Two key Olyroos midfielders are set to come face-to-face on Monday night when Melbourne City FC hosts Central Coast at AAMI Park.
City are on a hot streak, having not dropped a point in six weeks and one of the best performers over not just this period but the whole season has been 21-year-old Connor Metcalfe.
Having seen a majority of his 24 A-League appearances prior to this season come from the substitutes bench, Metcalfe is now a key member of City’s starting XI.
A few years older and with far more A-League experience is Central Coast midfielder Danny De Silva.
De Silva begun his career at Perth before moving to Central Coast for the 2017/18 season and has been there ever since other than a one season loan at Sydney FC.
Both players are key members of the Olyroos midfield and are expected to feature prominently at the Olympics later this year.
Congratulations, Connor!
His match-winning goal against the Roar has been voted the #ALeague Goal of the Week!#CityTogether #GOTW pic.twitter.com/h5xsUSJafU
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) January 1, 2021
So far this A-League season both players have played in all of their teams fixtures, but with the Mariners having two games in hand on City, De Silva has of course spent a bit more time on the pitch than Metcalfe.
City’s number 18 has played in a mix of different midfield roles so far this season, having more of a defensive focus early on but now getting forward more often given Rostyn Griffiths’ move back into the middle of the park.
Connor Metcalfe was absolutely buzzing after THAT #MelbDerby win!#CmonCity #ALeague 🎥 @FOXFOOTBALL pic.twitter.com/Xaj0x9NMmz
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) March 7, 2021
De Silva on the other hand plays almost exclusively as an attacking midfielder, so there are no surprises Metcalfe’s defensive stats are far better.
Funnily enough, both players average exactly the same number of passes per game – 38.2. The success rates for these passes are also both eerily similar, with De Silva’s 86.2% competition rate only just higher than Metcalfe’s.
There are no surprises though that the more attacking minded De Silva has made more than double the key passes of Metcalfe, who is also yet to record an assist while the Mariners midfielder has three to his name.
2️⃣ goals in 3️⃣ minutes for Connor! 🤯🤯🤯#CmonCity #MelbDerby #ALeague pic.twitter.com/2tvyUVpLxC
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) March 6, 2021
As aforementioned Metcalfe has been able to get forward more in recent times with his double in the Melbourne Derby taking him up to three goals for the season – the same number as De Silva who has had almost double the amount of attempts.
