Melbourne City has continued its strong A-League Men form, recording a 4-2 win away from home over Perth Glory on Saturday night.
In what was a chaotic contest at times, City once again had no trouble finding the back of the net with four different names on the scoresheet as it took all three points back to Melbourne.
Team News
Now confirmed as City’s Head Coach on a permanent basis, Rado Vidosic made two changes to his starting XI for the clash at Macedonia Park.
Curtis Good missed through a minor cork which saw captain Scott Jamieson return to the XI, while Andrew Nabbout was favoured over Marco Tilio in the front third.
Starting XI: 1. Tom GLOVER (GK), 4. Nuno REIS, 6. Thomas LAM, 3. Scott JAMIESON (C), 38. Jordan BOS, 13. Aiden O’NEILL, 8. Richard VAN DER VENNE, 14. Valon BERISHA, 15. Andrew NABBOUT, 7. Mathew LECKIE, 9. Jamie MACLAREN.
Substitutes: 33. Matthew SUTTON (GK), 2. Scott GALLOWAY, 10 Florin BERENGUER, 18. Jordon HALL, 23. Marco TILIO, 25. Callum TALBOT, 35. Raphael BORGES RODRIGUES.
What happened?
Although the two teams may’ve taken a little while to fully click into gear following the opening whistle, there was plenty of action in the first half once they did.
After both sides eased their way into the contest City began to get a hold of things after around 10 minutes, with the likes of Aiden O’Neill and Richard van der Venne settling well in midfield.
Both were involved in the 16th when the latter laid it off to starlet Jordan Bos, the 20-year-old then pulling off a moment of magic to give City the lead.
Faced with two Glory defenders ahead of him, Bos jinked his way through the middle and unleashed a beautiful curling strike into the top corner that gave Perth goalkeeper Cameron Cook no chance.
The heat immediately turned up following the goal, with City skipper Scott Jamieson making a huge goal-line clearance just two minutes later to keep his team level.
Unfortunately for the City fans watching on back home, it ultimately wouldn’t mean much as Jack Clisby equalised via a set-piece in the 25th.
Things looked to have quickly gone from bad to worse for City when the referee pointed to the penalty spot seemingly for a Tom Glover foul only moments after, but VAR would eventually rule it out due to offside in the build-up.
Bos would continue to prove City’s most dangerous for the remainder of the half, going on a number of dangerous runs that caused issues for the Glory defence, while the likes of Mathew Leckie and Valon Berisha also worked their way into the game.
A turnover at the back from Cook almost gifted City the lead just before the half-time whistle, but the resulting van der Venne effort from range would only clatter into the crossbar.
Neither side burst out of the blocks in the second half as both teams managed to settle and feel their way into things in search of the crucial goal.
A driving run from Leckie would force a pivotal foul from Perth in the 60th minute before a long VAR delay confirmed City would have a chance to take the lead from the spot.
In a surprise to all those watching at home, Valon Berisha was the man to step up to take the penalty. The Kosovan international made no mistake, finding the bottom left corner to give City a 2-1 lead.
It was a short-lived advantage though, with ex-club stalwart David Williams heading home to equalise in the 71st minute.
A chaotic second half continued as both sides put everything into finding a late winner.
A failed Cook clearance from a City corner ended up with Leckie, who took matters into his own hands with an outrageous bicycle kick which gave City the all-important lead.
The goal didn’t quite get the celebration it deserved with Thomas Lam down in the aftermath of the corner, but thankfully the central defender was back to his feet not long after and would play out the remainder of the game.
Although Perth pressed hard in search of the equaliser in the final moments, it was City who would again add to the scoresheet.
Leckie was once again involved, this time charging through the Glory defence with a run that started in his own half, before laying off a well-timed pass for substitute Florin Berenguer to take a touch and then find the bottom corner to put the icing on the cake.
What’s next?
City will return to Melbourne to face Victory next week for its second away derby of season 2022/23.
