Melbourne City FC has suffered defeat in this Sunday afternoon’s W-League clash against Brisbane Roar.
The match was a see-sawing encounter in which City recovered from a 0-2 first-half deficit but our efforts weren’t enough to secure a result with the game finishing 2-3.
Starting XI
Rado Vidosic made two changes to the starting line-up that took on Adelaide last week. Jenna McCormick returned to the XI after having recovered from a head knock while Norwegian midfielder Noor Eckhoff came into midfield to make her City debut.
Our line up for this afternoon's match is in!
Jenna McCormick returns to the XI while Noor Eckhoff will start in her first game for the Club!
1️⃣ hour until kick-off! ⏰#MCYvBRI #WLeague #CmonCity pic.twitter.com/XkyC7ZxXtV
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) January 31, 2021
What happened?
City made a strong start with Chinatsu Kira at the heart of her side’s best chances, almost scoring a ripping volley of her own in the 18th minute following a clever flick-up at the edge of the box.
The home side were brought undone in the 23rd minute by a Brisbane corner, with Roar skipper Claire Polkinghorne heading her side into the lead.
The first goal appeared to halt City’s momentum and Brisbane were able to extend their lead in the 31st minute when Emily Gielnik converted a penalty awarded against Samantha Johnson, whose elbow was inadvertently struck by a fiercely-struck shot.
Teagan Micah was on top of her game throughout the encounter but was especially incredible in the latter stages of the first half when she brilliantly denied both Emily Gielnik and Tameka Yallop, ensuring that the game remained within reach for City.
Rhali Dobson almost wrote headlines in the 42nd when she beat her defender and unleashed a scorching long-range shot that smashed into the crossbar, leaving the home side still needing two goals to tie things up when the whistle was blown for half-time.
City couldn’t have asked for a better start to the second half, with Alex Chidiac getting herself on the scoresheet barely 30 seconds in. The midfielder was the beneficiary of Chinatsu Kira’s intelligent goal-kick interception, and her attempt from outside the box flew into the back of the net with a little assistance from a deflection off the Roar defender.
It took barely 30 seconds for Alex Chidiac to pull one back for us 🙌#CmonCity #WLeague #MCYvBRI 🎥: @FOXFOOTBALL pic.twitter.com/FkyfTa4f1C
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) January 31, 2021
The following 20 minutes were hotly-contested with neither side able to assert themselves on the game. The encounter was thrown wide open in the 72nd minute when Alex Chidiac was brought down in the box for a City penalty, with defender Samantha Johnson converting the spot-kick.
Unfortunately, City’s momentum was quickly halted by a Mariel Hecher goal that returned the scoreline back to 2-3 as Brisbane counter-attacked with maximum efficiency following a missed opportunity for City up the other end.
From there, Brisbane were able to see out the remainder of the encounter despite City’s desperate efforts to snatch a late equaliser, with the final scoreline reading 2-3 in favour of the away team.
