Melbourne City FC will kick off its pre-season campaign with a friendly match against Ballarat Red Devils.
Melbourne City FC will kick off its pre-season campaign with a friendly match against National Premier Leagues Victoria (NPLV) side Ballarat Red Devils next Wednesday 25 June from 7pm.
John van-t Schip-s side will travel west to Ballarat for the clash, which will be held at the Red Devils- home at Morshead Park. The facility is set to host the Bahrain national team during the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, which commences in January.
Melbourne City commenced pre-season training on Monday 9 June and this will be the first open hit-out for van-t Schip-s new-look squad, with the Club set to take a full-strength squad for the match.
With newcomers James Brown, Connor Chapman, Jacob Melling and Aaron Mooy joining the Club last week, the match against the Red Devils could present the quartet with their debuts.
New signing Damien Duff, who was announced last week, will not take part in the match and will join his teammates in July.
“We have had a positive start to pre-season and this match will give us an indication of where we are at after the first couple of weeks,” van-t Schip said.
“We are building an exciting squad, but it-s important for the players to first build match fitness, and for us to integrate our new squad members into the style of football we want to play.”
Ballarat Chairman Duncan Smith said the passionate Ballarat football community were excited about the prospect of Melbourne City visiting the region.
“This is what we wanted when we first talked about building a football stadium in Ballarat; the opportunity to bring matches like this to the region,” Smith said.
“We hope this will be the first of many clubs and teams that come to Ballarat to train and play on what I believe is the best stadium in regional Victoria.
“We are now starting to build up the awareness that Ballarat is a very good option for teams to come to, now that we have a fantastic stadium and a Red Devils team in the NPL.”
Match Details
Pre-Season Friendly
Ballarat Red Devils vs. Melbourne City FC
Morshead Park
Kick-Off: 7pm
Entry: General Admission – $8, Ballarat Red Devil Members – $5, Concession – $5, Children – $2, Melbourne City FC 2014-15 members – Free
