BALLARAT will take another big step forward in its quest to bring senior A-League matches to the city when it hosts a National Youth League soccer match in less than two weeks.
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Morshead Park will play host to an A-League youth squad match for premiership points on January 24, when Melbourne City and Sydney FC lock horns.
The Saturday afternoon fixture will follow a clinic for junior players run by Melbourne City the previous day.
Melbourne City will officially be the home team for the match – a further indication of the growing link between Ballarat and City.
The match follows previous high-profile encounters at Morshead Park, including a senior FFA Cup between Melbourne City and Sydney and a practice match between Melbourne Victory and Ballarat Red Devils last year.
Football Federation Victoria zone development officer David Broadbent said the fixturing showed Ballarat was becoming increasingly attractive as a venue for elite- level matches.
“It’s a progression, there is no doubt,” he said.
“Ballarat is becoming more and more of a viable venue
for A-League soccer games. You only have to look at
how well last year’s FFA Cup match and the Bahrain visit went.”
The match will signal the resumption of the Y-League season.
Melbourne City, which normally plays its home matches at La Trobe University, is equal first on the table, while Sydney is in seventh position.
City’s senior side last played in Ballarat last August in the FFA Cup and had previously played practice matches against the Ballarat Red Devils.
Reds coach James Robinson said the youth league match was indicative of the strong link between professional soccer clubs and Ballarat.
“It’s fantastic to get a youth league game in Ballarat for points,” he said.
“It just shows how strong the link is between Ballarat and professional clubs.”
The match will get under way at 3pm on Saturday, while the clinic, to be run by Melbourne City on Friday, January 23, will start at 11am (10.30am sign in) at Morshead Park.
A five-on-five tournament will be held at the conclusion of the clinic, organised by FFV.
Visit melbournecityfc.com.au/community for more information.
patrick.nolan@fairfaxmedia.com.au