City Insider - Melbourne Derby - Saturday 17 April

CITY INSIDER

MELBOURNE CITY FC vs MELBOURNE VICTORY SATURDAY 17 APRIL, 2021 KICK-OFF 7.10PM

MELBOURNE CITY v MELBOURNE VICTORY

CITY INSIDER SATURDAY 17 APRIL

CAPTAIN’S MESSAGE A MELBOURNE DERBY IS ALWAYS ONE OF THE BIGGEST FIXTURES ON THE CALENDER AND EXPECT THIS ONE TO BE NO EXCEPTION. Tonight we return to AAMI Park in front of you – our home fans – and the occasion doesn’t get much bigger than this!

It’s now been over four weeks since we played a home match and we are excited to be back for such a massive game.

Since we last played at home, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag for myself and the team.

I haven’t played since then thanks to a calf issue, but I’ve been working hard on the training pitch and am hoping to return tonight.

Our run of away fixtures unfortunately did begin with a loss to Western United, but it was great to see plenty of City support in the stands despite the fact it wasn’t technically our home match.

The boys bounced back quickly with an away win in Wollongong against Wellington, and a big congratulations to Marco Tilio who scored his first goal for the Club – hopefully there’s many more to come!

Our most recent fixture was a tough draw in Sydney where the boys come away with a well-deserved point which leads us to tonight’s massive game.

We are looking forward to seeing a big crowd of City blue tonight and hope to hear you make plenty of noise as we look to win another Melbourne Derby.

Both teams may be at different ends of the table right now but if you have ever watched a Melbourne Derby before, you’ll know that form goes out the window and anything is possible.

We’ll have to be at the top of our game if we’re to get the three points tonight but I know that we’ve got what it takes to win. It’s been a big week on the training pitch and the boys are absolutely pumped up for this one and can’t wait to get out onto AAMI Park tonight.

We all can’t wait to hear our amazing supporters in full voice – see you tonight!

C’mon City!

Scott Jamieson Melbourne City FC captain

Together We Move

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MELBOURNE CITY v MELBOURNE VICTORY

CITY INSIDER SATURDAY 17 APRIL

CITY OUT TO CROSS

ANOTHER LINE

AFTER A STATEMENT MELBOURNE DERBY AT DOCKLANDS LAST TIME OUT, PATRICK KISNORBO’S MEN WILL LOOK TO STAMP THEIR AUTHORITY IN THE CITY AND MAINTAIN THEIR PUSH TOWARDS THE MINOR PREMIERSHIP IN ANOTHER CLASH THAT COULD HELP DEFINE CITY’S SEASON. The City boys will look to return to winning ways following its draw with Sydney FC and there would be no better way to do that than with another big win in tonight’s Melbourne Derby.

In our clash with Sydney, the team was held to its first draw of the 2020/21 season, recovering after going a goal down to secure a 1-1 away result.

The home team were immediately on the front foot, making it difficult for us to get the ball out of their own half and threatening Tom Glover’s goal on several occasions throughout the opening 45 minutes.

After we eventually caved in to the pressure and conceded a goal to Kosta Barbarouses, the boys found their feet and pushed right back,

dominating the remainder of the second half and earning a deserved winner through a 98th-minute penalty that was thrashed into the back of the net by Jamie Maclaren.

Whilst it might not have been the result many were expecting given our solid recent form, the result is still a very respectable one given the pedigree of the opposition, and the point will go a long way towards our charge at the Premiers plate.

Our upcoming Derby opponents have struggled this season but managed to snap their six-game winless run with a victory over Newcastle Jets away from home.

In a clash between 11th and 12th, Victory were made to work for their win and were well-matched by a spirited Jets outfit that held the

ascendancy at several periods of the game.

Fans will require little reminding of the result from the last Melbourne Derby, no doubt hoping for a repeat of City’s dominant performance when the teams clash again this Saturday.

In case you had forgotten how that one ended… it was a recordbreaking 6-0 win to your City boys; Connor Metcalfe bagged a brace, while Maclaren, Florin Berenguer, Rostyn Griffiths and Stefan Colakovski also appeared on the scoresheet.

