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No Fornaroli, no problems for swashbuckling Melbourne City

Melbourne City have ended a week of intense scrutiny around their club with an emphatic 3-0 win over Newcastle Jets at AAMI Park on Sunday night.

All three strikes were of top quality with Riley McGree and Luke Brattan striking at the start and end of the first half, while youngster Lachlan Wales iced the victory with a deft chip in the second stanza.

Most of the pre-match talk centered around the continued absence of star striker Bruno Fornaroli and the planned silent protest by Melbourne City's fans for the first 23 minutes of the match.

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While the protest did go ahead, it was hard for City fans to contain their joy as McGree profited from poor defending to lash home the opening goal in the second minute.

The rest of the first half was fairly even and it took a wonder-strike from Brattan to double City's advantage - the midfielder brilliantly bringing down the ball outside the area and volleying it into the top corner.

The home side took further control of the game in the second half but it took until the 75th minute to get their third as Wales scored his first A-League goal with a deft touch over Jets keeper Glen Moss.

Victory keeps Melbourne City in fifth place but they are now only four points behind league leaders Perth Glory, while the Jets stay in seventh as part of a trio of teams, including Western Sydney Wanderers and Wellington Phoenix, on five points.

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