MelbourneHeart

Aiden O’Neill settles Melbourne derby three months after scoring opening goal

05-Apr-2023 23:37:58 | The Guardian

• Midfielder’s brace gives City 2-1 win in resumed match
• Violent pitch invasion caused abandonment in December

Aiden O’Neill scored two goals in the Melbourne derby – one before it was abandoned and one after it was resumed – and in between, his career took off. Melbourne City midfielder O’Neill scored a scintillating strike 11 minutes into the 17 December derby, but it was called off 10 minutes later following a violent pitch invasion from Melbourne Victory fans.

On Wednesday night, he added another belter on its resumption – officially 46 minutes after his first, or as coach Rado Vidosic put it, three months later – to lead City to a 2-1 win and a five-point lead in the table. In between the two, O’Neill played 14 A-League Men games, scored two more goals and earned his first two Socceroos caps.