City Insider - City v Newcastle - Sunday 2 December

CITY INSIDER

ROUND 11

v NEWCASTLE JETS

SUNDAY 6 JANUARY, 5.00PM

CITY INSIDER SUNDAY 6 JANUARY

MELBOURNE CITY v NEWCASTLE JETS

CAPTAIN’S MESSAGE FIRSTLY, I WOULD LIKE TO WISH THE CITY FANS A HAPPY NEW YEAR. YOUR SUPPORT THROUGHOUT 2018 WAS INCREDIBLE, AND I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT YOU WILL CONTINUE TO GET BEHIND THE TEAM IN 2019.

Tonight, we return home for our first match at AAMI Park since Dario Vidosic’s late heroics in the Christmas Derby. On behalf of the team, we would like to thank all our supporters for the way you rallied behind us and inspired us to earn a late share of the spoils in the Melbourne Derby.

After opening the New Year with a 2-0 win over Western Sydney at ANZ Stadium on New Year’s Day, we are looking to continue the winning momentum against Newcastle tonight. As captain, I’m proud of the way the boys played out the 90minutes to secure our first ever win over Western Sydney away from home. We came out of the blocks firing, and after a blistering first-half, took a 2-0 lead into break.

We went down to 10-men early in the second-half, but the way we worked together to secure the points was extremely pleasing. As most of you would know, Eugene Galekovic was immense, producing several vital saves including a penalty stop to guide us to victory. His form this season has been a testament to his professionalism and his willingness to work for the team.

With two crucial back-to-back games at home, we will be determined to extend our unbeaten run to four matches against Newcastle tonight, before we take on Brisbane this coming Friday. We know that the task won’t be easy, as the Jets will be determined to return to the winner’s list, but if we execute our own game we know that we can beat anyone.

As a team, we would like to thank you for coming out and supporting the team tonight. We trust that you will cheer your loudest as we go out there to claim the three-points! C’mon City!

Scott Jamieson Melbourne City FC captain

GAME AHEAD OF THE

PROUD SUPPORTERS OF MELBOURNE CITY FC

OFFICIAL PARTNER

MELBOURNE CITY v NEWCASTLE JETS

CITY INSIDER SUNDAY 6 JANUARY

NEW YEAR MARKS

VITAL RUN FOR CITY MELBOURNE CITY FC WILL BE LOOKING TO MAKE IT TWO WINS FROM TWO TO OPEN THE NEW YEAR WHEN THEY HOST NEWCASTLE JETS AT AAMI PARK. Warren Joyce’s side opened 2019 with a 2-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers at ANZ Stadium on New Year’s Day. A blistering first-half performance saw City take a 2-0 lead into the break, with both Lachlan Wales and Ritchie De Laet hitting the scoresheet.

It was an inspired performance from Eugene Galekovic however that stole the headlines as the custodion kept the Wanderers at bay with a range of stunning stops, including a penalty save from Oriol Riera.

Despite City’s current run of form, they are set for a challenge today as they take on a Jets outfit determined to return to winning ways following a 2-2 draw with

Brisbane Roar at McDonald Jones Stadium on Wednesday night.

Like City, the Jets face a short turnaround following their midweek fixture against Brisbane.

The home side dominated proceedings in the first-half, taking a 1-0 lead into the break after Dimi Petratos skipped past the Roar defence before blasting home the opener in the fifth minute.

Brisbane hit back in the 65th minute, as Adam Taggart levelled the scores with a sliding effort at the back post. Ernie Merrick’s side responded immediately, restoring the lead

ONE TO WATCH

two minutes later as Roy O’Donovan put the hosts ahead with a poacher’s effort from close range.

The Jets look destined to secure the three-points, but the visitors had other ideas as Eric Bautheac latched onto D’Agostino’s cross in the 87th minute to nod home the equaliser.

With a 3-0 win over the Jets already this season, City will be looking to continue piling on the pressure on the top-three, as they look to go four consecutive games unbeaten.

LAST A-LEAGUE RESULT

OPPOSITION FOCUS

DIMI PETRATOS The 26-year-old attacker possesses one of the most impressive highlight reels in the Hyundai A-League. Petratos’ strength over the ball combined with skill set, allows him to power through defenders before unleashing a deadly strike on goal. The attacker is not only a threat during open play, he will also stand over most set-pieces.

