By Lucas Pavlidis (@LucasPavlidis)

Melbourne City has secured a point in its first-ever PlayStation 4 NPL 1 West game, after a late goal sealed the draw against Moreland City on Saturday afternoon.

Joe Montemurro's side would claim the lead first, only for Moreland to quickly score twice and take a deserved lead into half time. It wasn't until the 78th minute that Melbourne City squared the game.

A subdued opening kicked off proceedings at JL Murphy Reserve.

It took a wonderfully measured through ball from Tomislav Fadjevic to find the feet of Marc Marino, whose deft touch was enough to elude the oncoming Brandon Galgano in the Moreland City goal.

Melbourne City’s follow-up was muted, as Moreland broke back into the game with a vengeance.

Directly after the restart, Moreland’s Gareth Richards finished calmly with a lofted effort over the oncoming Yaren Sozer after finding himself one-on-one with the keeper.

Moreland would strike again minutes later, stunning Melbourne City after Sozer spilled a strong effort from Richards, only for Osman Kose to tap home from close range.

The visitors' second half started positively.

A speculative effort from Moreland’s Mo Kurucu almost caught Melbourne napping, with a left footed shot spinning before the goalkeeper and ricocheting off the upright, leaving the goalkeeper stranded in a chance that could have easily have made it 3-1.

Yet Moreland's good work in possession was undone after a calamitous mistake in defence with 10 minutes remaining.

A poor back-pass to Galgano put the goalkeeper in trouble and he had no option but to clear, only for his clearance to rebound off the incoming Matthew Millar and into the goal.

Rough challenges bought the game to a halt in the final moments, with the healthy crowd urging both sides on to victory, but neither could break the deadlock for a final time.

 

MATCH DETAILS

Melbourne City 2 (Marino 34,’ Millar 79’) drew with Moreland City 2 (Richards 35,’ Kose 38’)

Melbourne City: 1. Yaren SOZER, 2. James TYLER, 3. Nicholas SYMEOY, 4. Tomislav FADJEVIC (14. Baki EFE 61’), 5. Leo ATHANASIOU, 6. Phil PETRESKI, 8. Ratip CILELI, 9. Marc MARINO (17. Nick MORTON 67’), 11. Stefan ZINNI, 12. Anthony RIZK, 16. Matthew MILLAR

Unused substitutes: 13. Haris STAMBOULIDIS, 19. Anthony TARANTO, 20. Jack WEST-ASTUTI

Yellow cards: Tyler, Millar, Norton

Red cards: None

Melbourne City: 1. Brandon GALGANO, 21. Nodj SAHIN, 18. Orrie KARA, 12. Shane CARR, 6. Julien DOS SANTOS, 23. Mo KURUCU (17. Liam BRIAM 90’), 2. Yang TOU-YENG (20. Blaine BURRELL 87’), 7. Osman KOSE, 8. Corey THOMAS, 14. Casey THOMAS (11. Kam SIMSEK 87’), 9. Gareth RICHARDS

Unused substitutes: 19. Rob BAZZANO, 16. Nathan GOURZELAS

Yellow cards: Dos Santos, Corey THOMAS

Red cards: None

PHOTO: Matt Johnson