90+2min: Both sides still going for it. Brosque blasts another shot goalwards but it’s far too close to Sorensen who smothers it with all the professionalism you’d expect from a Premier League veteran. That could well be that.

90 min: He’s missed!?! How did Blackwood fluff that one? He was totally clear at the back post but fails to score.

89 min: Looks like time is going to run out for both teams. They’ve battled each other to a stalemate. Or is there time for one last twist?

87 min: City have the initiative as we reach the 90-minute mark. Time is running out though. Three corners in a row for City, but Sydney defend each one well. Janjetovic tries to release Grant but the visitors manage to clear. End to end stuff. My typing can barely keep up.

85 min: Now Jurman goes in the book for a little niggle from behind. Plenty of tension at both ends as we reach the climax.

84 min: Faty goes in the book. He’s been much better this half but he deserves the yellow for a clear foul on Koren. It also gives Sydney the chance to make a change - Simon comes on for Smeltz.

81 min: Corner to City. They can still sniff three points. It comes to nothing but they’re giving Sydney pause for thought. It’s not going to turn into the siege it was starting to look like.

79 min: A surge forward from City eases the pressure on the visitors. It’s a bit of a warning to Sydney as well - this could still go either way, although a draw is probably about right on the balance of play .

77min: Oooo! A curling shot from Grant is palmed away for a corner by Sorensen. The ball into the box is then met by Blackwood, but his header is thumped straight at the keeper. Sydney turning the screw.

75 min: Blatant foul by Paartalu gives away a free-kick. It’s about 30 yards out and just left of centre. A definite chance for the Sky Blues in front of the Cove. The kick comes in, it bobbles, wobbles and, erm, hobbles in and around the box before eventually going for a corner - which comes to nothing.

72 min: Smeltz tries to weave his way through a heap of bodies but City eventually get the ball away. Final change from City: Dekker comes off for Kuzmanovski.

70 min: Straight up the other end and a low, header from Brosque in the area goes straight to the keeper. A difficult chance but one of the clearest there’s been this half.

69 min: Mooy with a free-kick on the far left flank. He whips it in and it just evades the diving head of Dekker before nestling in Janjetovic’s arms.

68 min: Goal scorer Dekker goes in the book. He’s announced himself Ronnie Pickering-style on the football stage tonight.

66 min: City coming back into it a little. They weathered the early pressure well and are creating a few breaks. Nothing really clear cut from either side in the last 10 minutes though. This game needs a spark.

63 min: Well this is turning into the opposite of the first half, with Sydney looking like the better team in a tight game. City are making them work for it though, unlike the Sky Blues who made far too many mistakes in the first half. They seem to have shaken off that preseason rust now though.

62 min: Holosko comes off for Blackwood. An impressive display from the new boy, the Sky Blues fans seem happy too, clapping him off.

60 mins: Sorensen comes charging out of his area to intercept a throughball and thwacks it deep into Row Z. He may be pushing 40 but he’s still got the moves. There’s hope for me yet.

58 min: The Sky Blues seem eager to up the pressure. City are defending well but the hosts are pushing them back. A free-kick on the right creates another chance but Sorensen deals with it well after a deflection.

55 min: We’re back to how it was at the start of the first half. Nothing in it. City have decided to change things up a bit with a double substitution. It’s that man Mooy coming on with Zinni for Trifiro and Espindola. Bit of a gamble, especially this early in the half.

53 min: Holosko creates something from nothing, a backheel at the corner flag releasing Ryall who wins a corner. Dimi whips it in but Ryall’s hapless volley barely makes contact and the ball goes out the other end to safety.

50 min: After a long break, Sydney hoof the drop ball into City territory and the visitors look to build again. A poor ball by Chapman puts an end to that though. It’s been a stop-start half so far.

48 min: Here come City on the attack, forcing an early corner off the boot of Grant. It’s taken short but the attack is cut short following (what seems to be) an accidental clash on the edge of the box that leaves Ninkovic on the deck. Looks like he’s holding his teeth.

The stats from the first half. Pretty even stuff on paper.

44 min: Oooof! Good strike from Ninkovic forces Sorensen into a smart save. Good positioning from the keeper, whose mistake created the chance in the first place. There’ll be a bit of added time for that Ryall injury but that could be the last chance of the half.

42 min: A nasty blow to Ryall’s head and the claret flows from his nose. There’ll be a bit of a hold up as he’s treated. Accidental from Paartalu, but I’m sure it doesn’t hurt any less for it. He’s being treated on the sidelines now.