As a midfielder who is capable of scoring goals, Petratos’ ability to create chances for his teammates is often overlooked however, the Jets’ attacker has so far recorded two assists and created nine goal scoring chances for his teammates. As one of the Jets most dangerous attackers, there is no doubt that Head Coach Warren Joyce and his men will be looking to minimise his influence.

5

SHOTS ON TARGET

20

2

BRISBANE

2

A-League 2018/19 – Round 12 Wednesday 2 January, 2019 McDonald Jones Stadium

LAST TIME WE MET

KEY STATS - NEWCASTLE JETS A-LEAGUE SEASON 2018/19 GOALS SCORED

NEWCASTLE

GOALS AGAINST

5

MELBOURNE CITY

3

NEWCASTLE

0

A-League 2018/19 – Round 6 Sunday 2 December 2018 AAMI Park

THE BEST TEAMS DESERVE THE BEST SUPPORT.

© 2018 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved.

FOOTBALL RUNS BEST WITH SAP. SAP is a proud sponsor of Melbourne City.

Outlasting the competition year after year.

A living proof for a best-run team.

Learn more at sap.com/sponsorships

1811_13272_SAP_BestRun_Sponsoringanzeige_MelbourneCity2019_148x210mm_ISO_V2.indd 1

14.12.18 15:03

MELBOURNE CITY v NEWCASTLE JETS

CITY INSIDER SUNDAY 6 JANUARY

W-LEAGUE FALL LATE IN MELBOURNE DERBY

MELBOURNE CITY’S QUEST FOR A FOURTH CHAMPIONSHIP HIT A HURDLE ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON, GOING DOWN IN THE FINAL MINUTES OF A GRIPPING MELBOURNE DERBY AT EPPING STADIUM. Despite dominating proceedings, City were undone by a late individual effort, as Christine Nairn scored from her corner kick with two minutes of regulation time remaining.

In cool conditions after earlier showers, City looked to gain the early ascendency against Melbourne Victory at Epping Stadium.

Tameka Butt looked threatening in the attacking third, as Rado Vidosic’s side peppered Casey Dumont’s goal.

Efforts from both Yukari Kinga and Butt were both saved by the shot stopper inside the opening 15 minutes.

City continued to press as the half progressed, starving Victory of any chances down the other end. In the 41st minute the visitors had two successive chances, the first coming through Butt, who fired a brilliant cross from the right although her effort was just missed by an unmarked Helen Caceres at the back post. Moments later the duo were again involved, this time Caceres finding Butt, whose acrobatic effort was met by a wonderful save from Dumont. On the stroke of half-time, City went inches away from again taking the lead. This time, Kellond-Knight stepped up to take a set-piece from 25

yards, although her effort went inches wide of the post, as the score remained 0-0 at the break.

City’s momentum continued in the second-half, with Vidosic’s side dominating the first 20-minutes of play without reward. Butt continued her dominance, creating chances for her teammates. In the 56th minute, Rebekah Stott dispossessed Natasha Dowie before skipping through Victory’s defence and laying the ball off to Butt, although her pass was slightly heavy allowing Dumont to collect.

In the 84th minute City had a golden chance to open the scoring as Butt was played through one-on-one with the keeper, but Dumont read the attackers play, closing her down with conviction.

Four-minutes later City were forced to rue their missed chances as Victory’s Christine Nairn scored from her corner kick as it sailed inside the net at the back post to secure the points for the visitors.

KEY STATS - MELBOURNE CITY W-LEAGUE SEASON 2018/19

MATCHES PLAYED

9

GOALS SCORED

14

SHOTS ON TARGET

46

GOALS AGAINST

14

A4 POSTER 1/2

A4 POSTER 2/2

M ATC H DAY ONLY

CITY INSIDER SUNDAY 6 JANUARY

MELBOURNE CITY v NEWCASTLE JETS

G'DAY USA FOR DELBO IT’S BEEN A BREAKOUT SEASON FOR DEFENDER HARRISON DELBRIDGE. THE 26YEAR-OLD AUSTRALIAN HAS PLAYED A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE HEART OF CITY’S DEFENCE BUT HIS PATH TO THE CLUB HAS BEEN THROUGH THE PATH LESS TRAVELED. The defender, who has partnered up with fellow centreback Bart Schenkeveld, has been one of Warren Joyce’s most consistent performers this season, with the duo leading City to the best defensive record in the league – conceding a mere nine goals in 10 matches including 4 clean sheets.

