CITY INSIDER
MELBOURNE CITY FC vs WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS FRIDAY 26 MARCH, 2021 KICK-OFF 7.05PM
MELBOURNE CITY v WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS
CITY INSIDER FRIDAY 26 MARCH
CAPTAIN’S MESSAGE WE ARE WELL AND TRULY RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEASON NOW AND THE GAMES ARE COMING THICK AND FAST. THERE’S A GREAT VIBE AROUND THE CLUB AT THE MOMENT AND WE HOPE TO CARRY ON OUR CURRENT FORM THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON. It was another strong performance from the boys on Monday night which led to us securing a 2-0 win against the Mariners. I just want to make mention of the fans who braved the conditions and came out to support us on a wet Monday night – as always, we appreciate your support and couldn’t do it without you. It’s great to see the hard work we’ve put in over preseason and on the training pitch paying off but we are well aware that there is still plenty more to go. While it is great to have won five games in a row and be shooting for a Club record sixth tonight, we know that trophies aren’t won in March and that, as always, is our focus. We heard the great news during the week that Active support will return to AAMI Park for tonight’s fixture, and we are all absolutely pumped about it! We’ve had some great support from our fans all season and have noticed the corner getting bigger and louder which each fixture but we are all very excited to allowed to have proper Active support return behind the goals at the South end for tonight’s match. It’ll be another challenge tonight against the in-form Wanderers but we know that if we play our style of football and get the games on our terms, we are good enough to pick up another three points. We all can’t wait to see you in the stands tonight and are looking forward to a very loud crowd as we look to welcome back the return of Active support with another win! C’mon City! Scott Jamieson Melbourne City FC captain
Together We Move
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MELBOURNE CITY v WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS
CITY INSIDER FRIDAY 26 MARCH
ANOTHER CONTENDER
ON CITY’S RAMPAGE
AFTER PREVAILING AGAINST SURPRISE PACKETS - THE CENTRAL COAST MARINERS - ON MONDAY NIGHT, MELBOURNE CITY WILL AGAIN LOOK TO TEST THEIR CHAMPIONSHIP-CONTENDING POTENTIAL AGAINST THE IN-FORM SIDE FROM SYDNEY’S WEST. Confidence couldn’t be higher amongst the City squad, who are coming off a comprehensive 2-0 victory over current league leaders Central Coast Mariners on Monday night. It was Jamie Maclaren who once again stepped up to give his side the first-half lead, netting in his fifthconsecutive game and equalling the record goalscoring streak held by Ross McCormack from the 2017/18 season. City dominated the first half and were unfortunate not to put more past Mark Birighitti, who denied the home side’s frontline on several occasions, but who was ultimately undone for a second time when Nathaniel Atkinson latched on to a deflected shot and finished
intelligently past the Mariners keeper in the 56th. It was a strong showing from the boys overall and it matched the level of performance that we’ve seen consistently over this five-game winning run. City fans will hence be confident of another impressive display when their side hosts Western Sydney this Friday night. The Wanderers have improved markedly over the past few weeks to go on a winning streak of their own, emerging victorious in their past three fixtures against Western United, Wellington and Perth since losing 2-0 to us at Bankwest. Western Sydney put on a scintillating performance in their most recent fixture against Perth, having three first-half goals chalked off for offside
and still managing to defeat the Glory 3-0 by the end of the match. Adrian Luna returned via the bench in our last fixture and now could be poised to make a return to the starting line-up with City potentially without Nuno Reis due to a groin injury. The Portuguese defender was substituted off in the first half Monday night, and given the quick turnaround, Patrick Kisnorbo may elect to start Luna in midfield and have Rostyn Griffiths return to the heart of defence from the opening whistle.
DANGER PLAYER
SEASON STATS - WESTERN SYDNEY
A-LEAGUE PREVIEW
MITCH DUKE City’s defence has been as stoic as we’ve ever seen, picking up four consecutive clean sheets. One man who will be trying to make sure that doesn’t happen again is Wanderers striker Mitch Duke. After returning to the Wanderers following a tough spell in Saudi Arabia, Duke has comfortably settled back into life. With six appearances now under his belt, Duke has bagged four goals and has been a big recent in the Wanderers recent strong form.
