Melbourne City back in hunt for home final after brushing Roar aside

Melbourne City marquee Ritchie de Laet blasted his side back into the hunt for a home A-League final.

Shayon Harrison celebrates after scoring for Melbourne City against Brisbane Roar at AAMI Park. Picture: AAP

Melbourne City marquee Ritchie de Laet blasted his side back into the hunt for a home A-League final, scoring the goal of the game in City’s 4-1 dismissal of Brisbane Roar.

De Laet launched a superb strike from 25 metres to secure a much-needed win for Warren Joyce’s side at AAMI Park that all but guarantees City will play in the finals series.

Rostyn Griffiths scored City’s opening goal with a feather-light header before Harrison Delbridge netted an unfortunate own goal to bring Brisbane back into the contest.

Shayon Harrison responded well to the setback, volleying home for City’s second from a tight angle.

De Laet hit his wonder strike on 70 minutes before Riley McGree curled home an injury time effort with just seconds remaining.

There were plenty of positives for City, including a best performance on Australian soil from French import Florin Berenguer.

The result also casts aside their woeful 3-0 loss to Western Sydney, giving the club another chance to build momentum towards the playoffs.

But the unfortunate reality is that Brisbane barely came to play at AAMI Park, forcing home goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic into just a single save all night.

The meeting of City, the league’s most possession-hungry side, and Brisbane, Australia’s chief counter-attackers, played out true to form.

Joyce’s side knocked the ball about without too much harassment but at the same time not generating much of note in low-intensity first half.

The opening goal came from a set piece on 27 minutes, with Luke Brattan and Berenguer combining for Griffiths to head home, the scoreline remaining 1-0 at halftime

Nine minutes after the break, Eric Bautheac’s lofted ball put Delbridge in a spot of bother, and the defender somehow managed to nod the ball past his own goalkeeper.

Relief wasn’t far away though, and juts five minutes later Harrison got around Stefan Nigro with ease to put away Brattan’s cross.

De Laet’s thunderbolt on 70 minutes and McGree’s trickery deep into injury time made the points safe, ensuring a week of respite for the under-fire Joyce.

The result is City’s 10th match without a loss at their home ground, underlining the importance of securing fourth place and a home final in the playoffs.

AAP