Melbourne City have done what no Isuzu UTE A-League side has achieved in the history of the competition, securing a place in a fourth straight Grand Final, writes Nick D’Urbano from AAMI Park.
They’ve done it again.
Melbourne City are one step closer to securing a second Isuzu UTE A-League Championship – and a fifth piece of league silverware in three seasons – after dominating a 10-man Sydney FC 4-0 to book their place in a fourth successive Grand Final.
With the tie delicately poised at 1-1 heading into the Semi Final second leg at AAMI Park, Sydney FC’s Max Burgess was sent off for a crude challenge on Marco Tilio.
Curtis Good rose highest to nod home the opener, before a Jack Rodwell own-goal and crackers from Marco Tilio and Richard Van Der Venne wrapped up a 5-1 win on aggregate.
Rado Vidosic’s side will now face the winner of Saturday night’s other Semi Final second leg between Central Coast Mariners and Adelaide United, where the former lead 2-1 going into the clash in Gosford.
MATCH COVERAGE: Melbourne City into fourth straight Grand Final
City are now the first team in the league’s history to play in four successive Grand Finals, where a win would ensure they go one better after last season’s disappointing defeat to Western United in the decider last May.
After another masterful display, City defender Jordan Bos was given a standing ovation from the home fans as he played his final game at AAMI Park before departing for Belgian side KVC Westerlo in the off-season.
“I’m just buzzing, excited to play in my first Grand Final,” Bos told Network 10 post-game, after Michael Zappone made a hilarious gag about the size of his wallet following his record breaking transfer, which was announced earlier this week.
“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.”
From the word go, City were in full control, playing with swagger and verve against the Sky Blues who struggled to get a foot-hold in the game against their high-octane opponents.
Aiden O’Neill’s return to the line-up allowed for more control in midfield, but also for City to go with – in the words of Vidosic – “more aggression” as he unleashed all his attacking weapons at once, starting the likes of Andrew Nabbout, Mathew Leckie and Marco Tilio alongside Jamie Maclaren.
Valon Berisha and O’Neill sat back and dictated, while Jordan Bos again provided a presence up and down the left flank.
Before a ball was kicked, Sydney were also dealt an enormous blow as Robert Mak’s hamstring injury forced his withdrawal from the side and Joe Lolley again started from the bench.
However, even without their services, Sydney’s midfield struggled to get their makeshift attack into the game under enormous City pressure.
The home side’s control soon turned into a stranglehold, after Max Burgess was sent off for a strong challenge on Marco Tilio. Referee Shaun Evans initially handed out a yellow card, but it was soon upgraded to a red following intervention from the VAR.
After Maclaren nodded against the woodwork, the dam wall burst shortly after sustained City pressure, as Good rose highest from Valon Berisha’s well-weighted free-kick to nod home the opener and give City an early advantage.
Not only did City lead at half-time, but they were well and truly all over Sydney, having 78% of the ball and seven shots to zip.
After the break, it was more of the same as Melbourne City kept their foot on the throats and were rewarded for their tenacious attacking once more, as Andrew Nabbout’s cross was turned by Jack Rodwell into his own net.
City weren’t done; in fact, they wanted to go for the kill. O’Neill caused another high turnover and played through the ever-dynamic Marco Tilio, who weaved his way into the penalty area and fired home the third.
With the win wrapped up, Vidosic cast his eye towards the decider and started wheeling in the changes.
Dutch midfielder Van Der Venne, who was a surprise omission from the starting line-up, took his moment on the field brilliantly – picking it up on the edge of the area and firing a curling effort past Redmayne to add some icing on the cake.
The win made it ten successive victories for City, who haven’t lost since their early March defeat against Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium and not against an interstate opposition on their home deck in over a year.
Meanwhile for Sydney, it ends a tremendous late season run on a sour note.
Despite mounting pressure on coach Steve Corica, the Sky Blues booked a spot in the finals with a fortnight to go and shocked rivals Western Sydney Wanderers to advance to the semis where they were more than competitive in the first leg and could have easily taken away more from the fixture.
