Young Melbourne City midfielder Taras Gomulka had made the most of off-season departures and injuries, finding a home for himself in Patrick Kisnorbo’s midfield to start the new campaign – but now he’s set for a stint on the sidelines.
The 21-year-old was dismissed early in the second half of his side’s 2-0 win over Brisbane Roar on Friday night for a challenge in midfield on Kai Trewin. The two players made contact with one another on the slide whilst competing for a loose ball; Trewin got there first, and Gomulka followed through. Referee Tim Danaskos produced the red card from his back pocket to send Gomulka to the stands.
A lengthy VAR check was to follow, with Danaskos spending considerable time replaying the incident on the pitch side monitor – but the original decision was to stand. Gomulka is now sidelined for next weekend’s Melbourne Derby.
“Honestly, when I first saw it I thought it was a yellow,” City boss Kisnorbo told Paramount+ post-match.
“There was no malice, I don’t think from Taras… a sloppy pass and two players going for the ball.
“Again, the referee had a look at it and decided to stick with his decision – but I’ve seen it, and I think it’s a yellow.”
Gomulka’s teammate Mathew Leckie gave his own verdict of the incident, admitting his view of a “pretty aggressive” challenge changed after seeing the replays.
“The replays are shown on the screen here. Look, initially I thought it was pretty aggressive,” he said.
“They both slid in. Then seeing the replay, I didn’t think his studs were up where it should have been a straight red.
“It was an aggressive tackle, but I don’t think it was a red card offence.”
MATCH REPORT: Ten-man City too classy for Roar
‘We weren’t good enough’: O’Shea frustrated after toothless Roar’s defeat to City
Brisbane Roar midfielder Jay O’Shea has lamented his side’s inability to make the most of their one-man advantage over Melbourne City, with the reigning premiers travelling to Suncorp Stadium and cruising to a 2-0 win despite Taras Gomulka’s second-half send-off.
Andrew Nabbout appeared to open the scoring in the first half, but Jamie Maclaren could lay claim to the goal – the ball looked as though it deflected off the City spearhead on its way into the back of the net. Maclaren doubled the advantage from the spot soon after to send City into the break 2-0 ahead.
Gomulka got his marching orders for a challenge on Kai Trewin in the second half, with referee Danaskos upholding his contentious decision despite a lengthy VAR check.
In the aftermath of his side’s 2-0 defeat at home, O’Shea was critical of his side’s application in a convincing defeat.
“They’re a top side, and they came here and showed it tonight,” O’Shea told Paramount+ post-match.
“We weren’t good enough, and gifted them a couple of goals. There was no way back after that.
“At 2-0 up, they just (kept) the ball. Even when they went down to 10 men they showed how good of a side they are.
“We needed to hurt them when we had the extra man, and we never did.
“Last week was a really good performance, probably just missing a goal. This week it just wasn’t good enough… especially when we’re at home, we should be keeping the ball a lot better than that. Just giving it straight back to them, we can’t do that at home.”
‘I’m the coach of Melbourne City – I’m not the national team coach’: Kisnorbo defends last-minute Tilio decision
Marco Tilio is running out of chances to impress Socceroos boss Graham Arnold ahead of the World Cup – and a red card to Taras Gomulka in Melbourne City’s 2-0 win over Brisbane Roar robbed the 21-year-old of priceless playing time on Friday night.
City boss Patrick Kisnorbo brought Marco Tilio on for Jamie Maclaren in the fifth minute of stoppage time at Suncorp Stadium, with his side navigating the majority of the second half a man down after Gomulka’s challenge on Trewin just minutes after the restart produced a red card from the pocket of Danaskos.
Kisnorbo defended his management of Tilio’s minutes in the aftermath of the game.
“We had to change our game plan due to our 10 men,” Kisnorbo told Paramount+. “Marco was supposed to come on – it is what it is. I’ll pick the players and coach the players and do the subs what’s relevant to the game. I thought that was relevant.”
As for whether supplying Tilio minutes with the context of next month’s World Cup drawing nearer, Kisnorbo replied: “No, I’m the coach of Melbourne City – I’m not the national team coach. So I’ll do my best to coach the team in the best way possible, and do what’s right for Melbourne City.”
In the Paramount+ studio, however, former A-Leagues stars Grace Gill and Daniel McBreen shared a different view on the last-minute substitution.
“That’s really rough,” Gill said. “That’s really tough for a player in that position (when) you know you’re getting substituted on not to make an impact. You’re just there to see out the clock, to see out the game. That hurts. I think for the mentality of Tilio, that’s going to start to be a bit abrasive, if it’s not already.”
McBreen added: “If it was 2-1 and you were wasting time, maybe. You’re trying to kill the game.
For me, if that was me in that position, I wouldn’t be happy.
“If you’re overseas and you might be picking up a big appearance per match that might be different… I wouldn’t be happy with that. I’d rather say: ‘Look, just sit me out. I don’t want to run on for one minute’. So we’ll see how that pans out.”
MATCH RECAP: KEEPUP BLOG
KEEPUP followed along LIVE to bring you all the action from City’s 2-0 win over Roar.
