Sergio Cirio scores winner as Adelaide United beat Perth Glory to clinch FFA Cup final
ADELAIDE United are the inaugural FFA Cup champions after a goal from Sergio Cirio sealed a 1-0 win over Perth Glory at Coopers Stadium.
ADELAIDE United moved closer to claiming a historic A-League treble after a thrilling 1-0 FFA Cup final win over Perth Glory at Coopers Stadium.
Glory put up a brilliant cup fight but it was Adelaide’s night as the Reds again made history by securing a cup which has galvanised all football clubs around the nation.
Sergio Cirio scored Adelaide’s most important goal in a final before the Reds triumphed over a Glory outfit which was forced to play for 10 men for 32 minutes when Glory right-back Josh Risdon was expelled.
Cirio’s 67th-minute strike was Adelaide’s first goal in a final before United secured its first piece of silverware since John Kosmina led the Reds to the A-League’s inaugural premier’s plate in 2006.
Cirio later received the Mark Viduka Medal from the Socceroos legend as player of the match.
Marcelo Carrusca’s perfect through ball enabled Cirio to round Glory gloveman Danny Vukovic.
Cirio’s angled drive hit the legs of defender Michael Thwaite before the ball crashed into the back of the net.
It was Cirio’s sixth goal of the FFA Cup which saw the Spaniard claim the inaugural golden boot of the nationwide competition before Carrusca ended his shift for Pablo Sanchez to a standing ovation in the 80th minute.
The goal arrived after the home side huffed and puffed but were kept at bay by a resilient Glory outfit after legends Ross Aloisi (Adelaide) and Jacob Burns (Perth) carried the inaugural FFA Cup on the pitch before the official fireworks started.
But the clash rarely flowed until Risdon was sent off after picking up his second yellow card.
A tug on Carrusca’s shorts cost Risdon an early shower after he was cautioned for a first half foul on Cirio.
Risdon’s exit forced Glory coach Kenny Lowe to shift midfielder Ruben Zadkovich to right back after Awer Mabil was dragged for Portuguese flash Fabio Ferreira on the hour.
But with Adelaide struggling to take advantage of the extra man before Cirio’s goal its shocking record in finals threatened to haunt the Reds again.
Four losses with no goals scored and 12 conceded was what Adelaide was staring at before this fifth final after two grand final losses (6-0 and 1-0) and two AFC Champions League final losses (5-0 on aggregate).
And when the Reds trudged off the park after the first 45 minutes it appeared that Adelaide was destined to choke again.
But after a tepid start Adelaide gained the ascendancy only through Glory errors.
Defender Nigel Boogaard started a super move in the fifth minute when he released a long ball to Cirio.
Cirio’s cross was perfect, but it eluded Bruce Djite at the near post and just when the ball appeared to fall on Mabil’s foot the winger missed the leather.
Mabil then became the provider in the 17th minute but his cross was missed by a sea of Reds legs before Carrusca finally tested Vukovic with a long range effort after his initial set piece hit Perth’s wall in the 19th minute.
But after the clash was repeatedly halted by niggly fouls referee Chris Beath — who was very lenient in the early stages of the clash — finally dished out a caution to Zadkovich after he fouled Tarek Elrich.
Glory threatened to make Adelaide pay for its lack of goals after its territorial dominance.
In the 25th minute Richard Garcia was allowed a one-on-one with Reds keeper Eugene Galekovic after AS Roma bound Danny de Silva — who was brilliant in the first half — found the former Socceroo.
Galekovic won the battle and when the ball kindly rolled out for Glory’s Andrew Keogh the striker’s attempted shot was cleared by Adelaide’s Dylan McGowan.
But after Garcia was booked for another foul on Elrich and Risdon was cautioned for bringing down Cirio it appeared that Glory had done enough to frustrate Adelaide in the goalless first half.
De Silva was on his way to open the score after a Glory counter-attack and when the 17-year-old was about to test Galekovic Elrich saved the situation with a perfectly timed tackle just outside the box.
Rostyn Griffiths, nonetheless, unwittingly gifted Adelaide another chance just before the break when he lost the ball to Carrusca before the Argentine fed Bruce Djite.
Djite rolled an inviting ball for Mabil and from just eight metres the winger spurned Adelaide’s best chance of the half wide.
Cirio had a chance to break Glory open in the 65th minute after an Elrich through ball but Vukovic did enough to halt the Spaniard’s attempt at goal when he made himself look “big”.
FFA CUP FINAL
Adelaide United 1 (Sergio Cirio 67m) Perth Glory 0 at Coopers Stadium. Referee: Chris Beath. Crowd: 16,142.
Relive all the action from the FFA Cup final in our match blog below.