Lachlan Avil 
Patrick Beach was outstanding for City on A-League debut. Photo: Provided by Melbourne City.
Jamie Young is an A-League Champion, stalwart of the league for a decade and until recently the presumed number one goalkeeper at Melbourne City FC; but on Saturday afternoon he was relegated to the bench, making way for 21-year-old Patrick Beach to make his senior debut.
Pulling the trigger on any young player to give them their first team debut is always a big call, let alone naming them in the starting XI over such a reliable second choice in Young.
But it was one that was completely vindicated from Aurelio Vidmar, as Beach was a standout performer for City, who went on to secure a 1-0 win away from home against the Newcastle Jets.
“We’ve got a couple of nice young goalkeepers, him and James Nieuwenhuizen, [and] we decided to make a conscious decision to get one of those two to step up and Beachy’s done pretty well, so pleased for him that he’s had a great game,” Vidmar said post-match.
“Jamie was excellent for us last year and he potentially may play some part this season, you just don’t know. But, as I said, we decided we needed to make a decision … we either go with Jamie Young again, well that’s safe, or we take a punt and move forward with the two new young goalkeepers, and that’s what we decided to do.
“They’re still learning, they still have to do a lot of work, but he’s made a really nice progression over the last probably six weeks, and at the end the proof is always in the pudding. It was nice that he got a nice reward tonight.”
Beach’s shot stopping was proficient when called upon, but the real standout attribute was his calm and composed nature when asked to play out from the back with the ball at his feet.
Beach was asked to step outside his box when City were on the ball to essentially join in with his centre-back pairing in a back three, entrusted to use his passing ability higher up the field than most goalkeepers are allowed.
He fulfilled his job to a T, releasing additional City numbers into midfield and creating a series of overloads that allowed them to progress the ball into the final third, at times with relative ease.
Beach himself was humble in his reflection of the game, paying tribute both to his team and the goalkeepers’ union.
“I’m ecstatic with the win, we had to dig deep there especially in the last 20, and the boys stuck together and we saw the game out, just proud of the boys and grateful to be able to help and do my part,” he said to Network 10’s Daniel Garb.
“Jamie’s a top guy, a top keeper and I’ll always say that, I respect him so much, he’s helped me so much grow as a person and a player and I respect him so much.
“We’re just in training every day, pushing each other, working to be as best as we can, that’s all we think about.
“The rest is up to the coaches, but we just go out there every day on the training pitch and we just do our job. We push each other, all of us keepers, to do the best we can on the weekend.”
Vidmar was happy with the overall performance, one that was unfortunately marred by the preventable dismissal of Jimmy Jeggo for stamping on the back of Newcastle’s Eli Adams.
“[It] wasn’t easy after Jimmy got sent off, so we showed a lot of steel, we were really resolute,” said Vidmar.
“It’s never easy playing with 10 men, and certainly not easy when you’re playing with 10 away from home, so that last little bit, we showed some real steel, so really pleased.
“I thought the first half, we played some decent football, it was great that we scored early, that helped, but we showed a little bit of rustiness in the front third at some stages.
“Every club that has gone through a preseason, you probably need a couple of games to get a little bit of rhythm, although we had preseason games, but the intensity on matchday, it’s completely different once the competition starts.”
Already having to throw his midfield into a little bit of a flurry with the absence of Mathew Leckie, Vidmar will have further head scratching to do, now facing the prospect of going into next week’s Melbourne Derby without Jeggo, who was a pivotal link in midfield.
The positive though, is that traditional right back Nathaniel Atkinson also put in an exemplary performance as a left-sided central midfielder.
Perhaps Vidmar can find another diamond in the rough to cover for Jeggo when they go up against the Victory, and former City captain and coach, Patrick Kisnorbo.