City rip top spot from Victory’s clutches as 89th-minute drama settles gripping derby

Melbourne City v Melbourne Victory - Shark Highlights | Ninja A-League 2024-25 | Round 14

An 89th-minute equaliser from Mariana Speckmaier rescued Melbourne City a point in an entertaining 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory at ctrl:cyber Pitch on Saturday afternoon.

Victory held the lead in the Melbourne Derby from the fifth minute until the 89th after Rachel Lowe’s early strike and looked set to deal their bitter rivals their first defeat of the season and claim top spot on the Ninja A-League table – but Speckmaier’s last-gasp goal ensured the hosts earned a share of the spoils.

Victory had jumped City into top spot on the live table after taking a 1-0 lead but were forced to settle for a draw as the away side’s three-game winning streak came to an end.

Having survived the scare of derby defeat, City kept their two-point buffer to second-place Victory at the top of the table intact, having claimed 30 points through 14 games with eight wins, six draws and zero defeats to their name.

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Victory stormed into an early lead when Lowe pounced on a loose back-pass from Alexia Apostolakis and skipped past Rebekah Stott to go one-on-one with Malena Mieres and bury the opening goal into the bottom-left corner.

City centre-back Taylor Otto had a header cleared off the goal line from a corner routine in the eighth minute as the league leaders attempted to find an instant equaliser.

The City chances continued to flow as Leticia McKenna whipped a free-kick from the edge of the penalty area toward the top-left corner – an attempt that Victory keeper Courtney Newbon did well to save.

Down the other end, Alana Murphy’s dangerous corner delivery almost led to Victory doubling their lead but Claudia Bunge’s attempt at the back post flashed just wide of the target.

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Emily Gielnik was next to threaten City’s goal with an audacious, left-footed attempt from a tight angle but Mieres wasn’t to be beaten for a second time in the first half.

Matildas winger Holly McNamara made her second-consecutive start for City on Saturday in a continuation of her gradual return to full fitness following an ACL injury; in the 35th minute, the City star looked to beat Newbon with a low-driven shot but the Victory keeper got down low to prevent the ball from finding the back of the net.

Victory took their one-goal lead to half-time but five minutes after the restart, McNamara found herself in another dangerous attacking area but lashed her shot into the side netting.

As City turned up the heat at ctrl:cyber Pitch, Victory continued to repel chance after chance but Gielnik reminded the hosts of her lethal threat down the other end with another shot off her weaker left foot – but the Matildas forward was denied once again by Mieres.

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City head coach Michael Matricciani brought Rhianna Pollicina and Karly Roestbakken off his bench at half-time and in the 72nd minute, Pollicina had her first big chance of the afternoon with a looping effort from range that Newbon gathered after back-tracking toward the goal line.

With 80 minutes on the clock, Gielnik received a gilt-edged chance to put Victory into a commanding 2-0 lead when she was picked out on the edge of the six-yard box by a precise Murphy free-kick; unfortunately for the visitors, Gielnik lacked the accuracy as her header went wide of the target.

With less than one minute of regular time left to play, City finally found the equaliser they had chased relentlessly, as substitute Pollicina picked out Speckmaier for a front-post finish that levelled the scores at 1-1 and ultimately earned the league leaders a point in the derby.