41 min: Trifiro goes in the book for tugging at Ninkovic’s shirt. City aren’t happy. Grant’s free-kick was very similar and he got off scott free.

39 min: Grant gives away a needless free-kick for a stray arm. A little bit of frustration? Sydney are being outplayed here.

38 min: Well Sydney finally have their feet on the ball and are making in-roads. About time. Free-kick on the edge of the box, but it’s too far to the right to be a direct shot. Dimitrijevic whips in a nasty one and Kisnorbo pulls off an excellent defensive header, tracking back under pressure to knock it over the bar. The resulting corner comes to nothing.

35 min: Son of Jor-El it was almost 2-0! So close! The crossbar comes to Sydney’s rescue as a whipped in free-kick from Trifiro is headed forward, beats the keeper and bounces off the bar to safety. Looks like it was Jurman with the final touch. That would have been embarrassing.

33 min: City have definitely been the team on top this half, without really doing anything special. Sydney are making too many mistakes and City are lapping them up.

31 min: More pressure from City as Koren is brought down in the box by Janjetovic. It was going out anyway, but there was definite contact. His slightly theatrical dive probably didn’t help his cause.

28 min: Taxi for Espindola. Great run and pass from Koren to get Sydney backpedalling. Espindola has time to take a touch and line up his shot on the edge of the box, but he skews it wide. It all came from another mistake from Faty. Not a great start from the Sky Blues’ new vice-captain.

27 min: City go right up the other end with a lovely move involving Espindola and Fornaroli that ends in a corner. It’s wasted though. Straight to the keeper.

26 mins: Sorensen in action again to cut out a throughball to Grant. He smothers it with confidence but then Grant was always unlikely to get there.

24 min: A hard, low strike from Holosko forces Sorensen into a save. Easy enough for the former Stoke man but half a metre either side of him and he would have been struggling. Better from the Sky Blues.

23 min: A very “meh” free-kick into the box is easily collected by Janjetovic and Sydney have the chance to get their foot on the ball and build. It’s Smeltz this time, trying to find way through but instead hitting a wall of red and white stripes.

20 mins: Sydney definitely struggling a little. Another mistake and City are all over it. Faty actually does make amends this time, helping to cut out the pass from Koren just as it looked like Espindola had got on the end of it.

18 min: Well it had been a pretty cautious game until then. Another poor touch from Faty but he just manages to get to it before the attacker. He looks too eager to make amends.

12 min: Lovely stuff from Faty down the right, jinking this way and that to create space to get a cross in... which he duly spoons harmlessly wide in a tangle of legs. Oh well, it looked good until the last two seconds. Cut that bit off the highlight reel.

10 min: Even stevens so far. Nothing between the sides. Plenty of attacking intent but both defences holding up well and it looks like it might take a bit of initiative to make a break.

8 min: Now it’s Sydney’s turn. Free-kick on the left of the box, it’ll be whipped in by Dimi. It’s low and hard but goes straight into Sorensen’s waiting arms.

6 mins: Pfft. Free header in the box but Kisnorbo fluffs it. Offside anyway. Good delivery from Trifiro. Bit of a warning for Sydney.

5 min: Good sliding tackle by Holosko to save a corner at the expense of a throw. Looks like he can defend as well as attack. Arnold will like that. Free-kick to City in a dangerous position though. It’ll be an inswinger.

3 min: Bit of prodding and probing from both sides to start the game. City are playing high and pressuring the Sky Blues off the ball a little more than expected. They look like a side full of confidence after a good preseason.

Anyway, enough of my blathering. The teams are walking onto the pitch, continuing the time-honoured tradition of A-League games not starting at the scheduled time.

Aaron Mooy might be moaning about his long trip but he won’t get much sympathy from new teammate Thomas Sorensen. The Danish shotstopper went on a 4000-mile cycle trip around America during the preseason. As you do.

A fair few new faces on show today at Allianz Stadium. I haven’t got time to go through all of them, but check out this goal against Fenerbahce from Sky Blues new boy Filip Holosko from his time at Besiktas. It’s about 30 seconds into the clip, and the video is a little grainy, but it’s worth it.

Anyway, back to the match at hand. Here’s the team news. No huge surprises for Sydney, with Tavares still on the bench. For City, Sorensen gets the No1 shirt as expected. Mooy on the bench? Bit of risk so soon after his loooong flight. Guess he might be needed in a “last throw of the dice” situation.

