Melbourne City FC prevailed 2-1 over fellow A-League side Perth Glory on Friday afternoon in a pre-season friendly.
A penalty to international marquee Robi Koren and a second-half strike from Mate Dugandzic gave the Club its first win over a Hyundai A-League opponent this pre-season.
With the match played at AAMI Park behind closed doors, both teams fielded strong sides, although a number of first-team members were missing for either side.
Melbourne City FC looked in control for large periods and the first goal came following pressure from the home side.
A quick cross into the box struck a Perth player on the arm and the referee pointed to the spot after 15 minutes, awarding Melbourne a penalty.
Koren stepped up to send Glory ‘keeper Jack Duncan the wrong way and give City a 1-0 advantage after 15 minutes.
While he couldn’t prevent the penalty, Duncan made amends with a flying stop to tip a ferocious Koren effort over the bar in the 35th minute, as John van’t Schip’s side looked to double its advantage.
Aaron Mooy was the next tro try his luck, fizzing a deflected effort inches over Duncan’s bar a minute later.
It was Mooy who provided the second goal, cutting back from the by-line for Dugandzic to finish past substitute ‘keeper Danny Vukovic in the 62nd minute.
The visitors pressed well and created a number of openings in the second half, pulling a goal back with two minutes remaining, but Melbourne City FC proved the better side over 90 minutes and savoured the 2-1 win.
Pre-Season Friendly
Friday 26 September 2014
Melbourne City FC 2 (Robi Koren [PEN] 15′, Mate Dugandzic 62′)
Perth Glory 1 (Jamie Maclaren 88′)
AAMI Park, Melbourne
