Melbourne City suffered a tough loss in Sunday afternoon’s Melbourne Derby, going down 2-0 to its cross-town rival at AAMI Park.
Two goals in the first 20 minutes proved the difference with City unable to mount a comeback in the second half despite firing plenty of shots at Victory goalkeeper Casey Dumont.
Team News
Dario Vidosic named an unchanged XI following last week’s win over Newcastle.
Captain Emma Checker made her 50th club appearance, while Naomi Chinnama made her return via the bench after missing several weeks with a hamstring injury.
Starting XI: 1. Sally JAMES (GK), 8. Kaitlyn TORPEY, 14. Katie BOWEN, 15. Emma CHECKER (C), 7. Julia GROSSO, 6. Leticia MCKENNA, 10. Rhianna POLLICINA, 22. Bryleeh HENRY, 9. Holly MCNAMARA, 19. Maria Jose ROJAS, 17. Hannah WILKINSON.
Substitutes: 33. Sophia VARLEY (GK), 3. Naomi CHINNAMA, 4. Chelsea BLISSETT, 21. Isabella ACCARDO, 25. Darcey MALONE.
What happened?
In sunny conditions at AAMI Park, it would be Victory finding the opener in the 15th minute.
It came against the run of play with the referee pointing to the spot for a somewhat questionable handball against Checker after a long-range attempt looked to strike the City captain in the back.
Victory then doubled their lead five minutes later when Paige Zois hit a long-range strike that Sally James could do little about.
City worked hard to try and wrestle back momentum as it chased its first goal of the afternoon.
The attacking trio of Maria Jose Rojas, Hannah Wilkinson and Holly McNamara worked their way into the contest midway through the half, beginning to threaten in and around the Victory box.
Despite some nice lead-up play into the final third, we were unable to add that finishing touch in front of goal and headed into the break trailing.
The second 45 started brightly, with City peppering Dumont with a number of shots on target from inside the box.
That offensive pressure almost saw City register its first of the afternoon, McNamara once again instrumental in the build-up before Leticia McKenna’s shot blazed over the crossbar in the 58th minute.
Despite City pressing for a goal, Victory continued to slow down the contest to preserve their lead in the second half.
Vidosic turned to the bench for the final 10 minutes of play with Chelsea Blissett, Naomi Chinnama and Darcy Malone entering the fray as City continued to chase late goals, but it would ultimately change little as Victory held on for the 2-0 win.
What’s next?
City will now prepare for a clash against top-of-the-table Sydney FC next Saturday at Kingston Heath. It’s free entry for all so get behind our City Women as we look to lock in our spot in Finals!
