Melbourne City inflicted a 3-0 defeat on Sydney FC at AAMI Park, in what was a game of two halves, the match was ultimately decided by a clinical hat-trick by City striker Bruno Fornaroli. The Sky Blues started brightly but were eventually outclassed by the clinical strike force of their opponents as they lacked the cutting edge needed in attack, as well as organisation in defence. Here is Outside90’s trio of top performers from the match.
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Bruno Fornaroli – Melbourne City
Melbourne City have now scored twice as many goals as Sydney FC, and much of this is down to the magical works of the Uruguayan marksman. At his tricky best for the full 90, Fornaroli tucked home a deadly counter-attack in the final five minutes of the first half. He then converted two poacher’s finishes off the back of defensive errors by Matt Jurman to net his maiden A-League hat-trick, and tally 20 goals for the season, in the process breaking the all-time record set by cross-town rival Besart Berisha.
Patrick Kisnorbo – Melbourne City
In what was one of the controversial talking points from the match, Kisnorbo remained on the field after intentionally pulling down Filip Hološko, who was nearly through on goal. He sure made the most of this second chance, as the experienced centre-back was integral in keeping what was only Melbourne City’s second clean sheet of the season, as he kept the attacking threats of Matt Simon, Filip Hološko and Shane Smeltz at bay. Resolute in possession, the 34-year-old was the source of some pinpoint passes to set up many of City’s attacking plays.
Milos Ninkovic – Sydney FC
Sydney FC seemed to co-ordinate most of the proceedings throughout the first 45, and their domination of the midfield area was clear to see. The Serbian ‘number 10’ regularly found himself in pockets of space, and was the source of most of Sydney’s chances, with multiple through balls into the feet of Hološko and Simon. Fatigue from Wednesday night’s blockbuster vs Guangzhou surely was a factor in the second half. However, Ninkovic continued to produce a fair amount of chances in a display where Sydney were eventually let down by defensive errors.
Notable mentions: Harry Novillo, Filip Hološko, Thomas Sorensen
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