CITY INSIDER
PERTH GLORY WEDNESDAY 2 MARCH AAMI PARK
MELBOURNE CITY v PERTH GLORY
CITY INSIDER WEDNESDAY 2 MARCH
CAPTAIN’S MESSAGE WHAT A WAY TO WIN IT IN SYDNEY! IT WAS A QUALITY STRIKE FROM LECKS TO WIN IT, BUT IT WAS A HUGE TEAM EFFORT FROM ALL OF THE BOYS THAT WAS REQUIRED TO GET US OVER THE LINE AND TAKE THOSE IMPORTANT THREE POINTS BACK TO MELBOURNE. That’s in the back of our minds now though, it’s a new month with new challenges on the horizon. We’ve learned our fixture schedule for March and it seems that all the adversity we faced in February in terms of midweek fixtures and short turnarounds getting on and off flights is something that we’ll have to deal with again over the next four weeks. We made it pretty successfully through six games in February, but we want to be even better throughout our seven in March. The league is absolutely up for grabs this year with such an even competition and such a high standard amongst the contenders, but by the end of the month, we want to have proven that we’re still the team to beat in 2021/22. Outside of the league, we also want to have a strong March period to ensure that we’re at our very best in time for the club’s first ever Asian Champions League campaign in April. Having played at that level before, I know just how good you have to be to mix it with the continent’s best and the whole team is determined to show that we can do exactly that when the time comes. That said, the league title, the ACL; none of it matters in comparison to tonight’s game - I know that all the boys are focusing on is coming away from AAMI tonight with three points. The preparation’s been done – now we take to the pitch and give it our all. See you in the stands, C’mon City! Scott Jamieson Melbourne City FC captain
Together We Move
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MELBOURNE CITY v PERTH GLORY
CITY INSIDER WEDNESDAY 2 MARCH
CITY LOOKING TO HUNT GLORY OUR CITY BOYS ARE BACK IN ACTION AGAIN TONIGHT (HOW GOOD!) WITH THE TEAM RETURNING TO AAMI PARK TO HOST PERTH GLORY. The boys largely coped well with a congested February schedule and will be looking to build on that good work when we kick off a busy March period with our rescheduled game against Perth. Of course, our final February fixture ended in 2-1 away win against Sydney FC on Saturday night thanks to a late, late winner from Mathew Leckie. Our Socceroo winger was involved in both of our goals, capping off a flowing first-half move with a shot that forced a good save from Andrew Redmayne but which then deflected into Paulo Retre, who netted an own goal. Milos
Ninkovic got the home side back in it after half-time, but Leckie came up big for us deep in stoppage time, netting the winner from outside the box to beat Redmayne at his near post. Our boys will be used to moving on quickly from results as we continue through another hectic season and will need to be ready to again take to the pitch when we host Perth Glory at AAMI for the second time this season. You’ll no doubt remember the last time we hosted the Glory for the 88th-minute Nathaniel Atkinson winner that would prove to be the full-back’s final goal in Melbourne before he
joined Scottish Premiership outfit Hearts in January. More recently though, Perth was again held scoreless as the team provided little resistance against Western United, who leapfrogged us back to the top of the table following their 2-0 win away from home. Tonight’s meeting will have defensive storylines at either end; we have the chance to secure a third home clean sheet of the season against a goal-shy Perth outfit, but we’ll need to find a way past a Glory defence that has conceded eight fewer goals than expected according to Expected Goals Against figures from FootyStats.
A-LEAGUE MEN PREVIEW
DANGER PLAYER
SEASON STATS - PERTH GLORY
BRUNO FORNAROLI
10
3
Tonight’s danger player is one very familiar to City fans, our former star striker Bruno Fornaroli.
LEAGUE POSITION
GAMES WON
The Uruguayan, who netted 57 goals in his time in a City shirt, is enjoying another productive season for the Glory. His five goals for the season has him equal fourth in the Golden Boot race and there’s no doubt he’ll be looking to add to that figure tonight.
