By Lachlan Mitchell
Melbourne City crashed out of the Asian Champions League on Sunday night.
The result came after City finished second in the group, barely avoiding a first placed automatic qualification into the second-round.
Melbourne went into the last-game of the group stages, requiring a five-goal advantage to see it leap into top-spot.
The team could only manage a 3-0 win which included a Marco Tilio goal. City had their chances in the game with Jamie Maclaren missing a penalty after firing it into the crossbar.
The 3-0 result wasn’t enough to see them progress, requiring other results to go their way.
The Casey based side were requiring Japanese side Vissel Kobe to defeat Hong Kong side Kitchee SC on Sunday night.
Vissel was in control for most of the game had a 2-1 advantage leading into full-time. A Raul Baena goal in the 91st minute saw Kobe draw with the Hong Kong side, sending City packing.
The competition’s high quality gameplay meant City failed to qualify without actually losing a game from their six matches.
City come away from the condensed fixture with even three-draws and three-wins from the competition, ultimately finishing with 12-points.
Despite not coming home with the silverware, striker Andrew Nabbout returns home with a piece of history, as Melbourne City’s inaugural Asian Champions League goal-scorer.
Melbourne makes its way back to Australia, for the final two games of the A-League regular season against the Perth Glory and Wellington Phoenix.
