Melbourne City FC will look to extend its unbeaten start to the new NPL3 season when it takes on Western United away from home on Sunday afternoon.
Both A-League-aligned outfits have made strong starts across their opening two games, so the upcoming Round 3 meeting looks like being an enthralling contest early in the new campaign.
Following a Round 1 draw against Doveton SC in which the City boys dominated but weren’t clinical with their chances, John Maisano’s side found its killer edge in its Round 2 Derby clash with Melbourne Victory, putting four past their opposition in an exciting contest at Parade College.
Midfielder Luke Oresti opened the scoring for the second week running with his first-half strike that nestled into the far corner, before Moonib Adus broke the game open with a pair of brilliant finishes in the second half. Whilst Adus’ brace was interjected by Victory’s first of the afternoon in the 56th, Max Caputo’s 70th-minute finish ensured that his opponents’ late consolation just before stoppage time was barely enough to make the home side sweat as they saw out a comfortable 4-2 win.
Though we’re only in the early stages of the 2022 campaign, the City boys are deserving of their current fourth-placed position on the table, but they’ll be keen to overtake current league-leaders Western United with another good performance when the teams meet in Round 3.
United are the only team not to concede a goal across their opening two fixtures, most recently shutting out Whittlesea Ranges in a 2-0 away win.
From the United squad, City fans may be familiar with the A-League trio of Dalibor Markovic, Luke Duzel and Christian Theoharous, who have 55 senior competitive appearances between them, whilst 2021 City NPL regular Charbel Shamoon crossed over in the off-season.
With John Maisano’s City side already making a bright start to its 2022 campaign even without its A-League contingent, this weekend’s clash looms as a big opportunity for the squad to make vital progress towards its promotion ambitions in what will be an exciting contest against United on Sunday.
Match Details
NPL3 Victoria
Western United FC vs Melbourne City FC
Sunday 3 April, kick-off 3:00pm
City Vista Pavilion & Sports Field, Plumpton
Image Credit: Captured By Kas
