Melbourne City FC have kept their finals hopes alive with a crushing 4-0 victory over the Newcastle Jets at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
Looking to bounce back after a week which saw two consecutive away defeats, an early goal to former Newcastle defender Kew Jaliens gave a rampant City a deserved first half lead.
A second half-blitz saw Frenchman Harry Novillo register his first Melbourne City FC goal, while goals to substitutes David Williams and Iain Ramsay saw City continue to keep the pressure on Brisbane Roar in the race for a top-six finish.
Socceroo Aaron Mooy continued to justify his selection in the national side, with the midfielder dictating play in the middle of the park and registering two assists in another accomplished display.
Melbourne City FC dominated proceedings in the opening half, with Novillo providing a constant threat down the left wing as the hosts controlled possession and created a plethora of goalscoring opportunities.
City’s first chance of the match fell to Novillo in the 5th minute, with the Frenchman cutting in from the left and spraying a shot wide of the right hand post.
A crunching tackle from Mooy in the 8th minute allowed Koren to roam free and deliver a tantalising cross towards the head Josh Kennedy, but the striker’s attempted nod-back to Mate Dugandzic was intercepted by Jets’ keeper Ben Kennedy.
The pace and trickery of Novillo was proving to be a nuisance for the Jets’ defence, with the winger dancing past Scott Neville in the 11th minute and unleashing a curling strike that sailed narrowly wide of the left upright.
Mooy was beginning to stamp his authority in midfield, showing excellent vision to release Novillo with a first time pass in the 13th minute, but the Frenchman again failed to hit the target from outside the area.
Despite dominating in open play, it was a set piece which saw Melbourne City FC take the lead in the 18th minute. A wicked delivery from Mooy found Jaliens unmarked on the edge of the six yard box, with the former Jets’ defender smashing home a volley into the roof of the net to give City a deserved 1-0 lead.
Novillo almost doubled Melbourne City FC’s advantage in the 28th minute, coasting past Kantarovski’s challenge and firing a left footed that just sailed wide of the right post.
The Jets’ were only able to register one shot in a half that was completely dominated by the home side, with Radovan Pavicevic heading a cross from Enver Alivodic harmlessly wide of the goal.
Melbourne City FC extinguished any hopes of a Newcastle fight back only a minute after the restart, with Novillo capitalizing on some calamitous defending from Daniel Mullen to slide past Kennedy at the near post for his first Melbourne City FC goal.
The Jets almost pegged a goal back in the 51st minute when Alivodic found space outside the area as he turned past the challenge of Mooy and unleashed a curling effort that sailed just wide of the top corner.
The introduction of David Williams in the 54th minute gave City the impetus to push forward in search of a killer third goal, with Koren blazing an effort over the crossbar and Williams firing an effort from long range that was held by Kennedy.
Williams then put the game beyond doubt in the 64th minute, latching on to an excellent through ball from Koren and finishing delicately beyond Kennedy to give Melbourne City FC a 3-0 lead.
Edson Montano came close to netting a consolation goal for the Jets in the 70th minute when he fired narrowly wide of the right hand post, but ultimately the Jets’ failed to test Tando Velaphi in what was a comfortable night for the Melbourne City FC ‘keeper.
Ramsay completed the rout in the 88th minute, latching on to yet another perfectly weighted pass from Mooy to slide the ball across Kennedy to make it 4-0.
Up next for Melbourne City FC is Sydney FC next Friday night at Allianz Stadium which will prove to be another important match in their run towards a finals berth.
Match Details
Hyundai A-League Round 21
Saturday, 14 March 2014
Melbourne City FC 4 (Kew JALIENS 18’, Harry NOVILLO 47’, David WILLIAMS 63’, Iain RAMSAY 88’)
Newcastle Jets 0
HT: 1-0
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Referee: Peter Green
Attendance: 5,867
Melbourne City FC Line-up: 20. Tando VELAPHI (GK), 6. Aaron MOOY, 9. Harry NOVILLO, 10. Robert KOREN, 13. Jonatan GERMANO (Massimo MURDOCCA 73’), 16. Joshua KENNEDY (David WILLIAMS 54’), 18. Paulo RETRE, 22. Jack CLISBY, 23. Mate DUGANDZIC (Iain RAMSAY 82’), 24. Patrick KISNORBO (C), 27. Kew JALIENS
Substitutes not used: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE, 5. Erik PAARTALU
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
Newcastle Jets Line-up: 20. Ben KENNEDY (GK) (C), 2. Scott NEVILLE, 5. Benjamin KANTAROVSKI, 7. Enver ALIVODIC, 8. Zenon CARAVELLA, 11. Andrew HOOLE, 16. Jacob PEPPER (Brandon LUNDY 73’), 19. Mitch COOPER, 21. Daniel MULLEN, 22. Kije LEE, 27. Radovan PAVICEVIC.
Substitutes not used: 12. Sam GALLAGHER, 18. Allan WELSH, 30. John SOLARI (GK)
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
