markel Susaeta, before the hosts hit back in the second half after both Joel Chianese and Bruno Fornaroli found the back of the net.
In touch conditions, Erick Mombaerts’ men held firm to secure a massive win in the six-pointer. City will look to continue the winning momentum when they host Western Sydney Wanderers at AAMI Park on Saturday 14 March.
Starting XI
Head Coach Erick Mombaerts made no changes to the match day squad that defeated Brisbane Roar a week earlier.
We name an unchanged side for today's clash with Perth. 🔒 #PERvMCY pic.twitter.com/GqhAPEUyUy
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) March 8, 2020
What happened?
On a hot afternoon in Western Australia, the side in City blue looked to make an early statement on enemy territory.
After a cagey opening 10 minutes, the hosts had the first real threat on goal when a last-ditch clearance from Craig Noone saw him clear Alex Grant’s effort off the goal line.
City responded well to the early threat and burst into action in the 24th minute when Rostyn Griffiths opened the scoring from a corner against his former side. The ball fell to the defender who missed his first effort before turning quickly and making no mistake with his second attempt.
The hosts looked to hit back immediately but Bruno Fornaroli was denied from close range as Tom Glover deflected the ball clear.
Just five minutes after opening the scoring City doubled their lead via Frenchman Florin Berenguer. The attacking midfielder picked up the ball before unleashing an unstoppable strike from outside the area, leaving Glory shot-stopper Liam Reddy with no chance.
City’s dominance continued as did their attacking threat and before long it was 0-3 to the visitors as skipper Scott Jamieson picked out Markel Susaeta with an incredible pass before the winger converted his first A-League goal.
In what proved to be a tail of two halves, a fierce home side came out of the tunnel in the second period. The hosts were far from out of it as City found themselves constantly under pressure in the second half.
In the 52nd minute, Glover denied Fornaroli with a strong save before Joel Chianese was first to react, converting from close range to peg a goal back.
With the home side cheering them on, Glory continued to pile the pressure on and were nearly rewarded moments later when Gregory Wuthrich unleashed a fierce strike from distance, forcing Glover into making a sharp reflex save.
At the 65th minute mark, Fornaroli fired again and there was nothing Glover could do this time, as the hosts closed the gap to 2-3.
Despite the constant onslaught from the hosts, City battled difficult conditions to hold firm. Led by Tom Glover in goals, who denied Fornaroli a late equaliser with an exceptional save, Mombaerts’ side was able to secure a pivotal win on the road against their fellow top-four rivals.
What’s next?
Melbourne City FC will be vying for three wins in a row when they host Western Sydney Wanderers at AAMI Park on Saturday 14 March, kick off 7:30pm. Don’t miss it, get your tickets here!
