Melbourne City FC continued preparations for the upcoming Hyundai A-League season with a 1-0 win over Adelaide United behind closed doors on Wednesday afternoon.
Bruno Fornaroli converted an early penalty after Bruce Kamau was fouled inside the area by Adelaide ‘keeper Eugene Galekovic, as John van’t Schip’s side enjoyed a testing hit out ahead of the Club’s Westfield FFA Cup Round of 16 tie against Brisbane Strikers.
Perfect weather and pitch conditions greeted both sides at the CFA Melbourne, and City almost made the perfect start when Fornaroli created space to shoot outside the area, but his curling shot was well held by Galekovic.
Neil Kilkenny and Luke Brattan were impressive in midfield, while the pace of Kamau was a constant threat for the Reds defence as City dictated play for majority of the opening half.
City had the ball in the back of the net after just 10 minutes when Manny Muscat’s piercing cross found Kamau unmarked at the back post, however the former Adelaide winger had his strike chalked off for offside.
Thomas Sorensen was rarely tested in the City goal but had to be alert to palm away a dangerous cross at the other end, until the lively Kamau broke the game open in the 15th minute with his trademark speed.
Racing Galekovic to a loose ball inside the penalty area, Kamau nipped in first and was taken down by the Reds’ keeper, with Fornaroli making no mistake from the spot to open the scoring.
Ryan Kitto had a golden opportunity to equalise for Adelaide five minutes before the break, but could only direct his free-header well over the crossbar.
A fierce midfield battle in the second-half meant chances were few and far between for both sides.
Sorensen had to be at his best to keep the scores level early in the second period when he stood tall to deny Marc Marino in a one-on-one situation, before Marc Ochieng trickled the only other effort of note for the match wide of the post.
Meanwhile on Tuesday night, a youthful City outfit gained valuable playing minutes in a 1-0 defeat to Hume City at ABD Stadium.
A wonder strike from Theo Markelis proved to be the difference against a City side containing a mixture of senior and NPL players.
New signings Fernando Brandan and Ruon Tongyik both featured for the entire 90 minutes, while goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis and midfielder Paulo Retre were also involved.
Match Details
Wednesday, 17 August 2016
Melbourne City FC 1 (Bruno FORNAROLI 15’ [pen]
Adelaide United 0
Venue: City Football Academy, Melbourne
Tuesday, 16 August 2016
Hume City FC 1 (Theo MARKELIS 87’)
Melbourne City FC 0
Venue: ABD Stadium, Broadmeadows
