CITY INSIDER
MELBOURNE CITY FC vs ADELAIDE UNITED THURSDAY 13 MAY, 2021 KICK-OFF 7.05PM
MELBOURNE CITY v ADELAIDE UNITED
CITY INSIDER THURSDAY 13 MAY
CAPTAIN’S MESSAGE THE GAMES MAY BE COMING THICK AND FAST AS WE NEAR THE BUSINESS END OF THE SEASON, BUT IT’S GREAT TO STILL HAVE A MAJORITY OF THEM LEFT ON OUR FIXTURE AT AAMI PARK. We always love to play in front of our home fans, and this is probably best demonstrated by the fact that we’ve won all but one of our home fixtures so far this season. We’re currently on a Club record home winning run which we extended to seven last Sunday when we beat Brisbane. It was a hard-fought but well-deserved win by the boys and a great reward for all the hard work we’ve been putting in. Tonight we’ll be aiming to bring that streak up to eight when he host Adelaide. It’s going to be no easy task though, and we know they will be hungry to take us down in essentially what will be a six-point game as we are both in the race for the Premiers Plate. The Plate may get a little closer with each win that comes our way, but I can say with 100% honestly that inside the four walls of the Club, it’s not something we’re actively talking about. We know that if we stick to our processes, take each game as it comes and play the way we want to play, everything else will take care of itself, silverware included. Although we’re in the middle of a condensed part of the fixture with limited preparation times compared to normal, I feel that the boys are extremely wellprepared for tonight’s match and we’ll be ready to go come 7.05pm when the first whistle blows. The boys have been able to execute well throughout the season and I fully belief we have the talent, belief and work-rate to keep it up not just for the remainder of this season, but for many seasons to come. We look forward to having your support tonight and hope to hear plenty of noise coming from the stands at what is the best venue to play and watch football in the entire country. C’mon City! Scott Jamieson Melbourne City FC captain
Together We Move
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MELBOURNE CITY v ADELAIDE UNITED
CITY INSIDER THURSDAY 13 MAY
REDS TEST CITY’S PREMIERS CREDENTIALS YOUR CITY BOYS WILL BE LOOKING TO RECORD A FOURTH-CONSECUTIVE WIN AND STORM FURTHER TOWARDS AN INAUGURAL PREMIER’S PLATE WHEN WE HOST ADELAIDE UNITED TONIGHT. The boys extended their unbeaten streak to seven games when we defeated Brisbane Roar in a hotly contested Mother’s Day showdown on Sunday, with the clash ultimately ending 3-2. We were able to get off to a flying start, securing two goals in the opening 20 minutes thanks to Connor Metcalfe and a driving Scott Jamieson run and effort on goal that was deflected in via Roar defender Kai Trewin – unfortunately denying the skipper of a second goal in three games. However, a Joey Champness strike in the 28th saw the visitors claw their way back into the game, before netting an equaliser just 10 minutes later, courtesy of Macaulay Gillesphey’s header from the corner.
The game hung in the balance after half-time but an incredible solo run and breathtaking volley from Scott Galloway saw us restore the lead again in the 73rd minute, with fans eventually walking out ecstatic with the three points that we took from the encounter. The result saw us storm to a nine-point lead at the top of the A-League table, with mathematical assurance of an inaugural Premier’s Plate just around the corner. Tonight’s opposition, Adelaide United, had recently been one of our nearest rivals for the Plate, but have since failed to win any of their past four games, most recently playing out a 0-0 stalemate with Wellington Phoenix. The teams couldn’t be split amongst
the stats, near-perfectly sharing possession and recording a similar number of shots, though Adelaide were far more accurate without reward. One notable event from the draw that will have ramifications for tonight’s clash with the Reds was the sending off of Ryan Strain, who’ll be forced to sit this one out. Craig Goodwin will undoubtedly be looking to lead the Reds to a much-needed away win, having been on fire since re-joining the club on-loan from Al-Wehda in February, recording five goals and five assists in just 12 appearances.