The team will welcome back fearless leader Scott Jamieson, who will provide his trademark tenacious tackling and drive from left-back when he returns to the starting lineup.

DANGER PLAYER

SEASON STATS - MELBOURNE VICTORY

A-LEAGUE PREVIEW

JAKE BRIMMER Victory still have a number of players that - on their day – can pose a big threat to the City defence, one of these being Jake Brimmer.

The versatile midfielder has scored four times and assisted a further three goals in his first season in Melbourne after leaving Perth Glory.

A big threat from set-pieces, City’s defence will have be on its game to make sure the creative Brimmer and his teammates stay quiet.

12

3

LEAGUE POSITION

GAMES WON

15

35

GOALS SCORED

GOALS CONCEDED

A-LEAGUE LADDER

LAST RESULT

LAST TIME WE MET

VICTORY

0

VICTORY

0

SYDNEY FC

3

MELBOURNE CITY

6

A-League 2020/21 - Match Week 15 Sunday 4 April, 2021 AAMI Park

VIDEO HIGLIGHTS

A-League 2019/20 - Match Week 11 Saturday 6 March, 2021 Marvel Stadium

VIDEO HIGLIGHTS

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MELBOURNE CITY v MELBOURNE VICTORY

CITY INSIDER SATURDAY 17 APRIL

MARCO HITS HIS STRAPS IN CITY BLUE MARCO TILIO ARRIVED AT MELBOURNE CITY IN OCTOBER 2020 WITH A GOAL: TO PLAY MORE SENIOR MINUTES AND HELP THE TEAM TOWARDS SILVERWARE. Having already made nine A-League appearances and with City putting together a strong title challenge, the 19-year-old is well on his way to achieving those ambitions.

The Sydney-born winger spent time with Enfield Rovers, APIA Leichhardt and Sydney Olympic throughout his junior football days, before starring for Sydney FC in the Y-League, winning the golden boot in the competition’s most recent iteration.

Despite breaking through to the Sydney FC senior team late in 2019/20, making a handful of late-game appearances in the A-League and AFC Champions League, Tilio leapt at the chance to play for City ahead of the 2020/21 season, lured by the prospect of more playing time within an organisation with impressive potential.

“The opportunity to come to a new club and under PK and Erick last year, I’d say they play an exciting brand of football,” he said upon arriving at City.

Whilst City’s unrelenting press might not have been something within the youngster’s natural skillset initially, the winger certainly knew where his strengths lay. Asked to describe himself as a player, Tilio responded: “Creative, exciting, I bring something different to the team.”

And bringing something different to the team is exactly what he has done, proving the differencemaker with his late-game cameo against Wellington Phoenix recently where he popped up to score the 83rd-minute winner.

“It was incredible to finally get an opportunity and take it,” he said of the goal in a post-game interview, “It feels good.”

Now with one A-League goal to his name, in addition to his two in the NPL, Tilio has well and truly found his feet at Melbourne City and the winger believes his new teammates have aided him with his integration with the squad: “Being a new boy it hasn’t really felt that way (like it was hard to adapt). I didn’t really know

anyone coming in but there’s a lot of younger boys around so that’s helped me.”

With 144 A-League minutes to Tilio’s name, including a start against Adelaide United in Round 2, fans have had an opportunity to get a look at the exciting prospect.

Whilst the stats paint a vague picture of Tilio’s role within the City squad, it is the eye test where the youngster proves his quality the most. Predominantly featuring out wide for City, Tilio’s deft touch aids his ability to navigate tight spaces, whilst his pace enables him to glide past opposition defenders as he drives towards the box.

Having already made a strong start to life at Melbourne City, Tilio’s journey in the A-League is only just beginning, but fans would do well to keep an eye on the youngster as he continues his exciting upward trajectory.

