Honours even in Melbourne Derby as Jelacic and Nabbout score
Having flown back to Australia after a 3-1 loss to Auckland FC, Melbourne City returned to AAMI Park with a chance to right their wrongs against their cross-town rivals.
Said cross-town rivals, also known as Melbourne Victory, didn't fare any better last week in New Zealand, having lost 2-1 to Wellington Phoenix. The Victory also had additonal demons to bury on Swan Street, with their last match against Australian opposition at AAMI Park being the infamous Australia Cup final loss to South Melbourne.
Victory fans couldn't have asked for much of a better start, as Keegan Jelacic found the net after a beautiful one-two passing sequence with Charles Nduka. Victory led 1-0, and the City fans were silenced.
Victory didn't let up after Jelacic's opener, continuing to fire shots at Macklin Freke's net. Harrison Delbridge will have held his breath after his deflection beat Freke, though sailed wide, while Denis Genreau was inches away from doubling Victory's advantage from outside the box.
At the other end, Awer Mabil also tried to write his name into the headlines, with his long-range effort also flying wide. Moments later, Mabil had a chance inside the penalty box, but sent it over the crossbar. It was the closest City would get in the first half, with Victory leading 1-0 at half-time.
Searching a goal, Aurelio Vidmar opted to bring on Emiliano Marcondes at half-time, and it paid off. The Danish international made an immediate impact, squaring the ball across goal for Andrew Nabbout, who scored the equaliser from close range in the 53rd minute.
As the game went on, the crowd would begin to grow restless, with both sets of fans hoping it would be their team that found the all-crucial third goal. Nevertheless, chances on the pitch came few and far between, with a draw seeming more and more likely as the match progressed.
Harrison Delbridge may have thought he had given City the lead for a brief moment, but his header was cleared off the line by Philipp Ziereis. City would contunue to attack, ending the game as the stronger of the two sides, but the winning goal never came.
Both teams came into this match hoping for their first A-League win of the season. In the end, they both left without it, as the first Melbourne Derby of the season ended 1-1.
Following the game, Melbourne City manager Aurelio Vidmar was pleased with how his team improved in the second half.
"(I'm) extremely disappointed the way we started because we made a conscious effort to make sure that we start fast and try to score the first goal. And we were just second to the ball. They had more run. They had more fire. They were picking up second balls. All, just all the basic behaviours, they were doing much better than us. And we managed to turn that around in the second half. I thought it was a much better performance."
Meanwhile, Giovanni Savarese was impressed with what he saw from his team after his first Melbourne Derby as Victory manager.
"I think defensively we've been very good. I think in the build-up, in the possession, in the way we are creating opportunities, I think it's been improving. I think the goal was a fantastic goal. And we still need to make sure that we keep on working some things inside the box, maybe arriving a little bit earlier in some spots, be able to get maybe some better crosses. Little details that we want to continue to work, but overall, I think this is a game that we could have won."
Melbourne Victory will now prepare for a flight to Indonesia to play Persib Bandung in the Asian Champions League Two, before returning their attention back to the A-League, where they'll play Central Coast next Sunday. Meanwhile, Melbourne City will enjoy a week off, before returning to AAMI Park next Saturday to play Sydney FC.
