Melbourne City has ended a tough week in the best way possible, beating a 10-man Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 at AAMI Park on Friday night.
After coach John van ‘t Schip’s shock resignation this week, Michael Valkanis took charge and the interim boss helped guide City to their first win in six matches.
And it was a cracking goal which decided the contest, with defender Ivan Franjic scoring with a stunning volley which was too good for the Wanderers’ debutant keeper Vedran Janjetovic.
Despite playing more than an hour with 10 men following the dismissal of defender Aritz Borda, the visitors didn’t buckle and even had chances to take something from the match.
But City held on to snap their winless run, while the Wanderers have now gone five matches without a victory ahead of next weekend’s Sydney Derby.
Catch up with all the action at the match centre here
GOALS
1-0 City: Ivan Franjic 19’
Nicolas Colazo’s corner was headed clear by Kearyn Baccus but went straight to Franjic, with the City right-back catching a first-time volley flush. The combination of power and swerve gave Janjetovic no chance.
OPTA DATA
- City bossed the first half and had an incredible nine corners to zero in the opening 45 minutes.
- The defeat was the Wanderers’ first in their last six Harvey Norman Friday night fixtures.
RED CARD
Aritz Borda: Wanderers 30’
In an incident off the ball Borda lashed out at Bruno Fornaroli, catching him in the face, with referee Alan Milliner brandishing a straight red.
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