2
6
LEAGUE POSITION
GAMES WON
21
16
GOALS SCORED
GOALS CONCEDED
A-LEAGUE LADDER
LAST RESULT
LAST TIME WE MET
WESTERN SYDNEY
3
WESTERN SYDNEY
0
PERTH
0
MELBOURNE CITY
2
A-League 2020/21 - Match Week 13 Friday 19 March, 2021 Bankwest Stadium
VIDEO HIGLIGHTS
A-League 2019/20 - Match Week 10 Tuesday 2 March, 2021 Bankwest Stadium
VIDEO HIGLIGHTS
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MELBOURNE CITY v WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS
CITY INSIDER FRIDAY 26 MARCH
THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE FOR THE DUB IN 2020/21 THERE’S NO DOUBT IT WASN’T OUR SMOOTHEST SEASON, BUT THE CITY WOMEN WERE ABLE TO FINISH STRONGLY PICKING UP THREE WINS IN A ROW TO CLOSE OUT THE SEASON ON A STRONG NOTE DESPITE A SLOW START. Our W-League season came to an end last night as we finished off with a 2-1 win against Perth at Frank Holohan Reserve. This slow start was not without precedent though, as there were a number of uncontrollable factors coming into play. With no NPL football in Victoria throughout 2020 for the coaching staff to go off, recruitment was always going to be a challenge with a large contingent of last year’s squad making the move to Europe. A slow start to the season was always likely to be the case given a very limited pre-season, but our City women continued to grow as the season progressed. Perhaps the highlight of our season came in Round 4 when, despite suffering a heavy loss to the same opponent just a week prior – we secured a 3-2 win in the Melbourne Derby. Harriet Withers, playing in her first W-League season, scored the late winner which was also her debut goal at the level.
There’s no doubt the mid-season additions of Alex Chidiac and Noor Eckhoff gave the squad a massive boost. Despite unfortunately not qualifying for finals, there were still plenty of great things to come out of season 2020/21. After coming over from Brisbane, we saw midfielders Leah Davidson and Hollie Palmer further establish themselves and make their mark at the level. After beginning the pre-season as a train-on player, 16-year-old Naomi Chinnama continued to improve each and every week. She signed a contract on the eve of the season and was rewarded with a debut in Round 7, coming off the bench against Sydney FC. Her strong performances left Rado with the confidence to continue to back her in, and we saw her start every match for the remainder of the season. Along with 20-year-old Tori Tumeth who had a breakout year in her first W-League season, City’s defence evolved throughout the
season as a strong mixture of youth and experience. The likes of Jenna McCormick, Sam Johnson and Captain Emma Checker were able to pass on plenty of knowledge, which no doubt sped up the youngsters’ development. Unfortunately, we do now saw farewell to winger Rhali Dobson who has been a valuable member of the Club since her arrival in 2017. She was apart of our 2018 championship and our double winning squad of last season, and her presence will be sorely missed around City. She retires to spend more time with her partner Matt who was diagnosed with brain cancer six years ago and following a couple of previous surgeries, will now start aggressive radiotherapy until the end of May before undergoing aggressive chemotherapy for 12 months. We thank Rhali for her contribution to the Club and wish her and Matt all the best in the future.
