Melbourne City are on track for an invincible season in the Ninja A-League. aleagues.com.au looks at what makes Michael Matricciani’s side so tough to beat.
Top of the table, a record-breaking 19 games unbeaten in the Ninja A-League and into the quarter-finals of the AFC Women’s Champions League, Melbourne City are certainly enjoying themselves this season.
But what exactly is it that makes them so good These are some of the main reasons why City are on course to record a memorable campaign.
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Evolution not revolution
The current league leaders came into the season off the back of a 2023-24 Ninja A-League campaign that saw them clinch the Premiership on the final day of the regular season before falling agonisingly short in the Grand Final, where they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Sydney FC.
In the off-season that followed, head coach Dario Vidosic departed for the Women’s Super League in England with the club subsequently choosing Michael Matricciani as the man to lead them forward.
Named WNPL Coach of the Year in 2018 as well as possessing plenty of coaching experience in South Australia, Matricciani set about adding to his core group of players.
While the departures of leading goalscorer Hannah Wilkinson, dangerous winger Emina Ekic and teen sensation Daniela Galic will have come as a blow, City were able to retain a large chunk of the squad which had come so close to doing the double the season before.
Key players such as Taylor Otto, Laura Hughes, Karly Roestbakken and Bryleeh Henry all signed new deals while captain Rebekah Stott remained under contract which meant City had the foundations in place to build on their 2023-24 success.
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At the back, goalkeeper Malena Mieres arrived from Spain’s La Liga Femenina, Young Matildas defender Alexia Apostolakis signed on, while defender Tyla-Jay Vlajnic returned to the club in a boost for the defence.
In the attacking third, City complemented the likes of Rhianna Pollicina with the signing of striker Mariana Speckmaier following her impressive season with Wellington Phoenix while American Lourdes Bosch has been a huge hit in her debut season in the Ninja A-League.
A competitive pre-season
One thing that certainly helped City heading into the new campaign was the fact they played three competitive matches before the 2024-25 Ninja A-League season even began.
Sealing their spot in the inaugural AFC Women’s Champions League care of their 2023-24 Premiership success, City romped through the group stage with three straight wins against Bam Khatoon of Iran, Thai side BGC Asian Scholars and Kaya FC Iloilo of the Philippines.
Scoring nine goals and conceding just one across those three matches, City exerted large swathes of control in their group stage fixtures which no doubt enabled them to work on their new structures and tactical plans put in place by Matricciani and his coaching staff.
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Seemingly now purring after their impressive start in the AFC Champions League, City then recorded three wins from their first five matches of their domestic campaign.
Their reward for a perfect group stage campaign was a quarter-final draw with Taiwanese side Taichung Blue Whale on March 23 – a fixture which City will head into as overwhelming favourites.
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The return of a genuine star
The saying ‘like a new signing’ gets used a lot in football but the return of Holly McNamara to the Melbourne City squad has been transformative.
After suffering a third anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in her short career in November 2023, the 22-year-old returned to action some 390 days later and it’s safe to say she’s made up for lost time.
Eased back in against Canberra United in Round 6, McNamara has since gone on to score 10 goals in 12 games including two hat-tricks, the most recent of which helped City secure their place in Ninja A-League history when they defeated Adelaide United 4-3 to go 19 games unbeaten.
Undoubtedly an absolute superstar when it comes to the Ninja A-League, McNamara is currently the co-leader alongside Emily Gielnik in the race for the Golden Boot (10 goals) while she was also recalled to the Matildas set-up for their recent SheBelieves Cup campaign over in the United States.
Stat Attack
With an attacking line-up that features the likes of McNamara, Speckmaier and Pollicina City have put plenty of teams to the sword this season.
According to Opta data, City lead the way when it comes to goals scored (42), overall possession (58.6%), they’re third when it comes to ‘Big Chances’ created (43), and have hit the woodwork nine times, with Speckmaier responsible for four of those actions.
While McNamara has been City’s main goal-getter, her efforts in front of goal have been aided by those around her.
American winger Bosch leads the league when it comes to assists (7) and she’s closely followed by teammate Pollicina who has five assists of her own.
Furthermore, City have also bagged more goals from outside the box than any other side (12) while they’ve also scored more goals from open play (33) than any other side – the nearest competitor being Adelaide United with 24.
But it’s not just in the attacking third where Melbourne City have impressed this season.
When it comes to the defensive side of the game, only rivals Melbourne Victory have a better defence than Matricciani’s league leaders.
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While they may have only kept five clean sheets this season, City have the highest tackle success rate (75.5%) in the competition and have faced the fewest shots on target (72) in the league.
Intriguingly though almost half the goals City have shipped this season have come from mistakes, with nine of their 20 goals conceded ranked as ‘Errors leading to goals’ according to Opta Data.
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Invincibles?
With four matches remaining in the Ninja A-League, City are eyeing off an invincible season.
In the history of the competition, only three sides have ever completed a campaign without a loss:
- Canberra United (2011-12) – P10, W7, D3
- Melbourne City (2015-16) – P12, W12
- Melbourne City (2019-20) – P12, W11, D1
Should City go on to complete the regular season without losing a game, they could argue their feat would be even more impressive than those given they will have played almost double the amount of games – and juggled an Asian campaign at the same time.
To complete the regular season undefeated, they must now negotiate clashes against Brisbane Roar (March 26), Wellington Phoenix (March 30), Newcastle Jets (April 11) and Perth Glory (April 18).
Watch this space.