Delbridge, who was born in Sydney, moved to the United States at the age of 10 when his family relocated to North Carolina. It’s there that he developed his craft as a central defender before joining his first A-League outfit in Melbourne City FC during November 2017.

The Australian defender initially progressed through the Capital Area Soccer League (CASL) as a youth player in North Carolina, before moving through the American college soccer system at Appalachian State University.

In March 2014, Delbridge signed his first professional contract with Sacramento Republic, before moving to Portland Timbers 2 and then FC Cincinnati in 2016.

Speaking on his move back to Australia, the 26-year-old said moving to Melbourne was a no-brainer.

“As soon as the opportunity came up to play for Melbourne City, I was really excited,” he said. “To be a part of such a talented squad and learn from an experienced coach like Warren is the ideal situation for me to develop and grow as a player at this time in my career.”

Now in his second season at the Club, the defender has

well and truly hit his straps, becoming an integral member of the starting line-up. When asked on how the A-League compares to America’s MLS, Delbridge praised the level of competitiveness in each fixture in the Australian competition.

“I have been here a year now, and I have been lucky enough to play most of the first team games this season and I would say this league is underrated compared to the MLS,”he told The Age. “I think it is better than the USL Championship.”

“I think here, there is less of a gap between the top teams and the bottom teams. I also think the brand of football is underestimated. More teams keep possession and try to use the ball better.”

City will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to four league fixtures when they take on Newcastle. Speaking ahead of City’s 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory in the Christmas Derby, Delbridge highlighted the importance of winning momentum.

“When you are getting results in games you feel positive. In the last three weeks we have beaten last year’s grand finalists and this year’s FFA Cup winners on their own ground, so we can take confidence from that.”

Leading the competition for clearances, Delbridge will be looking to continue his strong run of form as he works towards becoming one of the most prolific Australian defenders in the league.

KEY STATS - HARRISON DELBRIDGE A-LEAGUE SEASON 2018/19

MATCHES PLAYED

10

AERIAL DUELS

52

TACKLE SUCCESS

82%

CLEARANCES

64

M ATC H DAY ONLY

2018/19

A-LEAGUE FIXTURES Round 1 Melbourne Victory 1 Melbourne City 2

Round 2 CC Mariners 1 Melbourne City 1

Round 3 Melbourne City 0 Sydney FC 3

Round 4 Melbourne City 2 Wellington Phoenix 0

Round 5 Brisbane Roar 2 Melbourne City 0

Round 6 Melbourne City 3 Newcastle Jets 0

Round 7 Perth Glory 1 Melbourne City 0

Round 8 Adelaide United 0 Melbourne City 2

Round 9 Melbourne City 1 Melbourne Victory 1

Round 10 Western Sydney 0 Melbourne City 2

Round 11 Sun 6 Jan, 5.00pm AAMI Park

Round 12 Fri 11 Jan, 7.50pm AAMI Park

Round 13 Wed 16 Jan, 7.50pm Central Coast Stad.

Round 14 Sat 19 Jan, 7.50pm AAMI Park

Round 15 Tue 22 Jan, 7.50pm AAMI Park

Round 16 Sat 26 Jan, 5.35pm Westpac Stadium

Round 17 Sun 3 Feb, 5.00pm Jubilee Oval

Round 18 Sat 9 Feb, 7.50pm AAMI Park

Round 19 Fri 15 Feb, 7.50pm McDonald Jones

Round 20 Sat 23 Feb, 7.50pm Marvel Stadium

Round 21 Sun 3 Mar, 5.00pm AAMI Park

Round 22 Sat 16 Mar, 7.50pm SCG

Round 23 Sat 30 Mar, 7.50pm ANZ Stadium

Round 24 Friday 5 Apr, 7.50pm AAMI Park

Round 25 Sat 13 Apr, 5.35pm AAMI Park

Round 26 Sun 21 Apr, 5.00pm Westpac Stadium

Round 27 Fri 26 Apr, 7.50pm AAMI Park

All times are AEST. Fixtures subject to change.

