City backline hit by injury ahead of ALM semifinals
Melbourne City could play the first leg of their ALM semifinal against Western United without the services of half their first-choice backline, with clouds over Nathaniel Atkinson and Samuel Souprayen
Melbourne City could head into the first leg of their A-League Men semifinal against Western United without the services of half their record-setting first-choice backline, with Nathaniel Atkinson shaping as being just a 50-50 chance to play on Friday evening as he battles a calf injury and Samuel Souprayen once again set to be sidelined.
Limping off after 76 minutes and replaced by Callum Talbot, Atkinson’s withdrawal cast a shadow over what was an otherwise coruscating 5-1 win over Sydney FC on the final day of the season, one that secured them a second-place finish that earned them a week off in the finals and, more importantly, a spot in next year’s Asian Champions League Elite group stages.
They’ll now return to action on Friday evening against United – nominally in a road game, albeit both legs are set to be staged at AAMI Park – after John Aloisi’s side comfortably dispatched Adelaide United 3-2 in an elimination final last week. Atkinson, however, is no certainty to be amongst Aurelio’s ranks, with Talbot or even Steven Ugarkovic to be called upon if the Socceroos defender is ruled out.
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“Nate came off late in that Sydney game, and he's 50-50, to be honest,” said the City coach. “If it's not this week, he should be fine for the following week.
“It’s a little [calf] strain, which was strange because he wasn't in the motion of sprinting. He was actually just standing and then he said he felt a cramp-like pain.
“He had a very light strain but he's recovered pretty well from it. So we'll just see how he goes today, and it'll be a 50-50 situation for him. If it's not this week, he certainly should be, certainly next week.”
Souprayen, meanwhile, continues to be dogged by the calf injury that ruled him out of City’s final four games of the season, with Vidmar saying the Frenchman’s absence remained a week-by-week proposition.
While newly minted Socceroo call-up Kai Trewin and Argentine defender Germán Ferreyra have filled in gamely for the defender in his absence during the regular season, Souprayen’s continued fitness concerns represent a significant blow to City, the veteran the anchor of a defence that conceded just 25 goals this season – seven goals better than City’s previous most miserly campaign in 2018–19.
“Sammy, unfortunately, is still, for whatever reason, struggling with his injury,” said Vidmar. “He started running last week and just keeps getting pain in it. It's not totally clear, and we're not sure why – must be something else going on.
“He felt fine for a few days and then when he pushed a little bit more, it started to get a little bit more discomfort. Sammy won't be around tomorrow and, hopefully, he's in a better position for next week.
“He's going to be re-scanned again this afternoon, just to make sure that there's nothing else underlying.”
In better news for City, Vidmar said that Socceroo attacker Mat Leckie, who was restricted to just 12 appearances throughout the regular season and only featured in two of his side’s last six games, had trained fully throughout the week and should be available.
While doing enough in the build-up to several City goals to demonstrate his impact in his limited appearances, the veteran, who is contracted for next season, has yet to be officially credited with a goal involvement this season. He’ll get his just to rectify that on Friday, though, with his coach confirming he would see the field in some capacity.
“There's no question that we're a better team with him in the starting lineup,” Vidmar explained. “That's for sure.
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“His experience, his ability to read the game, his ability to pick the right moment with the ball and without the ball, and his ability to lead by example on the pitch, which drags everyone else with them, that's invaluable.
“He's going to get time for sure, on the pitch at some stage. Let's see where it goes. Hopefully, touchwood, nothing happens and he's able to survive the next three weeks. Because with him we're a much better team.”
City will certainly need as much firepower as they can get against United, given that Aloisi’s unit enters Friday evening’s contest as one of the most in-form teams in the competition.
Beyond defeating Adelaide last week, the side from Melbourne’s west comfortably handled premiers-elect Auckland FC in the final week of the season and the Sky Blue the week prior. Noah Botić, for his part, who all but confirmed last week’s win was his last game at Ironbark Fields in its aftermath, netted a hattrick in the win over the Reds and has form against City at AAMI Park, netting an 87th minute penalty in the first week of the 2023-24 campaign to secure his side a 2-1 win.
Nonetheless, when it comes to form, City have plenty going for them as well, winners of four straight games in this rivalry – keeping clean sheets in the two meetings this season – and winning 12 of the 18 A-League Men fixtures the two have played, compared to just five losses.
But with the last meeting between the two sides more than five months ago and his side looking vastly different – amid a wave of injuries, City fielded a younger side than United in their January 7 meeting, one of the few times all season Aloisi’s team had seniority – Vidmar isn’t paying too much heed to the record books.
“They were in a different phase of their season and so were we,” he said. “We had a lot of kids playing those games, especially the second one. They've changed, they've improved dramatically over the second half of the season, and so have we. We're approaching it as a clean slate, the first game that we're playing.
“I think it's going to be a very, very good game of football. Their mobility around the park is excellent, and they've got multiple goal scorers, so we certainly have to be on our toes to stop that. But we also believe that we've got some really, really good momentum.
“The spirits in our group have been extremely high. We've got players in most areas of the park that can hurt the opposition.
“Our efforts throughout the year have been collective. So if it's not collective, then obviously we're going to have some difficult times and suffer. But if we're working together as a collective, that gives us our best opportunity to win the game.”