Melbourne City produced a stunning result on Tuesday night, defeating J1 League side Machida Zelvia 2-1 in the AFC Champions League Elite thanks to a dramatic late winner from Andrew Nabbout.
Having defeated Thai giants Buriram United in Matchday 3 to earn their first win in this year’s competition, City started with a bang in Tokyo as they took the lead inside the first minute.
An errant back-pass from captain Gen Shoji flew past Machida keeper Kosei Tani from distance and City had a shock early advantage thanks to a bizarre own goal.
The home side rallied and began to ratchet up the pressure in search of the equaliser, but found City stopper Patrick Beach in fine form.
However, the J1 League side levelled things up in the 24th minute through wing-back Henry Heroki Mochizuki’s well-taken finish to make it 1-1 at the break.
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In the second half, Beach once again pulled off a string of top saves to keep City in the contest before the away side then stole all three points with what was essentially the last kick of the game.
With the ball pinging around the Machida box from a City corner in the 94th minute, substitute Nabbout lashed a shot towards goal which cannoned down off the bar and seemingly crossed the line before being cleared by the home side.
Whilst the on-field decision was initially no goal, a quick VAR review showed the ball was clearly over the line and the goal was duly awarded, sparking scenes of joy from the City side.
The result moves City up into sixth spot on the ladder with six points to their name and, crucially, not sat inside the top eight positions with four league matches left to play.
“Very proud of the players,” said Vidmar after the full-time whistle blew in Tokyo.
“Because we were very committed, and we were very desperate, especially the way we defended.
“The attitude and the mentality was at a very, very good level tonight.”
Equally as impressive as the result itself was the fact City fielded six academy graduates in their starting XI at Machida Stadium, with nine players overall featuring on the night.
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“I think it’s very important, when you look at our team, we had a very, very young team here tonight, very young team with not a lot of experience,” said Vidmar, who’s City side had an average age of just 22.8.
“So to gain this type of experience is invaluable for them, so that will help them with their development.
“But like I said before, I’m very proud of the way they handled the moment, because this occasion here was a very big occasion for them, and they did an incredible job.”
Next up for City is a mouthwatering Melbourne Derby on Saturday night, when they face rivals Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park in a repeat of last season’s Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final.
