City back to best over wobbly Jets
NO Bruno, no worries. Melbourne City didn’t miss forward Bruno Fornaroli in a 3-0 defeat of Newcastle earned with world-class finishes from Riley McGree and Luke Brattan last night.
Fornaroli stand-in Lachlan Wales capped City’s fine showing with his first professional goal and his team’s third at AAMI Park, putting a week of tumult behind them.
City’s performance and result vindicate coach Warren Joyce, who had been vilified by many after axing the fan favourite for failing to meet training standards. With the Uruguayan watching from the stands, City went to work and took the lead after just 78 seconds.
Ex-Jet McGree controlled Florin Berenguer’s corner and belted home a volley from close range. The goal was met with muted celebrations from City’s fans, protesting Fornaroli’s absence.
After sustaining strong Jets pressure for much of the first half, Brattan increased the margin in injury time with the sweetest of volleys. The 28-year-old controlled Lachlan Jackson’s clearance with his chest and unleashed a beautifully arced strike from outside the box that left Glen Moss no chance. City didn’t have it all its own way. Eugene Galekovic tipped Jason Hoffman’s close-range effort wide with the score at 1-0, then blocked the former Heart utility’s strike at the near post in the second half. As the Jets’ challenge subsided, Wales struck by running on to Ritchie De Laet’s through-ball and dinking over Moss at speed.
Earlier, A-League leader Perth Glory benefited from a bewildering VAR decision to snatch a late 1-1 draw with the Phoenix in Wellington.
Substitute Diego Castro smashed home an equaliser with eight minutes left against the 10-man hosts as Glory rode their luck to maintain an unbeaten start to the season. It cancelled out Roy Krishna’s first-half goal that appeared to have the Phoenix on track to record a monumental upset.
However, Spanish magician Castro’s 65th-minute introduction woke the disjointed Glory from their slumber and came 10 minutes before the game’s defining moment. Defender Ryan Lowry was shown a straight red card by referee Adam Kersey for a tackle on Chris Ikonomidis after being alerted to a possible incident by video official Nick Waldron.
The decision outraged the home side.