How sold-out decider can start A-League Men revival
The good vibes are back in the A-League Men.
Now it's about kicking on from here.
The most fortuitous shot in the arm, a sell-out Melbourne derby grand final, couldn't have come at a better time for a league that has struggled with crowds and publicity in recent years.
"People that probably don't normally come to a week-to-week game will probably want to be here on Saturday night," Melbourne City striker Marco Tilio told AAP.
"And I hope all those people that can't get tickets each want to be there for the following seasons and come support their team.
"It's huge for the APL (Australian Professional Leagues) to be able to host an event like this.
"I just hope all the next generation of kids and whatnot that are here and watching on Saturday night get that buzz that we all had when we were kids - and want to be in our position one day.
"So hopefully we can really excel from the position we're in with the grand final in Melbourne."
Teammate Mathew Leckie wryly noted: "It's amazing that the tickets were sold so fast.
"It would be great if that was the case all the time.''
For Victory great Archie Thompson, there couldn't be a better way to wrap the season.
Victory are chasing their fifth championship, to draw level with record-holders Sydney FC, and first since 2017-18, while City are after their second.
"It's just perfect - the 20th year of the A-League, to celebrate that with a grand final of a derby," Thompson told AAP.
"When it gets sold out like that, you know it's going to be great."
Incredibly, had the APL kept the grand final in Sydney until the end of this season under its deal with Destination NSW, instead of replacing it with Unite Round, this game could have proved an absurd situation.
"I'm so happy that they made that decision, and we've got a Melbourne derby," Thompson said.
Victory captain Roderick Miranda believes a second grand final in two seasons shows how the club has recovered from the derby pitch invasion of December 2022, one of the darkest nights in Australian sport.
"In the end, I think we bounced back really quickly about with that," Miranda said.
"Now we have the chance here to try to not make this event forgotten, but to make sure that we are here in the present, to show that football here in Australia is a big event, and hopefully we can have some light as well from other places."
Now the attention will turn to the action on the pitch, and the latest enthralling encounter of a bitter rivalry.
"You look at some of the matches over the time: there's always been late winners. There's always been dramas," Thompson said.
"It was Timmy Cahill's welcome to the league when he smacks it from 40 yards out, Eric Paartalu's header, Leroy George scores a winner.
"Back when it was early days, I got one just before Christmas.
"So all these little dramas just add up to make it really special."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
37 minutes ago
- The Age
Hazlewood helps RCB to IPL title
Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood wins the Indian Premier League title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Sydney Morning Herald
37 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Hazlewood helps RCB to IPL title
Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood wins the Indian Premier League title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Sydney Morning Herald
41 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Kyrgios' hopes of Wimbledon comeback dashed
Kasatkina playfully threw her black wristband at Andreeva as they walked to the net after the Russian sixth seed booked her quarter-final spot with a 6-3, 7-5 victory that required her to reel off the final four games to avoid a do-or-die third set. It was a high-quality contest, but Andreeva's extra firepower proved the difference despite Kasatkina's aggression and guile often providing headaches for her younger rival. The two of them are a decade apart in age – Kasatkina, 28, and Andreeva, 18 – but have formed a tight bond. They shared an ice bath after their respective third-round wins two days earlier, practice together regularly, and poked fun at one another pre-match. The wristband moment was Kasatkina's way of lightening the mood. 'It was a very little thing because she's always throwing something at me outside the court,' Kasatkina said. 'It was just a little fun. Of course, I was disappointed after the match, but it's a game. I wanted to do something a little funny after. 'It was a very tough match. I had quite a few chances in the second set [and] also in the first set. When you play a top player like Mirra; everything comes [down to the] details ... those few important points [when] we were battling hard.' Andreeva is the youngest woman to reach consecutive Roland-Garros quarter-finals since Martina Hingis in 1997-98 and next faces fellow young star Coco Gauff as she hunts her maiden major title. Loading 'I'm so happy I won because I hate playing against [Kasatkina],' Andreeva said. 'We practice a lot, and even the practice is a torture for me. Honestly, it was a hell of a match.' Kasatkina's defeat ends Australia's singles involvement after Alexei Popyrin's own fourth-round loss on Sunday. The No.17 seed, who announced in March she was switching allegiances from Russia to Australia, had some rueful moments. There was none more so than the simple overhead she dumped into the net at five-all in the second set to fall 0-30 behind before conceding serve, but on her sole set point she was also too passive returning Andreeva's tame, 115kmh second serve – and the opportunity went begging. Kasatkina still enjoyed a successful tournament overall. She arrived in Paris with only two wins from six matches on clay this year, but beat Katerina Siniakova, local hope Leolia Jeanjean, then Paula Badosa in the third round for her first top-10 victory of the season. Her new status as an Australian remains a talking point, and her comment before the Andreeva showdown that she was willing to 'die on court' to give herself a chance at upsetting the emerging star would likely have endeared her to any new fans. That Kasatkina dug her heels in from a break down in the second set to fight back then serve for it at 5-3 should also earn her respect, even if the result ultimately went against her. She gave the green light afterwards to a journalist who lightheartedly asked whether they could refer to her as 'an Aussie battler'. Kasatkina's grand unveiling as an Australian will not properly occur until she arrives at Melbourne Park next summer, but she revealed during the fortnight that the change had added both pressure and motivation. 'It's been a good result, first of all, but also, I felt super good, honestly, to step on the court as an Australian player,' she said. 'To feel the support from the stands [meant a lot] … also, on social media, I'm getting a lot of support from the Australians that they are so happy to welcome me, and they're happy for me. This is support I honestly didn't have before. Loading 'It's something new to me, but it feels so nice. Of course, there could be a better result – always could be better – but I think it's a good start.' Kasatkina's decision to switch allegiances was a deeply personal one. She has not returned to Russia for almost three years since announcing she was gay, and in a relationship with Olympic figure skater Natalia Zabiiako, in July 2022. Kasatkina also condemned her birth country's invasion of Ukraine at the time.