CITY INSIDER SUNDAY 6 JANUARY

MELBOURNE CITY v NEWCASTLE JETS

Y-LEAGUE STAGE DERBY COMEBACK MELBOURNE CITY HAS STAGED A REMARKABLE COMEBACK TO COME FROM TWO GOALS DOWN TO DEFEAT MELBOURNE VICTORY AT EPPING STADIUM ON SATURDAY. City wrestled the early ascendancy in the Y-League Derby, as Stefan Colakovski looked threatening on the right wing.

Despite promising signs in the opening 10-minutes, it was the home side who took an early 1-0 lead. New-signing Elvis Kamsoba found space on the left before finding Palazzo, who headed home from close range in the 15th minute.

With momentum on their side, the home side made it 2-0 soon after, as Kamsoba forced a turnover before beating Taleb one-on-one. Victory’s second goal seemed to sparked Joe Palatsides’ team into action, as they continued to attack in search of a way back into the match.

Perseverance eventually prevailed in the 37th minute, as Stefan Colakovski finished off a beautiful individual run, skipping past two Victory defenders before firing the ball home from close range to make it 2-1 at the break.

In the 46th minute, City made it 2-2, as Moudi Najjar forced an errand back pass from Victory defender Luke Goulding leaving his keeper with no choice but to watch the ball sail into the back of his own net.

For the second consecutive fixture, City battled back from 2-0 down to make it 3-2 as Gianluca Iannucci fired the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the area before celebrating with an acrobatic forward flip – a brilliant strike from the midfielder sealing a remarkable comeback.

2018/19 Y-LEAGUE FIXTURES Round 2 Brisbane Roar 2 Melbourne City 0

Round 3 Perth Glory 0 Melbourne City 3

Round 4 Melbourne City 4 Melbourne Victory 1

Round 6 Melbourne City 1 Brisbane Roar 3

Round 7 Melbourne City 3 Brisbane Roar 2

Round 8 Melbourne Victory 2 Melbourne City 3

Round 9 Sun 20 Jan 4.00pm CB Smith Reserve

Round 10 Fri 25 Jan, 4.30pm Marsden Complex

CITY INSIDER SUNDAY 6 JANUARY

MATCH SQUADS

MELBOURNE CITY v NEWCASTLE JETS

MELBOURNE CITY FC

NEWCASTLE JETS

HEAD COACH: WARREN JOYCE

HEAD COACH: ERNIE MERRICK

1 18 42

MARK BIRIGHITTI EUGENE GALEKOVIC JAMES DELIANOV

1 20 40

GLEN MOSS LEWIS ITALIANO NOAH JAMES

2 3 4 5 13 22 25 36

RITCHIE DE LAET SCOTT JAMIESON HARRISON DELBRIDGE BART SCHENKEVELD NATHANIEL ATKINSON CURTIS GOOD IACOPO LA ROCCA DYLAN PIERIAS

4 13 16 17 18 44

NIGEL BOOGARD IVAN VUJICA NICK COWBURN DANIEL GEORGIEVSKI JOHNNY KOUTROUMBIS NIKOLAI TOPOR-STANLEY

6 7 8 10 15 21 26 34 38

OSAMA MALIK ROSTYN GRIFFITHS RILEY MCGREE DARIO VIDOSIC KEARYN BACCUS RAMY NAJJARINE LUKE BRATTAN CONNOR METCALFE JOSH CAVALLO

5 6 10 19 23 29 32

BEN KANTAROVSKI STEVEN UGARKOVIC RONALD VARGAS KOSTA PETRATOS MATTHEW RIDENTON JAKE ADELSON ANGUS THURGATE

11 19 23 27 30 37

MICHAEL O'HALLORAN LACHLAN WALES BRUNO FORNAROLI FLORIN BERENGUER MOUDI NAJJAR GIANLUCA IANNUCCI

3 7 8 9 11 14 24

JASON HOFFMAN DIMI PETRATOS JAIR ROYO'DONOVAN MITCH AUSTIN KAINE SHEPPARD JOEY CHAMPNESS

ROUND 13 FRIDAY 11 JANUARY KICK-OFF 7.50PM AAMI PARK

FOLLOW US

ROUND 12 (MIDWEEK) WEDNESDAY 16 JANUARY KICK-OFF 7.50PM CENTRAL COAST STADIUM

MELBOURNE CITY FC

@MELBOURNECITY

ROUND 14 SATURDAY 19 JANUARY KICK-OFF 7.50PM AAMI PARK

@MELBOURNECITY