Melbourne City FC produced an incredible come-from-behind effort to defeat Western Sydney Wanderers 3-2 at Bankwest Stadium on Friday night.
Kwame Yeboah’s strike in the second minute separated the two teams at the half, before a Jamie Maclaren brace and Josh Brillante strike saw City counter Yeboah’s second and hand the Wanderers their first defeat at the stadium.
City sit out Round 8 with the bye, before returning to AAMI Park to host Perth Glory on Friday 6 December.
Team news
Head Coach Erick Mombaerts has made one change to the starting XI, with Denis Genreau replacing Adrian Luna in midfield. 16-year-old Idrus Abdulahi is named on the bench, as Tom Glover and Ramy Najjarine return from international duty.
Our team is in for tonight's clash with Western Sydney! #WSWvMCY pic.twitter.com/JbqSwJoPWr
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) November 22, 2019
What happened?
Following a delayed start to the match due to an earlier storm delay, the hosts burst out of the blocks at Bankwest Stadium, snatching an early 1-0 lead inside the opening two minutes.
Wanderers attacker Kwame Yeboah latched onto a first-time ball from Bruce Kamau to tap the ball home at the back post. Despite a pause in play as the VAR checked over the linesman’s decision, the goal was awarded to the Wanderers.
Down 1-0 inside the opening two minutes, Erick Mombaerts’ men responded strongly to falling behind in the early stages of the match.
Controlling possession, City looked to play through the Wanderers midfield, although lacked the sharpness needed in the final ball. As the half aged, City grew stronger and had a number of half-chances to level the scores.
Josh Brillante forced a brilliant save out of Daniel Lopar with a fierce effort from range before Rostyn Griffiths fluffed an opportunity from a set piece.
City’s attacking intent was on display in the opening stages of the second period, with Javier Cabrera’s early long-range effort a warning sign for the home side.
In the 56th minute Denis Genreau earned his team a spot kick, as the referee deemed that he was fouled in the penalty area. In-form attacker Jamie Maclaren stepped up to take, sending the ‘keeper the wrong way and levelling the scoreboard.
As the half progressed, Mombaerts’ attacking change inspired his team into action. Replacing Craig Noone with speedster Lachie Wales, the youngster immediately changed the game by utilising his space and causing havoc at the back for the Wanderers by getting in-behind their defence.
With 17 minutes of regulation time to play, Josh Brillante sent the away bay into raptures, latching onto Maclaren’s perfectly weighted assist to tap home from close range and cap off an impressive team build up.
With City taking a 2-1 lead the game took another turn with 10 minutes left to play. An intelligent header saw Yeboah fire home from close range after he was left unmarked to make the scores 2-2.
As regulation time elapsed, both sides were calling for a hero to step up, and just as he has done all season, Maclaren obliged. Found in-behind once again, Wales showed great composure to cut back and find Maclaren who took a touch before turning and burying his effort into the top corner to secure a memorable win on the road and secure his ninth A-League goal for the season.
What’s next?
City sit out Round 8 with the bye, before returning to AAMI Park to host Perth Glory on Friday 6 December, kick off 7:30pm. Get your tickets here.
