Ahead of Reds test, Vidmar warns City can't get comfortable with the finish line in sight
Melbourne City's ALM season has been defined by twists, turns, and many injuries. But with a second-place finish and ACLE football in sight, Aurelio Vidmar is warning against getting comortable.
With two weeks remaining in the A-League Men’s regular season, Melbourne City stand on the precipice of locking in a second-place A-League Men finish, a week off in the first week of the finals, and a place in the Asian Champions League Elite. But after all the twists and turns that his side has faced this season – not to mention the many, many injuries – coach Aurelio Vidmar is guarding against getting comfortable, especially with a wounded and desperate Adelaide United coming to town.
Picking up a last-gasp 2-2 draw with Western Sydney last week – which could have been even later last-gasp 3-2 defeat if not for a disallowed Wanderer goal – City will host Adelaide this Saturday knowing that, if results go their way, their top-two status could be cemented.
Three points clear of third-placed Western United coming into the weekend, a win over the Reds combined with anything less than a victory by John Aloisi's side against Sydney FC the following day would seal second spot for City. Such a result would not only secure them a finals bye and lock in Asian football next season but also give them scope to manage their squad in their final game of the season against the Sky Blues, as well as get some much-needed time on the training track heading into the finals.
Indeed, given the wave of injuries that have struck the squad this season, it almost borders on incredulity that City have been able to reach the point. Injuries decimated their ranks this season, with (deep breath) Mat Leckie, Marco Tilio, Alessandro Lopane, Max Caputo, Jimmy Jeggo, Samuel Souprayen, Andrew Nabbout, Jimmy Jeggo, Andreas Kuen, Yonatan Cohen, and Jayden Necovski all spending extended time on the sidelines this season – often at the same time. In response, Vidmar was first to turn to the kids, at one stage of the campaign giving over 20% of available match minutes to U19 players.
And yet, coming into the season’s penultimate round, City are in the box seat for second — possessing the second-most wins in the league and its second-best defensive record. In an added boost, after a positive week of training, Vidmar said that injured Socceroo attacker Leckie was a chance to return after missing the trip to Wanderland with hamstring awareness. Defender Souprayen, though, will likely need to wait until the Sydney game to mark his return, if not the finals.
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“It's been a bit of a remarkable season for us, the context of it,” said the coach. “How many injuries we've had -- the key players that we've been missing throughout the year. On top of that, the kids are coming in and performing at a very good level.
“I wouldn't say there's an element of luck, there's certainly been decent planning that put us in a good position when they did happen, and that we were able to adjust pretty quickly. We've still got a hell of a lot to play for. We can't get comfortable, and we can't be happy. We've put ourselves in a really good position, and we still have a bit of work to do.
“It's been like that for many weeks; still trying to fight for a finals spot, second spot. To be honest, all we have to worry about is trying to win. That's the focus -- that's been the focus, again, this week.
“Because we know we're up against a very good [Adelaide] side, a team that can score quickly. They've scored a lot of goals. Sure, they've also conceded. So there are some areas that we can attack as well that may help us. But they're desperate. They're desperate to win, to try to get themselves a final spot. So a lot riding on it for sure.”
But if there was any side that City would like to see lining up across from them in a must-win game less than Adelaide United, it’s difficult to think of them. Especially a seventh-placed Reds’ outfit that needs to win to guarantee their finals hopes will remain alive heading into the campaign’s finals week.
Winning three of the last four meetings between the two while scoring eleven goals to three, the Reds have cultivated an air of City’s bogey team, highlighted by their 4-0 win in the 2019 FFA Cup final. Powered by one of Archie Goodwin's equal league-leading 13 goals, Adelaide added to this lore the last time the two belligerents met earlier this season, running out 1-0 victors at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Admittedly, the trajectory of the two sides since that game is vastly divergent, with City picking up 20 points – the second-best total in the league – and Adelaide picking up just six as they tumbled out of the playoff places. Further, that Saturday’s game will be staged at AAMI Park may provide some further solace.
While Adelaide, per Ultimate A-League, maintains a winning record over City throughout the rivalry's history, winning 17 games to 14, with 13 draws, this lead has largely been built off the back of the Melurnians' consistent struggles to win in South Australia: picking up a victory just five times in their 24 trips to Hindmarsh Stadium.
Of the games the two have played at AAMI Park, City maintains a (slight) advantage: winning nine of the 19 meetings compared to six wins. The last time the two sides met on Olympic Boulevard, back in January 2024, a fifth-minute effort from Terry Antonis proved enough to pick up all three points and extend a nascent unbeaten run at the venue to three.
“They've always been almost impossible to [beat] over there,” said Vidmar. “I think [in Melbourne] the record is probably a little bit different.
“We had really good moments in the game against Adelaide in Adelaide, we just weren't clinical [and] we didn't do much with our work in the front third. We're in a much better place today than we were.
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“We know we've got to be at our very, very best. As always. There's no gimme games in this competition. We've seen how tight it is right across the board from the very first day of the season, and it's going to be like that until the very last day.”
Vidmar, of course, has plenty of connections to the town of Adelaide. A stand at Hindmarsh Stadium bears his family’s name and he’s a good friend of outgoing Reds’ boss Carl Veart, whose tenure at the club will end alongside their season.
“I have a hell of a lot of empathy for Carl's situation,” said Vidmar. “He's been an excellent coach for Adelaide. What he's done with the resources that he's had at the club has been remarkable.
“He and the club were really the first [A-League Men] team that really started saying we're going to spend a little bit less and we're going to bring up the kids. The system with the kids and the academy they have there is excellent. We've seen that over the years. And then he had three consecutive semifinals.
“I think he's a very, very good coach, and hopefully he's not lost to the game.”
Having said that… “I have zero sentiment for this weekend,” a laughing Vidmar ended on.
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