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CITY WANT ALL 3 POINTS
Melbourne City will be eager to return to the winner’s circle when it comes up against a familiar foe in Sydney FC tonight
City went down 3-2 in a thrilling Melbourne Derby last weekend, recording just its second loss of the season.
Coincidentally, its only other loss came against Sydney back in December, with City now having the perfect opportunity to exact revenge on home soil against the 6th-placed Sky Blues.
City fans will be hoping for a big game from star winger Mathew Leckie tonight, with our number 7 dominating in recent outings.
Leckie has been in some electric form, directly involved in six goals in his last four games (4 goals, 2 assists).
Another who will be eyeing a big game is star Frenchman Florin Berenguer who finally recorded his first start of the season last time out, playing 77 minutes of the Derby.
Berenguer showed glimpses of his best, almost providing an assist to Jamie Maclaren towards the end of the first half with a perfectly weighted ball for City’s main man up front.
He will no doubt look to build on last week’s performance with
another big shift in the middle on Saturday as City aim to avoid backto-back losses for the first time this season.
Tonight’s opposition comes into the fixture following a 1-1 draw with the Brisbane Roar after it managed to scrape a point thanks to a lastgasp goal from Alex Parsons deep into stoppage time.
So far this season, Sydney FC has shown it’s a team that can provide either rocks or diamonds, often going on unpredictable runs of form throughout the season.
After that aforementioned win against City, it lost four of its next six games before then going on a run of three straight wins heading into the Brisbane clash.
A-LEAGUE MEN PREVIEW
DANGER PLAYER
Saturday 25 Feb
LAST RESULT
IZUZU UTE A-LEAGUE 2022/23 SAT 18 FEB / AAMI PARK LAST TIME WE MET
IZUZU UTE A-LEAGUE 2021/22 SAT 10 DEC / ALLIANZ STADIUM
3 2
2 1
There are plenty of threats throughout the Sydney FC lineup but one player in particular who is set to keep City defenders on their toes is Joe Lolley. The Englishman has enjoyed a strong start to life down under, having already netted five goals and passing off another assist. With skipper Scott Jamieson ruled out it would appear Jordan Bos is a lock to start at left-wing, virtually locking in a match-up against Lolley. Given the fact the 30-year-old winger scored against City back when teams met in December, expect Bos and the rest of the defence to be well aware of the danger Lolley presents.
JOE LOLLEY
Richard van der Venne
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SQUAD
Andrew Redmayne
Thomas Heward-Belle
Joel King
Alex Wilkinson
Diego Caballo
Rhyan Grant
Aaron Gurd
Jack Rodwell
Paulo Retre
Robert Mak
Anthony Caceres
Max Burgess
Luke Bratton
Joe Lolley
Pat Wood
Alex Parsons
Jaiden Kuchcarski
Coach: Steve Corica
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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
CITY GET NPL2 SEASON OFF TO A STRONG START
Melbourne City got life in NPL2 off to a great start with a come-frombehind 2-1 win over Northcote City last Friday night.
The season couldn’t have gotten off to a much worse start than conceding in the third minute, when Nicholas Sette was able to take full advantage of City coughing up the ball at the back.
To their credit, the young City side got on the front foot immediately after the goal, working their way into the game in search of a quick reply.
An Emin Durakovic corner picked out the head of Max Caputo well in the 9th minute, but the striker’s header was expertly saved by Northcote goalkeeper Brandon Cuminao, who also pulled off a great reaction save to deny Emile Peios’ follow-up attempt.
James Nieuwenhuizen was forced into an important save in the 20th minute but other than that, it was City who looked the better team for the remainder of the first half.
The equaliser would soon come in the 24th, courtesy of a moment of magic from Durakovic.
The 17-year-old midfielder received a long way from goal and took a few purposeful touches forward before unleashing a rocket from well outside the box that nestled into the top corner.
Another big moment came less than 10 minutes later when Patrick Hogan was brought down in the box and the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty, but Caputo’s spot-kick was well saved by Cuminao who got down quickly low to his left.
The game opened up even further in the second half as both teams saw their chances in an end-to-end affair in search of the crucial goal.
It was Durakovic again involved this time as the provider, whipping a dangerous cross into the box right on the hour mark.
The Northcote defence struggled to deal with the danger and Caputo was in the right spot at the right time to finish from close range to make it 2-1.
Led by Jordon Hall and Jordan Dellidis, City’s defence passed all of its tests with flying colours, seeing off a late set-piece on the edge of the box to walk away with a big three points to begin its season.
You’ll next be able to see City in NPL2 action next Monday night when it takes on Bulleen Lions at Veneto Club.
