After no fixture last weekend, Melbourne City FC will return to A-League action this Sunday night when it hosts Perth Glory at AAMI Park.
The match will be the second leg of a double header with City first taking on Brisbane Roar in the W-League in a clash that kicks off at 4.05pm.
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The clash
City will be looking to make it three wins from its first four fixtures on Sunday night when it takes on Perth Glory.
After the disappointment of the away loss to Adelaide, City returned home a fortnight ago to take on Western United and recorded a come from behind 2-1 win.
Goals from Noone and Maclaren sealed a comeback win against Western United.
Relive all the action 👇#CmonCity #MCYvWUN #ALeague pic.twitter.com/oNWR05MP07
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) January 16, 2021
Craig Noone quickly answered Western’s opener with a curling strike that found the back of the net before Jamie Maclaren netted the winner in the final minutes.
One of the most pleasing aspects of the victory for Patrick Kisnorbo would’ve been the play of a number of the young brigade in the squad.
18-year-old defender Kerrin Stokes made his A-League debut, Taras Gomulka (19) made his first City start and the substitutions of Marco Tilio (19) and Stefan Colakovski (20) were crucial in changing the game and helping City find the winner.
We just 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 to shout out the kids again… 9 players aged 21 or younger in our squad vs Western United. They stepped up 💪#CmonCity pic.twitter.com/HF2JXVejC3
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) January 24, 2021
Expect to hear plenty more of these names in seasons to come with all four showing they are comfortable at the level and already have what it takes to perform.
While City haven’t played in a couple of weeks, it’s been the opposite scenario for Perth who have had three fixtures since City’s last match.
Perth started its season by putting five goals past Adelaide on their way to a win but conceded five in its next fixture – a loss to Western United.
Glory last played on Tuesday night where they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Melbourne Victory after they scored first but conceded two late goals.
It was a mixed bag of results last season when we played Perth, with both teams recording a win and the other fixture being a scoreless draw.
Our last clash was a 2-3 City win in Perth last March, but Kisnorbo’s squad will be fired up to avenge last seasons 0-3 home loss which was the Club’s heaviest of the campaign.
Team news
Skipper Scott Jamieson returns to City’s squad this week after having served his one match suspension in our most recent clash against Western United. Nathaniel Atkinson is also named in City’s squad for the first time this season after overcoming a hamstring strain.
Melbourne City FC squad: 1.Tom GLOVER (gk), 2.Scott GALLOWAY, 3. Scott JAMIESON (c), 7.Rostyn GRIFFITHS, 9.Jamie MACLAREN, 10.Florin BERENGUER-BOHRER, 11.Craig NOONE, 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON, 14.Naoki TSUBAKI, 16.Taras GOMULKA, 17.Stefan COLAKOVSKI, 18.Connor METCALFE, 19.Ben GARUCCIO, 20. Adrian LUNA, 22.Curtis GOOD, 23.Marco TILIO, 33.Matthew SUTTON (gk), 35. Raphael BORGES RODRIGUES, 36.Kerrin STOKES, 48. Luke ORESTI.
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 3. Scott JAMIESON (returns from suspension), 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON (returns from injury).
Outs:
Unavailable: 15. Andrew NABBOUT (hamstring).
What was said
“We’re really looking forward to getting back out there after a bit of a break between games. It makes it a little hard to keep that momentum but we just can’t wait to get back out there.”
-Melbourne City FC defender Ben Garuccio
Match details
A-League Round 6
Melbourne City FC v Perth Glory
Sunday 31 January, 6.40pm kick-off
AAMI Park