DANGER PLAYER
SEASON STATS - ADELAIDE UNITED
A-LEAGUE PREVIEW
STEFAN MAUK One of the biggest threats the Reds possess is none other than their captain Stefan Mauk. The resilient Reds leader has enjoyed a strong season form-wise in his first with the armband, playing a big role in his sides good run of form, particularly through the middle of the season. He’s scored seven times this season with five coming off the left peg with another couple via the right. Mauk can probably also count himself a little unlucky to not have an assist to his name, having made 25 key passes so far this season.
3
9
LEAGUE POSITION
GAMES WON
32
29
GOALS SCORED
GOALS CONCEDED
A-LEAGUE LADDER
LAST RESULT
LAST TIME WE MET
ADELAIDE
0
ADELAIDE
2
WELLINGTON
0
MELBOURNE CITY
0
A-League 2020/21 - Match Week 21 Friday 7 May, 2021 Coopers Stadium
VIDEO HIGLIGHTS
A-League 2019/20 - Match Week 2 Sunda 3 January, 2021 Coopers Stadium
VIDEO HIGLIGHTS
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MELBOURNE CITY v ADELAIDE UNITED
CITY INSIDER THURSDAY 13 MAY
CAPTAIN COURAGEOUS HITS 100 AT CITY FOR A RELATIVELY YOUNG CLUB IN A RELATIVELY YOUNG LEAGUE, A PLAYER REACHING 100 GAMES IS A SIGNIFICANT CULTURE-BUILDING MOMENT IN THAT TEAM’S HISTORY. For Melbourne City FC, only David Williams has previously achieved that feat, eventually departing the club in early 2016 with 103 appearances in all competitions. Now an iconic figure at Bundoora following his four seasons with the Club - three of them as captain - Scott Jamieson is about to join that exclusive group, the fullback set to make his 100th appearance for City against Adelaide United tonight. It could be a memorable night for Club and player alike, with a win potentially taking us as much as 11 points ahead of our nearest rival for the Premier’s Plate, a trophy that Jamieson couldn’t be more excited to make his firstever. “We look at what our club hasn’t done in the past and one of those things has been not winning a minor premiership,” Jamieson told RSN during the week, “We’ve got one hand on the plate, but we need to win games to get the other one on there. “We want to win as many football games as possible and with that it’ll result in us winning the premiership, so that’s the process and there’s the result.” ‘The process’ is something we’ve heard plenty about before from
Jamieson, the playing group and Patrick Kisnorbo alike, and the City skipper is adamant that the allure of an inaugural league trophy for the club has the players more determined than ever to continue putting in consistent performances. “There’s a few scenarios to play out but the overriding factor here is we’ve never won a minor premiership and that’s the message that has been relayed throughout the last week or so,” he said. “Because we’re on the home strait now, let’s not get sloppy and let’s carry it out.” As for whether or not we’ll see a goal from Jamieson to mark his special night, he certainly saw the irony in his recent goalscoring form but didn’t rule out the possibility of further fruitful ventures forward. At the time of speaking, he’d been credited with our second goal against Brisbane (now officially ruled an own goal) along with his drought-breaker against Macarthur a week earlier. “I’m sick and bloody tired of everyone else getting all the headlines – it’s my time,” he joked. “If I didn’t do it at the start of the career, I said ‘stuff it’, I’ll do it at the end of my career.”
Now with almost two goals in his last three games, there appears to be some virtue to the roaring calls of ‘shoooooooooooot’ from the stands whenever he receives the ball, with the defender admitting that there’s every possibility that more could be on the way. “You have that eery feeling of that confidence (after scoring once) and that ‘if it rains, it pours’ kind of feeling.” Regardless of whether he does find the back of the net tonight, and whether or not the team are able to mark his milestone game with a win, Jamieson’s leadership and commitment in his every performance for the Club will see him go down as one of our alltime greats.
