Melbourne City FC has made it back to back AFC Champions League wins with a 2-1 victory over Jeonnam Dragons in the early hours of Friday morning (AEST).
All three goals were scored inside the first 22 minutes as Carl Jenkinson and Andrew Nabbout both found the back of the net for City as it continued its undefeated start to its debut ACL campaign.
Starting XI
Head Coach Patrick Kisnorbo elected to make four changes to his starting line-up as the squad continues to deal with the short turnarounds and tough conditions in Bangkok.
Carl Jenkinson, Curtis Good, Andrew Nabbout and Jamie Maclaren all returned to the XI in place of Kerrin Stokes, Scott Jamieson, Tsubasa Endoh and Raphael Borges Rodrigues.
Connor Metcalfe made his return via the substitutes bench, while Mathew Leckie missed due to a minor groin injury that is being assessed daily by the medical staff.
What happened?
The clash got off to a fairly uneventful start with Jeonnam content to let City maintain all of the early possession.
This dominance of the ball wouldn’t take long to pay off, with right-back Carl Jenkinson receiving high up the pitch and going on a nice run before finding the back of the net via the inside of the post with a well-placed shot.
Although they’d barely been able to string a handful pass together to this point, Jeonnam wouldn’t take long to strike back through Kyu-Hyeok Lee who’s near-post attempt appeared to take a slight deflection off Nuno Reis.
The Dragons worked their way into the game from there and looked much better in possession, ensuring City’s back four would have to be on their toes.
Despite this, City was able to re-take the lead just six minutes later when Andrew Nabbout netted his second of the tournament with a little help from a deflection from a Dragons defender.
Deflection was probably the key word of the first half, with yet another almost causing a goal less than 10 minutes later.
A well-placed Jeonnam corner ricocheted off Jenkinson as City fans back home in Melbourne momentarily had hearts in mouths, before Tom Glover was able to save the day, claiming the ball just millimetres before it crossed the goal line.
The second half didn’t quite follow the same path as the first, with scoring opportunities much harder to come by.
Jeonnam’s attackers kept Tom Glover busy in goal as he was called into action and forced to make a few key saves to keep City in the lead.
While City certainly weren’t completely devoid of attacking opportunities, the crucial finishing touch was lacking in the second stanza as the full-time whistle sounded with the scoreline remaining 2-1.
What’s next?
In an interesting twist to our ACL schedule, City’s next match will be against the same opponent. We’ll take on Jeonnam once again on Sunday night with kick-off set for 9:00pm (AEST).
