It’s the side in which stars Daniel Arzani, Nathaniel Atkinson and Connor Metcalfe all got their starts with in 2017/18.
And on Saturday, Melbourne City’s Y-League squad are back in action; Joe Palatsides’ heading out on the road to open their 2018/19 campaign against Brisbane Roar in Queensland.
Palatsides on Monday named a strong Melbourne City squad for the upcoming season, which will be looking to go one better than last year; where they were defeated by the youth of the Western Sydney Wanderers 3-1 in the Y-League Grand Final.
City had secured their place in that game with a dominant run through Conference A that secured their place in the decider with weeks to spare, a run that was highlighted by a 9-2 defeat of Melbourne Victory at Lakeside Stadium in Round 3.
Highlighting the strength of this year’s City squad, the presence of Young Socceroos Connor Metcalfe, James Delianov, Moudi Najjar, Dylan Pierias and Josh Cavallo and Joeys Jordan Bos, Luke Duzel and Josh Varga means that City will have the most international representatives from Australia’s recent forays into the AFC U16 and U19 Championships in their squad for the upcoming season.
Having had a bye in week one, City will run out on Saturday against a Brisbane Roar group looking to bounce back from an opening week defeat in their first home game of the season.
Facing Perth Glory at Dorrien Gardens, the Roar ultimately went down 2-1 to their West Australian foes thanks to two first-half goals.
Glory’s Jaidon Seldon turned in an Ethan Brooks corner in the 18th minute to give Glory an early lead in that contest before Abias Bukuru took advantage of Roar failing to clear their lines in the 44th minute to seize on a loose ball and make it 2-0.
Although they would improve in the second half, it would take until the dying stages of the contest for the visiting Roar to truly threaten; substitute Emlyn Wellsmore turning in a late consolation goal in the 89th minute to give Glory brief pause.
Match Details:
Foxtel Y-League Round 2
Saturday, 17 November 2018
Brisbane Roar FC v Melbourne City FC
Venue: Lions Stadium, Richlands, Brisbane, Queensland
Kick-off: 3pm Local – 4 pm Melbourne