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 33 33
JAMES DELIANOV DAKOTA OCHSENHAM JOE GAUCI
2 3 4 15 21 22 23
MICHAEL MARRONE GEORGE TIMOTHEOU RYAN STRAIN NOAH SMITH JAVI LOPEZ MICHAEL JAKOBSEN JORDAN ELSEY
7 8 16 18 26 27 28
RYAN KITTO STEFAN MAUK NATHAN KOSTANDOPOULOS JOE CALETTI BEN HALLORAN JOSHUA CAVALLO LOUIS D’ARRIGO
9 11 17 19 24 29 35
TOMI JURIC CRAIG GOODWIN MOHAMED YOURE YAYA DUKULY PACIFIQUE NIYONGABIRE KUSINI YENGI AL HASSAN YOURE
HEAD COACH: CARL VEART
ADELAIDE UNITED
MELBOURNE CITY v ADELAIDE UNITED
CITY INSIDER THURSDAY 13 MAY
CITY YOUTH HEAD TO GEELONG MELBOURNE CITY FC’S NPL3 SIDE WILL LOOK TO MAINTAIN ITS SECOND-PLACE POSITION WITH A POSITIVE RESULT AGAINST GEELONG SC IN ROUND 8 ACTION THIS SATURDAY. The boys will be buoyed by their strong win against Whittlesea Ranges SC at home last Sunday, with youngster Raphael Borges Rodrigues netting a hattrick to secure a 3-0 victory for his side. There were several changes from the line-up that drew 3-3 with Western United the week prior, with Borges Rodrigues replacing Max Caputo as City’s number nine. Daniel Lucente lined up at right-wing in place of Lucas Byrns, while Dom Folino took the place of Charbel Shamoon at right-back. Borges Rodrigues opened the scoring in the 30th minute when he latched on to a Kerrin Stokes clearance that afforded him space behind the defensive line, before weaving past a defender and burying his shot
under the keeper and into the back of the net. The youngster added to his tally on the stroke of half-time, interplaying with Anthony Lesiotis in midfield before executing a perfectly weighted chip to beat the Whittlesea keeper from well outside the area in what could go down as one of the goals of the season. Borges Rodrigues sealed the result for City in the 53rd minute by capping off a flowing team move that began at the back with Alec Mills, before a series of a quick interchanges in the midfield lead to an opening for Moonib Adus to cross in from the left for City’s number nine to tap in from close-range. Whittlesea regularly threatened the City goal face but couldn’t find
DANGER PLAYERS
the back of the net, with Borges Rodrigues’ clinical finishing proving the difference between the sides. This Saturday’s clash looms as an important one in regard to the state of the NPL3 table, with 6th-placed Geelong SC within reach of City, who are two points ahead of their upcoming opposition. Last time out, Geelong was able to nab a stoppage-time winner against league-bottom Ballarat City SC, with Jacob Butler emerging as the hero for his side. Butler’s 92nd minute strike was his second of the season, whilst Dominic Swinton leads the team with three goals.
SEASON STATS - MELBOURNE CITY NPL
NPL PREVIEW
TARAS GOMULKA In his first season at the Club, the former Adelaide product got a taste of A-League action earlier in the season, starting in two of City’s first four fixtures. The Club’s strong depth in midfield has seen first-team appearances dry up for Gomulka, but not to be deterred, he’s been leading the way strongly at NPL level, taking the armband in recent weeks. He’s been one of the most consistent performers for the team, and will look to continue to bang the door down for more A-League minutes tomorrow night.
3
4
LEAGUE POSITION
GAMES WON
21
10
GOALS SCORED
GOALS CONCEDED
NPL 3 LADDER
LAST RESULT
NEXT MATCH
MELBOURNE CITY
3
GEELONG
WHITTLESEA
0
MELBOURNE CITY
NPL 3 Victoria 2021 - Round 7 Sunday 9 May, 2021 Casey Fields
VIDEO HIGLIGHTS
NPL 3 Victoria 2021 - Round 8 Saturday 15 May, 2021 KO: 5.30pm Stead Park
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MELBOURNE CITY v ADELAIDE UNITED
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CITY INSIDER THURSDAY 13 MAY
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