9
10
GOALS SCORED
GOALS CONCEDED
Now in his third season at Perth, Fornaroli has come up against City five times and found the back of the net twice. A-LEAGUE LADDER
LAST RESULT
LAST TIME WE MET
PERTH GLORY
0
MELBOURNE CITY
1
WESTERN UNITED
2
PERTH GLORY
0
Isuzu UTE A-League Sunday 27 February, 2022 UTAS Stadium
VIDEO HIGLIGHTS
Isuzu UTE A-League 2021/22 Wednesday 8 December, 2021 AAMI Park
VIDEO HIGLIGHTS
MATCH SQUADS
HEAD COACH: PATRICK KISNORBO
A-LEAGUE MEN
1. TOM GLOVER
2. SCOTT GALLOWAY
3. SCOTT JAMIESON
4. NUNO REIS
5. ROSTYN GRIFFITHS
7. MATT LECKIE
8. AIDEN O’NEILL
9. JAMIE MACLAREN
10. FLORIN BERENGUER
13. NATHANIEL ATKINSON
15. ANDREW NABBOUT
16. TARAS GOMULKA
17. STEFAN COLACOVSKI
18. CONNOR METCALFE
20.MANUEL PUCCIARELLI
22. CURTIS GOOD
23. MARCO TILIO
33. MATT SUTTON
34. JORDAN HALL
36. KERRIN STOKES
37. MAX CAPUTO
38. JORDAN BOS
42. AHMED TALEB
35. RAPHAEL BORGES RODRIGUES
39. ANTHONY LESIOTIS
1 30
BRAD JONES LIAM REDDY
2 4 5 8 14 22 29
AARON CALVER LUKE BODNAR JONATHAN ASPROPOTAMITIS KOSUKE OTA JACK CLISBY JOSH RAWLINS DARYL LACHMAN
18 21 24 26 38
DANIEL STYNES ANTONEE BURKE-GILROY PACIFIQUE NIYONGABIRE GIORDANO COLLI CIARAN BRAMWELL
7 9 11 15
ADRIAN SARDINERO BRUNO FORNAROLI ANDY KEOGH DANIEL STURRIDGE
HEAD COACH: RICHARD GARCIA
PERTH GLORY
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MELBOURNE CITY v PERTH GLORY
CITY INSIDER WEDNESDAY 2 MARCH
MILESTONES GALORE ON THE HORIZON IN A SEASON WHERE FANS HAVE ALREADY SEEN CLUB RECORDS TUMBLE, WE COULD BE TREATED TO EVEN MORE RECORD-BREAKERS AS WE HEAD INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE A-LEAGUE MEN SEASON AND THE POINTY END OF THE A-LEAGUE WOMEN It was in our Women’s squad where our first big milestone of the season occurred just one game in, with Rebekah Stott becoming the team’s record games-holder upon her return to City following a successful battle against Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The Kiwi surpassed her former captain and close friend Steph Catley’s 62 appearances for City and now sits on 73 herself. She’ll likely be the next player from the Women’s team who we’ll be celebrating another significant milestone for, with the midfielder just two appearances shy of bringing up her league tonne. In addition to her 73 A-League appearances for City, Stott has also featured 25 times for Melbourne Victory and will likely reach 100 total league games in the first week of Finals. Her teammate Leticia McKenna could also celebrate a milestone in Finals, but City would need to take a very specific route to the Grand Final for her to play the four games needed to reach 50 in the league overall. Assuming she’s involved in all games in question, City would play its final regular season game against Western Sydney Wanderers and then need to lose its first Final and win its second in order to make it to the Grand Final. Over in the Men’s squad, it’ll be Mathew Leckie who likely
brings up a league milestone of his own before either of Stott or McKenna have the chance to. The Socceroos winger needs to feature in tonight’s game against Perth Glory and Sunday’s clash with Wellington Phoenix in order to mark 50 league appearances in Australia. From there, City fans will have to wait a while for the next milestone in the Men’s squad but will likely be spoiled with them towards the end of the A-League Men regular season and the start of the Asian Champions League group stage. Stefan Colakovski, Marco Tilio and Andrew Nabbout are all capable of reaching 50 club appearances (needing 10, 12 and 17 more games in all competitions respectively) whilst also pursuing league milestones; it’ll be a tight call as to whether Colakovski and Tilio reach their league halfcenturies with 12 needed each, whilst Nabbout is slightly closer to 150 in the league, currently sitting on 139 games played. Scott Galloway will be hoping for a deep Finals run with 13 appearances needed to reach 200 in the A-League, whilst Nuno Reis has a chance at cracking 50 games for City, likely relying on appearances in the ACL and A-League Finals. If there’s a headline milestone for City fans over the
remainder of the season then it’s Florin Berenguer’s pursuit of 100 Club appearances, having recently surpassed Bruno Fornaroli as the our record foreign games-holder. However, the Frenchman will need to appear in the majority of City’s remaining fixtures in domestic and continental competitions to accumulate the 16 needed to become the first foreigner – and fourth player overall – to play 100 games for City. With 11 regular-season A-League Men games, a maximum of three Finals and at least six ACL group stage fixtures available for Aiden O’Neill to make up his required 20, the midfielder is a mathematical chance to reach 50 appearances for City but will more likely need his team to make it out of the group if this is to occur.
