Ross McCormack brace fires Melbourne City to Wellington win

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:36 am

Teenage whizkid Daniel Arzani has climbed off the bench to change Melbourne City's fortunes, setting up a Ross McCormack double in City's comeback 2-1 A-League win.

Arzani gave life to a desperately poor City side, who had conceded the opener to Roy Krishna after 42 minutes.

The 18-year-old's injection just after half-time changed the contest, bringing City three points that lifts them to third in the A-League table.

Arzani fizzed a ball from the right wing to set up the Scot for a back-post tap in the 72nd minute. And eight minutes from time his shot-cum-cross from the left landed on McCormack's head to give City a scarcely deserved win.

More than changing the result, he changed the atmosphere.

Krishna's opener saw City leave the pitch at half-time to raucous boos from the miserable 5,207-strong crowd.

The Fijian capitalised on a moment of indecision from City captain Michael Jakobsen, judged the bouncing ball better than the Dane, winning their one-on-one and chipping over Dean Bouzanis.

Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

There were calls for the head of coach Warren Joyce and chief executive Scott Munn from the stands as City's lifeless performance looked set to earn them a fourth straight loss.

It might have been worse for City, when in-form hitman Andrija Kaludjerovic hit the bar from Krishna's cross.

Instead, Arzani re-booted their stuttering campaign with a purposeful display against a defensively minded Wellington set up.

Even before his match-winning crosses, he dazzled with sharp footwork, sparking his side.

Dario Vidosic, debuting for City against his former employers, wasn't quite on the same page as his new teammates with fellow attackers Nathaniel Atkinson and Nick Fitzgerald having off nights.

Having lost the lead, Wellington responded substituting on Nathan Burns for his first A-League match in three years.

City required a goal-line clearance from Harrison Delbridge as the game entered injury time, with Goran Paracki and Michael McGlinchey having late efforts blocked.

Instead, Arzani's invention and McCormack's ninth and 10th goals of the season brought City three much-needed points.