Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Melbourne: Ex-Western Sydney Wanderers midfielder Aaron Mooy piled the pressure on his former employers as the 24-year-old set up one and scored another to complete Melbourne City’s 2-1 come-from-behind victory over the reigning AFC Champions League champions on Sunday.
Japanese duo Yusuke Tanaka and Yojiro Takahagi made their A-League debuts while former Newcastle Jets defender Sam Gallaway was making his first appearance in a Wanderers shirt as head coach Tony Popovic fielded three of recent signings in the Asian club champions’ first domestic fixture since January 6, when they lost to by an identical 2-1 score line to City’s derby rivals Melbourne Victory.
Things started positively enough for Popivic’s side when new-boy Takahagi took just five minutes to open his Wanderers goal-scoring account with an innocuous free-kick is missed by every player in the City box including keeper Andrew Redmayne.
However Mooy, who was part of the Wanderers’ squad during the group stage of their victorious 2014 AFC Champions League campaign prior to being offloaded to Melbourne City last May, would go on to have the biggest influence in the match.
In the 25th minute former Australia international Mooy (pictured celebrating scoring in the EAFF Cup) provided the pass for Jacob Melling to head home the equaliser before scoring the winner with a sublime curling effort in the 73rd minute that took the Wanderers winless streak in the 2014/15 A-League to 13 and consign the Asian club champions to the foot of the table.
The Wanderers kick-off their 2015 AFC Champions League campaign on February 25 in Japan when they face Kashima Antlers in their opening fixture in Group H, which also features 2014 ACL champions Guangzhou Evergrande and the winner of Playoff 1.
Photo: AFP