KEY STATS - MELBOURNE CITY W-LEAGUE SEASON 2020/21 LEAGUE POSITION
7
GAMES WON
4
GOALS SCORED
11
GOALS CONCEDED
23
MATCH SQUADS
HEAD COACH: PATRICK KISNORBO
A-LEAGUE
1. TOM GLOVER
2. SCOTT GALLOWAY
3. SCOTT JAMIESON
4. NUNO REIS
7. ROSTYN GRIFFITHS
8. AIDEN O’NEILL
9. JAMIE MACLAREN
10. FLORIN BERENGUER
11. CRAIG NOONE
13. NATHANIEL ATKINSON
14. NAOKI TSUBAKI
15. ANDREW NABBOUT
16. TARAS GOMULKA
17. STEFAN COLACOVSKI
18. CONNOR METCALFE
19. BEN GARUCCIO
20. ADRIAN LUNA
22. CURTIS GOOD
23. MARCO TILIO
33. MATT SUTTON
35. RAPHAEL BORGES RODRIGUES
36. KERRIN STOKES
37. BERNADO OLIVEIRA
38. JORDAN BOS
42. AHMED TALEB
30 40
DANIEL MARGUSH NOAH JAMES
2 4 5 13 25 29 33 34 39
ZIGGY GORDEN DYLAN MCGOWAN DANIEL GEORGIEVSKI TASS MORDOUKOUTAS PHILLIP CANCAR DANIEL WILMERING MARK NATTA PATRICK ZIEGLER THOMAS QUILINA
8 9 14 17 18 19 23
JORDAN O’DOHERTY NICOLAI MULLER JAMES TROISI KEANU BACCUS GRAHAM DORRANS JORDAN MUTCH KOSTAS GROZOS
7 9 10 11 27
MITCH DUKE BERNIE IBINI SIMON COX BRUCE KAMAU KWAME YEBOAH
HEAD COACH: CARL ROBINSON
WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS
MELBOURNE CITY v WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS
CITY INSIDER FRIDAY 26 MARCH
CITY YOUTH LOOK TO
BOUNCE BACK
CITY’S SENIOR NPL SQUAD WILL BE LOOKING TO BOUNCE BACK IN ROUND 2 WHEN IT TAKES ON NUNAWADING CITY. It was a hard-fought contest in Round 1 that saw the home side, Preston Lions, find a late winner in a fixture that ended 2-1. City’s squad featured a host of A-League players, including; Taras Gomulka, Raphael Borges Rodrigues, Matthew Sutton and Bernardo Oliveira. The visiting City line-up got off to the perfect start, finding the opener in the 21st minute. A free kick via the boot of Oliveira was flicked on by Gomulka, banging into the post before Raphael Borges Rodrigues’ header was deflected by Preston’s Karl Baricevic for an own goal to give City an early lead. The visitors went close to doubling the advantage just minutes later, with Oliveira again involved. His cross
was parried by the Lions keeper into the path of Borges Rodrigues, but the striker couldn’t find the target. Preston had its first goal of the season not long after the half hour mark when Chris Davies got on the end of a cross to equalise proceedings. City started the better of the two teams in the second half but after an open start to the second 45 minutes, it turned into a more defensive battle with plenty of strong tackles put in throughout a physical end to the contest. Despite City having a late penalty shout turned away, a Gomulka free kick flying just over the bar and Lucas Byrns hitting the side-netting, it was Preston who would fine the late winner with Alex Schiavo the hero. City’s opposition this Saturday,
DANGER PLAYER
Nunawading City were on the other end of the result in their season opener. Making the trip down to the highway to take on Ballarat City, Nunawading were able to prevail 0-1 in what was a tight contest over the 90 minutes. Daniel Maclennan netted the winner on the hour mark and his team will be without captain Nick Apostolopoulos for Saturday’s fixture, with the defender sent off just minutes before the full-time whistle. City’s match against Nunawading will kick-off at 3pm on Saturday afternoon at Mahoney’s Reserve.
SEASON STATS - MELBOURNE CITY NPL
NPL PREVIEW
SCHOLARSHIP TRIO
9
0
Raphael Borges Rodrigues will again lead the line and can count himself unlucky that City’s season-opening goal went down as an own goal.
LEAGUE POSITION
GAMES WON
1
2
Midfielder Taras Gomulka will again look to push his case for more A-League minutes after putting in a strong shift in the middle of the park while youngster Bernardo Oliveira looks set to continue to create and improve after a good performance to start the season.
GOALS SCORED
GOALS CONCEDED
NPL 3 LADDER
LAST RESULT
NEXT MATCH
PRESTON
2
NUNAWADING
MELBOURNE CITY
1
MELBOURNE CITY
NPL 3 Victoria 2021 - Round 1 Friday 19 March, 2021 BT Connor Reserve
VIDEO HIGLIGHTS
NPL 3 Victoria 2021 - Round 2 Saturday 27 March, 2021 Mahoneys Reserve
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MELBOURNE CITY v WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS
KID’S ZONE
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CITY INSIDER FRIDAY 26 MARCH
PRESENTED BY
LOTUS)LIVING
meet the team NAME: Ben Garuccio AGE: 25 POSITION: Full back/winger NATIONALITY: Australian PREVIOUS CLUB: Heart of Midlothian JUNIOR CLUB: Adelaide City FAVOURITE FOOD: Pasta
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