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CAN CITY REBOUND AT HOME?
Melbourne City will be looking to bounce back from defeat last time out when it faces Brisbane Roar at AAMI Park today.
City returns home after an unsuccessful trip over to Adelaide where it went down 4-2 in a high-scoring affair at Coopers Stadium. There’s no better way to bounce back from defeat than to return to the fortress where success seems to be second nature.
City returns to AAMI Park boasting an almighty record against the Roar, undefeated in its past 16 meetings (W13, D3) with the Brisbanebased outfit on home soil.
City has only ever lost to the Roar at home just once, with that defeat dating all the way back to 2010, the two sides first-ever meeting at the venue.
Before last week’s loss City had been travelling pretty well, Rado Vidosic’s men securing three wins from four and netting 17 goals in the process.
Comfortably leading the league for goals scored this season with 44, even in City’s three losses it has always managed to find the back of the net.
In recent weeks though, despite scoring enough at the other end of
the pitch to come away with victory, City hasn’t kept a clean sheet in six matches, its last coming in a 0-0 draw against the side it will face this Sunday.
It will have no better chance to secure the shutout than against a side that has lacked creativity and punch in the final third of the pitch.
Roar have only managed 17 goals for the season and as a result, also have recorded the most draws (8) of any team.
Marco Tilio has picked up the slack left by the absence of Mathew Leckie, scoring another goal last week against Adelaide to now make it two goals and one assist in his past two games.
Despite being the smallest man not just in the box but on the pitch, Tilio managed to wriggle himself free of the Adelaide defence and guide a header into the bottom corner to give City hope of a late comeback.
He showed what he can do with his dazzling run and goal against Sydney FC last time he pulled on the boots at home, so expect to see him back in the thick of the action once again this afternoon as your City boys look to pick up another three points.
A-LEAGUE MEN PREVIEW
LAST RESULT 4 2
Gomulka has wasted no time in getting comfortable in the sunshine state, starting all four matches since coming on as a substitute in his Roar debut.
SUNDAY 12 MARCH
IZUZU UTE A-LEAGUE 2022/23 FRI 3 MARCH / COOPERS STADIUM LAST TIME WE MET 0
IZUZU UTE A-LEAGUE 2022/23 SAT 21 JAN / KAYO STADIUM
0
DANGER PLAYER We’ll be welcoming a familiar face back to AAMI Park today, with the now-Brisbane midfielder, Taras Gomulka, returning to face City for the first time after his January move.
TARAS GOMULKA
Tom Glover
Matthew Sutton
Scott Galloway
Scott Jamieson
Nuno Reis
Thomas Lam
Jordon Hall
Curtis Good
Callum Talbot
Kerin Stokes
Jordan Bos
Richard van der Venne
Florin Berenguer
Aiden O’Neill
Valon Berisha
Luke Oresti
Jamie Maclaren
Andrew Nabbout
Marco Tilio
Max Caputo
Rado Vidosic
SUNDAY 12 MARCH Kick goals with a new home or an investment. *Exclusive to Melbourne City FC members. For full t&c’s visit gojubilee.com.au Land and Townhomes Off * gojubilee.com.au
SQUAD
Macklin Freke
Jordan Holmes
Scott Neville
Thomas Aldred
Noah Smith
Josh Brindell-South
Jack Hingert
Kai Trewin
James Nikolovski
Rahmat Akbari
Taras Gomulka
Henry Hore
Marcel Canadi
Jay O’Shea
Louis Zabala
Ayom Majok
Nikola Mileusnic
Jez Lofthouse
Carlo Armiento
Stefan Scepovic
Coach: Nick Green
DERBY CHALLENGE AWAITS
Melbourne City returned from the international break with a bang and will be looking to carry that momentum into its long-weekend clash with Melbourne Victory this Monday.
City head into the highly anticipated derby as the away side but is riding high on the back of a 4-0 win against the Jets that saw four different names on the scoresheet.
Holly McNamara made a triumphant return to the pitch in the win, her first appearance in just under a year after an ACL injury kept her sidelined.
After working her way back into the side through a number of friendlies, McNamara finally got the chance to return to the starting line-up and she didn’t look out of place as she created a number of chances for City upfront.
Such was the ease at which she slotted straight back into the City side, it’s certainly a promising sign of what is to come for the rest of this season as she will no doubt only get better as she gets some match fitness back under her belt.
Rhianna Pollicina is another who put in a stellar performance last time out, the 26-year-old dominating in the midfield and creating
numerous chances for not only herself but her teammates in front of goal.
She was incredibly unlucky to not have one or two more goals that day, rattling the crossbar on several occasions before eventually finding the back of the net with her curling shot into the top left corner in the 80th minute.
Both sides went end to end with chances in front of goal last time these two sides met, and we can expect this Monday’s match to be no different.
City has shown this season it likes to control possession and the tempo of matches to construct the style of football it wants to play, currently having the highest rate of possession of any team in the competition sitting at 62% while Victory isn’t too far behind with 54%.
