Melbourne City cruise, but still put four past Perth Glory
Can just the second game of a new season go down as a box-ticking exercise? It almost feels like it goes against the spirit of a new campaign, where hope is supposed to be springing eternal and players infused with the energy of finally getting to play games that matter after the world’s longest offseason. And it also feels wrong that one team could put another to the sword and still somehow not look as though they were doing anything special. And yet, a box-ticking exercise is certainly what Melbourne City’s 4-0 hammering of Perth Glory on Saturday evening increasingly resembled as it ticked away.
Certainly, any faint hopes that the West Australians may have held of springing an unlikely upset over the reigning champions were dealt a hammer blow when Max Caputo nabbed his first goal five minutes in and received an even more savage stroke in the 36th minute when the young striker pounced on a horrific backpass from Brian Kaltak, rounded Matt Sutton, and fired home to make it 2-0. At that point, the game had already become something of a procession, ensuring that even Ben Mazzeo’s 50th-minute miss, when the 20-year-old blazed over from just outside the six-yard box, didn’t carry the same kind of contrition it otherwise might have, simply because nobody in the stands probably believed that the hosts would be punished for it.
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Zane Schreiber’s 85th-minute striker, a thunderbastard of a long-range attempt that rocketed past Sutton and into the top corner, not only added to the young season’s list of banging goals but almost felt like it was designed to wake everyone up and remind them that the game wasn’t over. And if that didn’t work, Kavian Rahmani’s move to cut back inside and hurl a bomb from downtown in second-half stoppage time certainly did the job.
As much as City controlled the game and looked to be the clearly better side, there wasn’t a sensation that this was because of any kind of dominating performance or tactical coup de maître on their part. They didn’t arrive at AAMI Park as some kind of irresistible force of nature, sweeping all before them. Instead, quite simply, it never felt like Glory had what it takes to take the game to them and actually force them to get out of third gear. This was reinforced when Jaiden Kucharski limped off after just over half-an-hour with what appeared to be a left groin complaint and given extra impetus when coach David Zdrilic, down 2-0 and nominally chasing the game, withdrew attackers Adam Taggart and Sebastian Despotovski, who provided their only open-play shot on goal with a tame effort from range in the 48th minute, on the hour mark.
Two weeks in, and it already feels like Zdrilic is joining the ranks of the under-pressure coaches – especially if you peruse the thoughts of Glory fans across social media. Is it fair? Maybe, maybe not. But you’ve got to remember that everything comes quicker these days, and after the axings of Rado Vidošić and Steve Corica in recent years, the A-League Men has now given evidence that the normal grace that coaches get at the start of seasons can’t always be taken for granted – especially if they’re returning for another season after coming under significant scrutiny in the last one. Set to host a Victory side that hasn’t exactly set the world on fire next week, a result feels like it’s urgently needed next week.
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City, preparing to enter the sudden, physical crucible that is Lang Park away next week, can gratefully bank their first three points of the season, coming off the back of a mid-week breakthrough in the Asian Champions League Elite, and, importantly, can do so without losing anyone else to injury. They can also start to get even more excited about the play of Caputo, who is finally getting a chance to lead the line from the get-go this season and has responded with four goals in the space of eight days.
Like Alex Badolato at Newcastle the previous evening, tongues will inevitably be set wagging by his performance, especially given the presence of Hayden Foxe and Frank Juric in the stands on Saturday, but with representatives of Australia’s U23 sides also present, a push for the Los Angeles Olympics looks all but assured.
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