Melbourne City FC claimed a tidy 2–0 victory over Wellington Phoenix FC on A-League matchday 24, with goals from Aziz Behich and Marcus Younis deciding the contest.
The breakthrough arrived in the 27th minute. Full-back Aziz Behich finished off a move created by Nathaniel Atkinson, putting Melbourne City 1–0 up and giving the hosts a lead they would not relinquish.
The first half also produced a pair of quick-fire bookings. Daniel Arzani was cautioned for Melbourne City in the 38th minute, followed a minute later by a yellow card for Wellington’s Kazuki Nagasawa, underlining a growing intensity in midfield.
After the interval, Wellington Phoenix looked to change the dynamic with a series of substitutions, introducing Matt Sheridan at half-time and later Sander Kartum, Luke Brooke-Smith, Lukas Kelly-Heald and Carlo Armiento. Melbourne City responded with their own changes, bringing on Max Caputo, Kavian Rahmani, Medin Memeti and, late on, experienced attacker Mathew Leckie.
The hosts doubled their advantage in the 76th minute. Substitute Marcus Younis struck to make it 2–0, finishing a move set up by Andreas Kuen. That goal effectively sealed the points, with Wellington unable to mount a comeback in the closing stages.
Melbourne City picked up further yellow cards for Germán Ferreyra (54′), Zane Schreiber (81′) and Samuel Souprayen (90′), but saw out the match without allowing Phoenix onto the scoresheet.
The result leaves Melbourne City with a valuable home win in the A-League regular season. Detailed statistics beyond goals, bookings and substitutions were not available in the match data. Full match information can be found at Ballaxy’s match centre, along with team pages for Melbourne City FC and Wellington Phoenix FC.
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