Monday’s battle will largely come down to which side can win the possession battle and get the game on its terms in order to limit the opposition’s ability to have an impact with the ball at their feet.
A-LEAGUE WOMEN PREVIEW
One player that is set to provide a few headaches for Dario Vidosic’s coaching staff is American attacker, Catherine Zimmerman. Now in her third season with Victory, Zimmerman has been hitting some strong form in recent weeks following an interrupted start to the season. She started back-to-back games for the first time this season in the team’s most recent couple of fixtures, now fully fit ahead of Sunday’s.
American rescued a point last time out with a late goal against Adelaide United – her first of the season and 14th in her career in the competition.
SUNDAY 12 MARCH
LAST RESULT 0 4 LIBERTY A-LEAGUE 2022/23 SAT 4 MAR / N0.2 SPORTSGROUND
DANGER PLAYER
The
CATHERINE ZIMMERMAN
TALBOT: HEALTHY COMPETITION IS KEY
Arriving from Sydney FC and signing a three-year deal midway through last year, Talbot worked hard behind the scenes to earn the starting right-back spot and hasn’t looked back since.
Playing alongside fellow young gun Jordan Bos in the City backline, Talbot has become an integral part of the well-oiled City machine, fitting like a glove into the teams attacking style of play.
Often playing as an inverted fullback this season, Talbot credited City’s tight playing group and captain Scott Jamieson as the key reasons behind his rapid rise.
“It’s been a pretty easy transition as the boys welcomed me to the club straight away and took me under their wing, so I feel like I’ve fitted straight in,” Talbot said.
“Jamo (Scott Jamieson) has taught me a lot given he plays left back, so when I first came here I learnt every day off him.
“He’s had such a great career and he gives me little pointers at training, little positional tips and I feel like he’s been massive for me transitioning into the City team.”
Talbot also pointed to the camaraderie across the squad as one of the key reasons why he’s been able to slot straight in with little fuss.
“Throughout the whole team from the old boys to the younger guys in the squad, everyone speaks to each other and gets along well,” Talbot said.
After making the move from Sydney, Talbot had to adjust to a new role on the pitch, something he believes has improved his game greatly already this season.
“I wasn’t used to coming inside as a fullback and almost playing as that extra midfielder, but I just feel that technically on the ball I’ve learnt a lot,” he said.
“I’m a very positive fullback that likes to go forward and get amongst the play and you can definitely see that with myself and Bos, we’re looking to get forward and help out the attackers and contribute those goals and assists.”
Feeling like a professional on and off the pitch, Talbot said he’s in a good place and hopes he can contribute to helping City finish what they started this season.
“I feel like we have been dominating games and playing the style we want to play,” he said.
“We just need to stay focused and keep our preparations right to ensure we are 100% ready for Finals, which are a different kettle of fish.”
CALLUM TALBOT HAS BEEN ONE OF CITY’S QUIET ACHIEVERS, THE 21-YEAR-OLD FULL-BACK FLOURISHING IN HIS FIRST SEASON AS PART OF THE CITY SYSTEM.
VAN DER VENNE FINDS HOME AWAY FROM HOME AT CITY
Quickly becoming a fan favourite, Richard van der Venne continues to go from strength to strength in his first season down under.
The key behind van der Venne’s success is the happiness he’s found not only on the pitch but from settling with his young family in their new lives in Melbourne.
After arriving from the Netherlands as a free agent, the former Go Ahead Eagles and RKC Waalwijk player has quickly stamped his authority on the league, registering five goals and five assists already this season.
van der Venne said he’s felt embraced by his new club and is enjoying his new life in Australia both on and off the field.
“I was a free agent in the summer and I just had a feeling that this was the moment to make a move,” van der Venne said, “I spoke to my wife and she was very supportive and said ‘let’s go then.”
“My teammates and coaches were really happy that I was here and that I signed with the club, so everyone helped to make me feel welcome.
Under Rado Vidosic, van der Venne has played on both the right and left-hand sides of the midfield, ultimately doing whatever is required to best help the team.
While he’s a natural No.8, van der Venne offers Vidosic plenty of options given he can also fill the No.10 role, something he became accustomed to in his time in the Eredivisie.
“It all depends on the opponent that I am playing as to whether I’m switching from the right or the left, but for me, it doesn’t matter which side I play.”
Since cracking the starting XI van der Venne hasn’t looked back, providing plenty of highlights this season, none more so than his hattrick against Macarthur.
van der Venne said that while any new move brings its own set of challenges, he feels his role in the team and City’s style of play suits his natural game.
“There is a big difference in physicality here in Australia,” he said, “The physical style of the A-League is a little bit more than that of the Eredivisie. I’m really liking playing in Australia, my physicality and conditioning I think fit into the playing style and as a result, I think it suits me very well.”
IT’S ALL GOING VERY WELL, I’M HAPPY TO BE HERE IN MELBOURNE AND PLAYING FOOTBALL WITH THIS TEAM