Sydney
Janjetovic, Ryall, Faty, Jurman, Grant, Dimitrijevic, Ninkovic, O’Neill, Brosque, Smeltz, Holosko. Subs: Necevski, Gersbach, Simon, Blackwood, Tavares

Melbourne City
Sorensen, Retre, Chapman, Kisnorbo, Clisby, Paartalu, Trifiro, Koren, Espindola, Dekker, Fornaroli. Subs: Velaphi, Zullo, Kuzmanovski, Mooy, Zinni

Anyone see the Wanderers-Roar game the other night? The eBible fellowship may have been a tad off the mark with their prediction of the apocalypse on Thursday, but it must have felt like the end of the world for Wanderers fans forced to watch their side’s hapless defending. Break out the swanee whistle and laugh track, here are the highlights from an entertaining game.

It’s all over at Gosford. Mariners 3-2 Perth. Good start for Central Coast, but didn’t they win their first game last season then go on a 46-game winless streak? My number might be a smidge high* but I’m sure it was something like that.
*sarcasm alert

And here’s Pete Smith’s view on Graham Arnold’s men...

Sydney FC

Graham Arnold faces up to his second season at Sydney FC with some major hurdles to face, but there is every reason to believe another prosperous campaign lies in store. It is easy to forget that it was just 12 months ago that Arnold started out as Sydney FC’s eighth coach in nine seasons. The Sky Blues’ history is littered with numerous seasons of underachievement, interspersed among several notable highs. But finally the club is set for a long period of stability, and indeed success, under Arnold.

The immediate challenge, however, is for Arnold to bring cohesion to a squad full of new faces. Many of the big names that took Sydney FC to last year’s season decider have exited for a variety of reasons. Among those departed include Marc Janko, Bernie Ibini, Nikola Petkovic, Sasa Ognenovski, Corey Gameiro, Terry Antonis and Nicky Carle. Arnold even suggested the departure of Janko is a mixed blessing as it will allow Arnold to implement his preferred style of “playing between the lines”, rather than an approach adapted specifically for the headline recruit.

Such a haemorrhaging of talent would be a near-mortal blow for the immediate fortunes of many clubs. And while last season’s Sydney FC – which included numerous new faces – took some time to find their feet under Arnold’s methodology, they were statistically the most consistent side during the second half of the competition. There is every reason to believe the Sky Blues will at least come close to reprising that form.

Early reports indicate the Serbian playmaker, Milos Ninkovic, and the Slovakian winger, Filip Holosko, will be high-quality recruits. Among the other new arrivals are former Central Coast Mariners pair Matt Simon and Zac Anderson, plus youth national team representatives Andrew Hoole and Riley Woodcock.

While we’re waiting, here’s what our resident experts have to say about today’s two opponents. First up, Paul Connolly on the visitors.

Melbourne City

Melbourne’s other team managed their potentially tricky transition from Heart to City reasonably smoothly last season and though a few excitable types predicted them to win the competition – as if revolutions, like shiny, bouncy hair, just happen overnight – City would have been satisfied with their fifth-place finish and first finals win. A mid-table finish this season, however, would be a major disappointment. City look capable of much more.

That, at least, is the impression created during what’s been a thoroughly satisfying off-season, one that has included City establishing a W-League team, which is a boost both for women’s football and for the club’s sense of self. City’s transfer dealings have been similarly encouraging. No big-name overseas marquee like David Villa to play just four games this time; rather, John van ’t Schip’s team have signed accomplished newcomers, and Australia internationals Ivan Franjic, Aaron Hughes and Michael Zullo. Along with new keeper Thomas Sorensen, that trio should help form, alongside Patrick Kisnorbo and deep-lying midfielder Erik Paartalu, a more solid defence than City/Heart have fielded in recent years.

City’s encouraging pre-season has seen them charge into the FFA Cup semi-finals. Playing their favoured 4-4-3 they’ve shown flair and finishing power. Last year’s stand-out player Aaron Mooy has been filling the net like John West and if he can continue his form (his goals are a bonus), and find in Robbie Koren a willing co-driver, City will create plenty of chances. How well they take them – and this has always been their problem – may well define their season.

Step right up, then, Uruguayan Bruno “The Prickly Pear” Fornaroli (who’s already scored three pre-season goals) and former Sky Blue Corey Gameiro. Still just 22, Gameiro has been stymied by injury, but if he has better luck on that front City could witness his best years. Add to this pair the exciting Frenchman Harry Novillo, David Williams and youngsters Wade Dekker and Steve Kuzmanovski, City appear to have boosted their goal threat. They may still the second best team in Melbourne but City have options, depth and reasons to be hopeful.

Richard will be here shortly to take you through all the action from Allianz Stadium, until then keep yourselves amused with this from David Squires...