MELBOURNE CITY v PERTH GLORY
CITY INSIDER WEDNESDAY 2 MARCH
CITY WOMEN EYE TOP SPOT Our City Women secured a vital three points to keep their Premiership hopes alive following a 2-0 win over Newcastle Jets on Tuesday night. Kaitlyn Torpey opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a well-taken goal from outside the box, before Rhianna Pollicina teed up Hannah Wilkinson for a point-blank header in the 49th. City nearly started in extraordinary fashion just two minutes in, with Kaitlyn Torpey’s outside-foot through-ball finding Rhianna Pollicina who attempted an outside-foot shot, but fired narrowly wide of Claire Coelho’s upright. The task was nearly made difficult in the 7th minute when Sophie Harding nicked a loose ball away from the City defender and broke into the box unchallenged. Melissa Barbieri came out to close the angle, but Harding’s chance seemed a certainty until her shot clattered off the upright and incredibly evaded the oncoming Jets forward. The game’s wild start only gathered pace from there, with another huge opportunity arriving in the 11th minute, this time for City. Wilkinson did well to use her strength to body her defender off the ball and tee Pollicina up in a promising position, but the midfielder just hit it with too much power and the ball flashed narrowly over.
City’s early dominance paid off in the 16th when Kaitlyn Torpey was rewarded for her blistering start with a welltaken goal from the edge of the area, striking low and hard into the bottom left corner.
parried away by Coelho but the ball was rescued from the byline by City’s #10, who kept it in the air with a smart flick before sending in a pinpoint cross in the same movement.
Harding had another massive opportunity for the visitors in the 30th, latching onto a mishit pass and streaming into the box, but some City defensive pressure meant that the striker couldn’t get the power to beat Barbieri in goal.
Already in the middle of another inspired goalkeeping performance, Barbieri came up huge for City in the 52nd with a brilliant diving save to deny Harding yet again.
With Jets players tiring, City began to get on top around Wilkinson had a chance later in the 60th minute, with a great the half when she was teed up opportunity arriving for with a low cross from wide, but Marisa van der Meer in the the Kiwi blazed her effort well 67th after the Kiwi was over the bar with the referee substituted on for Kaitlyn blowing for half-time a few Torpey a few minutes prior. minutes later as the scoreline remained 1-0. A win is a must on Saturday afternoon away to Western City started fast again in the Sydney Wanderers, with second half, netting a decisive three points enough to see second goal in the 49th us into first place until minute. The assist for Sunday’s Adelaide vs Sydney Wilkinson’s close-range header clash which will decide the was extraordinary, with Premiership. Pollicina’s initial strike being parried away by Coelho but the ball was rescued from the byline by City’s #10, who kept it in the air with a smart flick before sending in a pinpoint cross in the same movement.
MELBOURNE CITY v PERTH GLORY
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CITY INSIDER WEDNESDAY 2 MARCH
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