For the second time this season neither Melbourne Victory or Melbourne City were able to take the chocolates in the derby, with the sides settling for a 1-1 draw.
City started stronger out of the blocks out of the two sides, dominating much of the play but it was the Victory who struck first.
Having struck early in the derby in December, the Victory similarly break the deadlock early in the contest, scoring inside the opening twenty minutes of the contest, courtesy of winger Marco Rojas.
Having been played through cleverly by Ben Folami following a fast break, Rojas would find himself one on one with Tom Glover before dribbling past the City keeper to break the deadlock.
Having pushed for an equaliser thereafter, City would eventually score on the stroke of the half time, via a brilliantly taken set piece. Given a corner late in the half, a short pass to Berenguer would set up Curtis Good who headed home to level the scores going into the main break.
Following a tight opening half, the game would open up in the second half, with both sides exchanging blows as they searched for the lead. The Victory would have a purple-patch in the middle part of the second half, creating a flurry of opportunities to go ahead, before City would go on top in the final 10 minutes.
Jamie Maclaren would come close to scoring late though would shoot wide, with City coming desperately close to scoring deep into injury time. Despite being awarded three late corners, they were unable to find the net, with the game finishing 1-1.
Having played out an entertaining draw in their first meeting back in December, it would be more of the same in the second meeting tonight.
The result would be enough to keep City on top of the table, with the side going its past seven fixtures unbeaten. With the side’s set to meet for a third and final time this season next month, the Victory won’t have to wait long to try and end their hoodoo over City.
Key Takeaways:
NOTHING TO SPLIT THE SIDES AGAIN
Having fought out a 1-1 draw, it would be the second time this season that the Victory and City have shared points in the Melbourne derby, with the sides first meeting of the season back in December ending in a 2-2 draw.
With the final meeting between City and the Victory in the 2020-21 season also ending in a draw, the sides have now shared points in their last three encounters.
Facing off again next month, the Victory will have another chance to beat their crosstown rivals for the first time since December 2019.
FOLAMI IMPRESSES AGAIN
Victory’s Ben Folami has continued his impressive run of form, being amongst his side’s top contributors in their clash against City.
Setting up Rojas for the opening goal of the game just twenty minutes into the contest, Folami would continue to cause headaches for the City defence. He’d constantly finding space for himself on the left wing, making several dangerous runs with no other Victory player making more successful dribbles in the forward half than Folami.
Having struggled in his inaugural season with the club, Folami now looks comfortable at the top level, having stood up in a big fixture once again, and quickly developing into one of the side’s most dangerous players.
CURTIS GOOD GOAL PROVES TO BE THE DIFFERENCE
Despite dominating possession in the opening half, City would have little to show for it until defender Curtis Good would step up, scoring a header from a set piece on the stroke of half time.
Having been goalless since scoring in the side’s season opener, Good would score his second goal of the season. It would prove to be important. as it would ultimately help his side secure a crucial point.
In addition to his goal, he was a rock at the back all night, withstanding the pressure the City’s defence came under.
FINAL SCORE:
A-League Men: Round 18, AAMI Park
Melbourne City 1 (Good 45m)
Melbourne Victory 1 (Rojas 19m)