KEY STATS - MARCO TILIO A-LEAGUE SEASON 2020/21 GAMES PLAYED

9

GOALS SCORED

1

SHOTS ON TARGET

5

KEY PASSES

3

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

1 20

MATTHEW ACTON MAX CROCOMBE

2 4 5 19 21 31 33

STORM ROUX NICHOLAS ANSELL RYAN SHOTTON DYLAN RYAN ADAMA TRAORE AARON ANDERSON MARK NATTA

6 7 8 13 17 22 25 26

LEIGH BROXHAM CALLUM MCMANAMAN JACOB BUTTERFIELD BIRKAN KIRDAR ELVIS KAMSOBA JAKE BRIMMER BRANDON LAUTON JAY BARNETT

9 10 11 23 25 26

RUDY GESTEDE ROBBIE KRUSE BEN FOLAMI MARCO ROJAS LUIS LAWRIE-LATTANZIO LLEYTON BROOKS

HEAD COACH: GRANT BREBNER

MELBOURNE VICTORY

MELBOURNE CITY v MELBOURNE VICTORY

CITY INSIDER SATURDAY 17 APRIL

CITY YOUTH FACE NPL3

PACE-SETTERS

MELBOURNE CITY FC’S NPL3 SQUAD WILL BE LOOKING TO BUILD ON ITS RECENT GOOD FORM WHEN IT TRAVELS TO DOVETON SC IN ROUND 4.

Most recently, the boys ran out 4-2 victors over North Sunshine Eagles on a cold, rainy day at CFA Casey, with the difficult weather conditions and a spirited opposition making for a testing day at the office.

Despite playing a considerable part in the A-League draw with Sydney FC the night before, both Stefan Colakovski and Marco Tilio backed up to play against North Sunshine in the NPL clash, whilst senior squad regulars Taras Gomulka, Kerrin Stokes and Raphael Borges Rodrigues also started.

It wasn’t the best of starts for City, with an early foul conceded inside the area leaving referee Maximillian Hanlon no choice but to award the spot-kick, which was converted comfortably by the Eagles’ Nick

Epifano.

City were quick to equalise though, with Marco Tilio earning a free-kick that was powered into the back of the net by Taras Gomulka.

It was Tilio who also made things happen for City’s next goal in the 21st minute, slaloming past defenders and into the box from a wide angle, before playing a ball to the back post for Colakovski to finish comfortably.

Epifano again proved a thorn in City’s side when he netted in the 32nd, placing his right-footed shot across Matt Sutton and into the bottom corner to equalise for the Eagles.

It wasn’t until the 71st minute that City would regain the lead, when an opening in the North Sunshine

DANGER PLAYERS

defence enabled a ball to be played over the top to Borges Rodrigues, who finished calmly past the keeper.

Once City went ahead for a third time, it was largely all one-way traffic, with the team earning a penalty in the 78th which was dispatched clinically by Max Caputo.

Doveton SC have made a strong start to their 2021 campaign, with big wins in Rounds 1 and 2 followed by a 4-1 win in Round 3 last weekend against Ballarat City FC, so City will have to be on top of its game if the team is to continue its winning run.

SEASON STATS - MELBOURNE CITY NPL

NPL PREVIEW

DEFENSIVE DUO The depth in City’s A-League squad has been a massive for its start to the NPL3 season, with a number of players proving why they deserve more senior opportunities.

The centre back pairing of Alec Mills and Kerrin Stokes – both of whom have seen A-League minutes this season – will be tasked with stopping a Doveton lineup who, led by Golden Boot leader Joshua Frame, will be eager to continue their high-scoring start to the season.

4

2

LEAGUE POSITION

GAMES WON

9

4

GOALS SCORED

GOALS CONCEDED

NPL 3 LADDER

LAST RESULT

NEXT MATCH

MELBOURNE CITY

4

DOVETON

NORTH SUNSHINE

2

MELBOURNE CITY

NPL 3 Victoria 2021 - Round 3 Sunday 11 April, 2021 Casey Fields

VIDEO HIGLIGHTS

NPL 3 Victoria 2021 - Round 4 Saturday 17 April, 2021 KO: 3.00pm Waratah Reserve

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MELBOURNE CITY v MELBOURNE VICTORY

KID’S ZONE

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE SPOT THE 4 DIFFERENCES IN THE PICTURES

CITY INSIDER SATURDAY 17 APRIL

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