Melbourne City FC will be back home at AAMI Park for a do-or-die Semi Final second leg against Adelaide United on Sunday afternoon.
A win would see City progress to its third consecutive A-League Men Grand Final, becoming just the second team to achieve that feat.
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Given the change in Finals format this season, we’re already halfway through this Semi Final tie, although the scoreboard remains unchanged after the first leg.
City travelled to Coopers Stadium to take on the Reds midweek, but neither side could find the back of the net after trading blows throughout the 90 minutes.
It was a fiery contest in which the home side started the better of the two, before City was able to gain some momentum mid-way through the first half and on another night, could’ve found the back of the net on a few occasions.
Adelaide ‘keeper Joe Gauci pulled off a couple of strong saves to deny Connor Metcalfe and Mathew Leckie, while Andrew Nabbout was kept out only by the post and Jamie Maclaren also had a couple of good sights at goal.
While ultimately it was a good performance away from home for City, it doesn’t count for anything now with a huge 90 minutes – if not more – coming up at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon.
These high-pressure fixtures won’t worry Patrick Kisnorbo too much though. His team comes into this fixture off the back of recently securing the Premiers Plate in a do-or-die clash, plus an undefeated AFC Champions League campaign with plenty riding on each match, and of course the experience gained from winning last year’s Championship while missing a host of key players.
City’s defence looked rock solid midweek, with some strong performances in particular from Nuno Reis and Scott Jamieson, while Tom Glover was sound in between the sticks. City fans will be hoping to see more of the same on Sunday and given the attacking quality further up the pitch, you’d back City to find some goals at home this time around.
Adelaide will likely take confidence out of the fact it has already beaten City at AAMI Park this season, winning 1-2 back in February.
That being said, you wouldn’t be expecting Kisnorbo to place too much emphasis on that fixture. City were without Nuno Reis on the night and Leckie only made a brief cameo off the bench in a match that saw nine shots on target to two. A misplaced cross first found the back of the net first for Adelaide before a defensive mistake from City led to the other of their two shots on target.
All signs are pointing to a ripping contest at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon, with all to play for as one team will win its way into the 2022 Grand Final and the other will see its dreams dashed.
Match Details
A-League Men: Semi Final Second Leg
Melbourne City FC v Adelaide United
Sunday 22 May, 2:05pm kick-off
AAMI Park
