City crowned kings of Melbourne football with A-League triumph
If there was any doubt about who were the kings of Victorian football, Melbourne City ended the debate with a grand final performance that mirrored their excellent season. Full analysis, and player ratings, inside.
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Little brother no more.
If there was any doubt about who were the kings of Victorian football, Melbourne City ended the debate with a grand final performance that mirrored their excellent season.
It was professional, thorough, no-nonsense, uncompromising and clinical.
Having successfully absorbed Melbourne Victory’s best shot, City delivered an early knockout blow with Yonatan Cohen’s goal.
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It was City’s first attacking foray of the match, and just like that, the emotion and momentum that the Victory had carried into the decider after their upset win a week earlier in Auckland was gone.
We shouldn’t have been surprised.
City was always going to be the calmer and more deliberate of the two teams.
The Victory had played their grand final a week earlier, and had just done well to reach the decider after finishing fifth on the ladder.
In contrast, City were only bettered by premiers Auckland FC on the table, and disposed of Victoria’s other A-League club, Western United, in clinical fashion over two semi-final legs.
Having won the first-leg 3-0, City was able to go into cruise control a week later in the second-leg in what was almost a perfect preparation for the big one.
They didn’t win the second-leg against United but they didn’t have to. City got what they needed in last weekend’s 1-1 draw to be primed to deliver in the decider.
While Auckland was the best team during the regular season, City delivered when it mattered most in terms of Australian football – the finals series.
And again, that shouldn’t come as a surprise considering City’s consistency in recent years.
Saturday night’s decider was City’s fifth grand final in six years, so as a club, they have had more than enough experience when it comes to do-or-die football.
However, all that finals experience had previously only amounted to one championship, in 2021.
City’s consistency and recent A-League deserved more than one title, and they now have a second to add to their trophy cabinet.
And while the Victory have four championships in their bank, City has left no doubts about who runs the town now.
While City couldn’t beat the Victory in three attempts during the regular season, they did it in the most important game of the year.
While the Victory were valiant, they ultimately couldn’t lift one more time in the finals series, having already done so twice with away wins over Western Sydney Wanderers and Auckland.
Not helping their cause was the absence of key attacking weapon Nishan Velupillay.
Rated a “50-50” chance on Wednesday by his coach Arthur Diles after suffering an ankle injury in Auckland FC weekend, Velupillay’s bid for grand final selection fell short, with the Socceroo not even fit enough to sit on the bench.
We’ll never know if he would have made a difference in terms of the cutting edge that his side lacked, but there’s no doubt that the Victory are a better team with Velupillay in their 11.
As for those who made a difference for City, you could name a handful, with skipper Aziz Behich, centre-back Kai Trewin and goalscorer Cohen among them.
However, the effort of Joe Marston medallist Mathew Leckie was outstanding in a pressure cooker atmosphere and a record crowd of 29,902 for a sporting event at AAMI Park.
Bandaged up with a busted nose after receiving a kick to the face, the Socceroos stalwart was enormous in his new midfield role.
He was relentless in his pursuit of his maiden A-League title, and there was to be no stopping him or City.
PLAYER RATINGS
MELBOURNE CITY
Patrick Beach: Made a nervous start, but otherwise showed good composure for a young goalkeeper. RATING: 6.5
Nathaniel Atkinson: As expected, didn’t take a backwards step in an intense atmosphere. RATING: 7.5
Kai Trewin: Trewin has been one of City’s best players all season and he was again immense in the heart of defence. RATING: 8.5
German Ferreyra: The Argentine was again solid, with he and Trewin ensuring Victory striker Bruno Fornaroli had a night to forget. RATING: 7.5
Aziz Behich: City’s inspirational skipper played a huge part in the only goal of the game and lead by example all night. RATING: 8
Steven Ugarkovic: Did his job in helping City win the crucial midfield battle. RATING: 6
Mathew Leckie: The Socceroos stalwart was inspirational in his new midfield role, shutting down a host of Victory forays despite playing a large chunk of the match with a busted nose. RATING: 9
Andreas Kuen: Played a role in City’s goal and had some classy touches in a very good display. RATING: 7.5
Yonatan Cohen: Scored the game’s only goal but should have had another one, missing an easy header. RATING 7.5
Max Caputo: Worked hard in attack and hit the crossbar in the lead-up to Cohen’s goal. RATING: 6.5
Marco Tilio: Was a handful for Victory defenders and should have had an assist with a cross that Cohen should have scored on. RATING: 7
Substitutes
Medin Memeti: Helped maintained City’s shape in attack after coming on for Caputo. RATING: 6
Callum Talbot and Alessandro Lopane: N/A
MELBOURNE VICTORY
Jack Duncan: Obviously conceded a goal but he made two crucial saves which kept Victory in the game. RATING: 6
Kasey Bos: He had plenty of touches on the ball and there were some real moments of brilliance from Bos but he just lacked the composure to make the most of the chances he created. RATING: 6.5
Lachlan Jackson: Had a promising start and was able to dance around some City players down the wing. He rolled his ankle in the match, tried to play on but was subbed off in the 73rd minute. RATING: 5
Roderick Miranda: A solid outing and no huge errors but he also didn’t really create anything exceptional. RATING: 6
Joshua Rawlins: Struggled to keep up and his defensive error led to City scoring the goal in the 10th minute. RATING: 5
Jordi Valadon: Made some really positive runs and was one of the select few players able to find a way through the City defence but didn’t have a huge impact on the match. RATING: 5
Ryan Teague: Far from the level we are used to seeing from Teague - he was pushed off the ball easily and wasteful with passes. His corner kicks did create a glimmer of hope for Victory. RATING: 5.5
Clarismario Santos Rodrigues: Had a few promising moments early on but didn’t really make his mark - subbed off in the 60th minute. RATING: 5
Zinedine Machach: One of Victory’s best attackers on the night but just didn’t have the finishing prowess to convert the chances to goals. He looked really dangerous at times and certainly challenged City’s backline. But also had some costly turnovers. RATING: 7
Daniel Arzani: The best player on the field for Victory - he had a good mix of technical skills, playmaking and work rate. He was heavily targeted by the City players. RATING: 7.5
Bruno Fornaroli: Had a very quiet first half and slightly more involved in the second half but really didn’t create any chances. Subbed off in the 73rd minute. RATING: 4
Alexander Bodolato: Brought on off the bench in the 60th minute and put on a solid performance, could have had a bigger impact if given more minutes. RATING: 6
Joshua Inserra: Entered the fray in the 74th minute and his first involvement was a terrible tackle that earned him a yellow card. RATING: 4.5
Nikos Vergos: Replaced Fornaroli in the 73rd minute but didn’t really get a chance to have an impact on the game. RATING: 5
Reno Piscopo and Jing Reec: Coming on in the 89th minute didn’t really give the duo a lot of time to have an impact. RATING: 5
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