Melbourne City have one foot in the 2025 Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final after a comprehensive 3-0 first-leg Semi-Final win over Western United at AAMI Park on Friday night.
With a place in the Grand Final on the line, City showed no signs of rustiness after sitting out the first week of the Finals Series, overpowering a wasteful Western outfit to take a significant stride toward the 2025 Isuzu UTE A-League showpiece.
VICTORY v AUCKLAND PREVIEW: ‘Mouthwatering’ duel to decide Semi-Final as A-Leagues ‘party crashers’ eye another scalp
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Centre-back German Ferreyra’s second City goal gave his side a 1-0 lead at the break, and although Western threatened to equalise on several occasions throughout the first half, found themselves two goals down shortly after half-time after a stunning Yonatan Cohen strike.
Socceroo Mathew Leckie came off the bench for City in the second half and scored his first goal of the season – and first in the Isuzu UTE A-League since December, 2023 as City took command of the Semi-Final tie.
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Western progressed to the Semi-Finals after a 3-2 Elimination Final win over Adelaide – a game in which their leading goalscorer for the season, Noah Botic, wreaked havoc; Botic was a surprise omission from head coach John Aloisi’s starting XI on Friday night after a minor quad issue and, despite coming off the bench in the second half, was unable to will his side back into the contest as City took their 3-0 lead to the full-time whistle.
These two sides will reconvene next Saturday night at AAMI Park for the return leg of the Semi-Final tie. Western have it all to do from here to deny City a spot in the Grand Final, with the winner set to face either reigning premiers Auckland FC or Melbourne Victory in the title decider.
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City led the Semi-Final tie after just 16 minutes, as centre-back German Ferreyra’s determined finish at the back post off a Marco Tilio corner put Aurelio Vidmar’s men ahead.
Unmarked in the box, Ferreyra attacked Tilio’s inviting delivery and leapt over Western midfielder Angus Thurgate to crash the ball over the line, scoring only his second goal in City colours.
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Western could’ve drawn level soon after when a deflected Riku Danzaki cross floated invitingly for Matthew Grimaldi to attack; the young midfielder leapt above Kai Trewin but couldn’t keep the ball down as City survived the major scare with their 1-0 lead intact.
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VICTORY v AUCKLAND PREVIEW: ‘Mouthwatering’ duel to decide Semi-Final as A-Leagues ‘party crashers’ eye another scalp
Western wrestled momentum in their favour in the first half, taking four shots to City’s three before Tilio equalled that ledger with a strike at the end of a driving run through Western’s defence that fizzed over the crossbar from close range.
Western’s best chance of the first half then fell to Ruhs with just minutes to play in the first half.
Rhys Bozinovski’s ball over the head of Trewin set Ruhs free down the right wing and, having skipped past Ferreyra, Ruhs was suddenly one-on-one with City keeper Patrick Beach.
Ruhs had both bottom corners to aim towards but his shot went straight at Beach, who stood tall to make a reflex block.
A Tate Russell header drifted just wide of the target moments before half-time as another big chance for Western went begging in a goalless first half for the home side.
Having failed to score against City in their two league meetings this season, Western’s goal drought against their Semi-Final rivals extended to 383 match minutes at the break on Friday night. The last time Western scored against City was in January, 2024.
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On Network 10’s half-time show, A-Leagues legend Erik Paartalu highlighted first-half chances to Ruhs and Grimaldi as opportunities that should’ve been converted.
“I think Melbourne City started so strongly… and then Western United got a little bit of possession, they played forward into the likes of Ruhs, who was causing problems,” Paartalu said.
“They should’ve scored at least two goals. It should’ve been 2-1 in that half for Western United, I think.”
VICTORY v AUCKLAND PREVIEW: ‘Mouthwatering’ duel to decide Semi-Final as A-Leagues ‘party crashers’ eye another scalp
It was symptomatic of the Semi-Final tie when Western, having knocked at City’s door several times to no avail, came unstuck once again when Cohen – a player who was practically anonymous through the first 53 minutes of the contest – produced a spectacular goal out of nowhere, bent into the top-left corner from a tight angle with a first-time strike of a bobbling ball.
Cohen displayed confidence, class and composure to double City’s lead, as his side took a stranglehold of the two-legged tie.
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Western had an uphill battle at 2-0, but after coming off the bench for City, Socceroos star Mathew Leckie gave John Aloisi’s side a mountain to climb with his first goal of the 2024-25 season, fired past Western keeper Matthew Sutton in the 72nd minute to make it 3-0 on the night – a lead City held to the final whistle of the first-leg of the Semi-Final tie.
GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE SECOND LEG OF MELBOURNE CITY v WESTERN UNITED ON SATURDAY, MAY 24
