Melbourne City’s strength in depth was on full show in their 4-0 win over Sydney FC to book a place in a fourth straight Grand Final, writes Nick D’Urbano.
In the history of the Isuzu UTE A-League, there haven’t been many, if any at all, teams with a deeper squad than this Melbourne City side.
The reigning three-time premiers have become a force of nature in the competition and their strength in numbers has played an enormous role in forging one of the league’s most dominant forces.
In their 4-0 Semi Final second leg win over Sydney FC on Friday night to book a spot in a fourth successive Grand Final, City may have shown how strong they are when they sing from the same hymn sheet – but it was their depth that also really stood out.
From the pre-game changes to the substitutes late in the contest, coach Rado Vidosic showed what not many teams in this league have at their disposal – a squad which boasts talent that could walk into most of the competition’s starting XI’s.
Vidosic made three changes from the 1-1 draw in the first leg, with each of those changes all paying off enormously, bringing Aiden O’Neill, Andrew Nabbout and Thomas Lam into the starting XI.
With the fit-again O’Neill back at his disposal in the City engine room, it allowed for Vidosic to free things up in attack just that little bit more with a natural number six in the lineup.
They knew what they were coming up against; an opposition willing to cede possession and make Vidosic’s side try break them down with a thousand cuts.
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Instead, City gave their opponents a dose of ruthless aggression and wanted to bang down the proverbial Sky Blue door.
From the first minute, Vidosic lined up his full artillery of high-powered attacking options – with Andrew Nabbout joining Leckie, Tilio and Jamie Maclaren in the starting XI – a move the City boss has gone with before, but not regularly during his tenure due to either game state, injury or the pursuit of balance.
“(We’re) looking for a bit more penetration, with Andrew (Nabbout) back a bit more aggression… we weren’t aggressive enough (in Sydney),” Vidosic said on the Network 10 pre-game show about the decision.
The move paid off enormously, especially when City were able to run at the Sydney defence in numbers, with Marco Tilio and Nabbout bombing down the flanks, while Leckie was a menace with his late runs as a No. 10 to support Maclaren.
Nabbout, particularly, made the most of his chance back in the team, setting up their second with a telling cross into the area which was turned home by Sky Blues defender Jack Rodwell for an own-goal.
With Tilio usurping him in the pecking order alongside City’s opposite winger Leckie, the 10-time Socceroo spoke about the difficulties adjusting to playing more as a substitute instead of being the regular starter he had been accustomed to in his first three seasons at the club.
“It’s been tough,” he said post-game on Network 10.
“The last three seasons I’ve had a key role on the right and this season it’s probably been a good problem of have for the bus but it’s made me build my character a little bit and not get complacent.
“When you have got guys like Lecks (Mathew Leckie) and Tils (Marco Tilio) on the wings to fight against it makes you a better player.”
ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE GRAND FINAL – TICKET DETAILS
The City coach’s tweak meant smooth moving, crafty midfielders Richard Van der Venne and Florin Berenguer would start from the bench, while he opted for a defensive tinker too, moving Nuno Reis to right-back to replace Callum Talbot with Lam slotting in centrally.
This also gave ever-dangerous left-back Jordan Bos more freedom to get forward down the left with a stay at home full-back on the opposite side.
Even before the red card to Sky Blues midfielder Max Burgess, Vidosic’s charges’ aggressive approach put Steve Corica’s side on the back-foot. Despite not creating a shot, City had more of the ball and were threatening to break down Sydney’s defence.
City’s counter pressing was sensational, with O’Neill and Berisha springing traps and setting things up from deep for the likes of Tilio, Nabbout and Bos, who once again dominated only days after his move to Belgian side KVC Westerlo was signed, sealed and delivered.
Bos was also given a standing ovation by the City faithful, who said goodbye to one of the club’s most exciting young talents.
ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE GRAND FINAL – TICKET DETAILS
“I’m just buzzing, excited to play in my first Grand Final,” Bos told Network 10 post-game.
“There’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes but I think I did a pretty good keeping myself grounded and not letting that stuff distract and just focused on tonight and the Granny in a couple of weeks.
“(It’s) going to be different, the weather is not my favourite over there but to be fair, I don’t know what to expect. Just excited and can’t wait to get over there after this.”
City’s energy levels between the two games felt markedly different too. Not only were they buoyed by home crowd, but it looked as if Vidosic’s side were refreshed and primed for the second leg showdown.
According to Berisha, he felt City needed the first leg to get back into the rhythm of things after a week off in the first week of finals due to their spot finish.
“We feel very good and we showed it again today,” Berisha told KEEPUP.
“Of course, it’s easier with 10 men but even with 11 men, we know we are very confident in this game, but of course, anything can happen in the game and we knew that we had to take it serious because it’s a good side.
“They can play football, they have some good players, but we showed why we are the champions of the league throughout the whole season.
“We needed that game (first leg) to get the rhythm to get the breathing to get the feel of the game.
“And at home also, we just know it is different when you play at home, you just go with the flow and you know that every time we go forward, it’s going to be a chance something’s going to happen.
“If we control the game like we did today and they were just waiting for our mistakes in a way. They were not really trying to do a lot and and then we know that it was just about time when we scored the first one.”
With one less player and amid enormous pressure, Sydney just couldn’t penetrate City’s lines, leaving in-form striker Adam Le Fondre completely isolated, who was already missing the service of injured star winger Robert Mak and Joe Lolley who started from the bench for a third straight game.
By the time Lolley was introduced, the game was over as the Sky Blues’ numerical disadvantage just proved too difficult to overcome.
And with the game wrapped up in the 74th minute, Vidosic was able to empty his bench and rest some of his key charges, something not all semi-finalists in a tournament scenario have the luxury of doing either.
And it’s not as if they were bringing on any Average Joes either.
ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE GRAND FINAL – TICKET DETAILS
The City boss turned to the likes of Van der Venne, Talbot, Scott Jamieson and then Berenguer and Scott Galloway to replace Curtis Good, Berisha, Bos, Leckie and O’Neill – giving some of his prime movers a breather and five others an opportunity to shine.
Van der Venne, particularly, made the most of that chance, sending a subtle reminder to his coach of his quality with a stunning long-range goal to add some icing on the cake.
Now, it’s just a matter of whether Vidosic sticks with his guns in a fortnight’s time or opts to revert to a more balanced approach.
Both Central Coast and Adelaide present different tests for City.
Nick Montgomery’s side will look to get on the front foot with their own unrelenting style of attacking football, while the Reds function when best when they’re able to break in transition and have been City’s bogey team this season.
For Nabbout, he’s hoping he did enough to get another crack from the first whistle, but notes what is behind him, waiting in the wings to take his spot should Vidosic revert to type.
“We will see, you saw our bench,” Nabbout said.
“We’ve always got players that we can bring on and do jobs and if I get the tap on the shoulder to start in the Grand Final, I’ll give everything like I did tonight but hopefully we get on the right side of things this time.”
