The clash
Melbourne City FC will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to five matches when they host Brisbane Roar at AAMI Park on Friday night.
Head Coach Warren Joyce’s side will be looking to continue the winning momentum in 2019, following wins over Western Sydney Wanderers and Newcastle Jets to open the new year.
City defeated Newcastle 2-1 at AAMI Park last Sunday evening, coming from behind to defeat the Jets after the visitors found the back of the net in the opening five minutes.
City shot-stopper Eugene Galekovic was beaten by a cruel bounce, allowing Roy O’Donovan to latch onto Nikolai Topor-Stanley’s long ball and make it 1-0 with the easiest of finishes into the back of an empty net.
In the 26th minute, City were given an opportunity to level the scorers as the Jets’ Ronald Vargas received his second yellow card for handling the ball in the penalty area. Former Newcastle attacker Riley McGree stepped up, firing the ball home to draw City level.
The momentum continued for the home side and six-minutes later Joyce’s men made it 2-0. This time midfield pair McGree and Baccus worked hard defensively to dispossess Petratos, before Scott Jamieson found Lachlan Wales who played the ball out to Luke Brattan who fired it home from outside the box.
Despite City’s recent run of form, the task won’t be easy on Friday night, coming up against a fierce Brisbane Roar outfit who will be determined to bounce back from last week’s disappointment.
Brisbane took a 2-0 lead into the half-time interval, courtesy of an Adam Taggart double. Before Tony Popovic’s side scored four second-half goals to secure a memorable comeback at Suncorp Stadium.
With City looking to continue the winning momentum, and Brisbane eager to bounce back, we are set for an entertaining clash on Friday night.
Team news
Head Coach Warren Joyce has named two key additions to the extended squad. See full team news here.
Last time they met
The last time the two teams met was in Round 5, when City suffered a disappointing 2-0 loss at Suncorp Stadium.
A brace from Roar attacker Adam Taggart saw the hosts take the points.
What was said
Head Coach Warren Joyce
“You’ve got to win every game on its merits and we’re looking to do that tomorrow night.
“All we can do is look at ourselves… we look at every game and try to win the game.
“It’s a busy period, by then end of this month the league will take shape and there’s a lot of points to play for so we need to be right in amongst the mix and try to win as many games as possible during this time.”
Where and when
City host Brisbane Roar at AAMI Park on Friday 11 January, kick-off 7:50pm. Get your tickets here.
