Melbourne City defeat rivals Victory lift A-League Men title in front of record crowd
Led by a bloodied Mathew Leckie, Melbourne City have out-scrapped fierce rivals Melbourne Victory to claim a 1-0 triumph in the A-League Men grand final and their second championship.
In the first ever Melbourne derby grand final, winger Yonatan Cohen handed City the lead in the 10th minute in front of a sellout, largely pro-Victory crowd at AAMI Park.
The crowd of 29,902 was a sporting record crowd at the venue.
Coach Aurelio Vidmar's surprise decision to play Leckie in defensive midfield paid off as the Socceroo turned in a commanding performance.
Leckie had his nose split open by an accidental boot from Zinedine Machach in the 49th minute but played on with a massive bandage around his face.
He was named the Joe Marston medallist for the best player on the ground.
City's defence were superb as they condemned Victory to a second consecutive grand final defeat and extended their championship drought to seven years.
Victory's star winger Nishan Velupillay (ankle) failed to prove his fitness and City scored after skipper Aziz Behich nutmegged Josh Rawlins with a wonderful backheel to find Andreas Kuen.
The Austrian cut back the ball for Max Caputo, whose shot hit the bar before Israeli winger Cohen drove home the rebound.
In the 20th minute, Leckie desperately blocked Zinedine Machach's close-range shot.
Jack Duncan made a wonderful diving save to deny Leckie in the 23rd minute before Patrick Beach denied Machach up the other end.
A minute into the second half, Duncan made a terrific fingertip save to stop Cohen curling his second goal into the top corner.
Max Caputo and Cohen both spurned chances to make it 2-0 late, while Victory unsuccessfully appealed for a handball penalty off German Ferreyra in the 80th minute.
But Arthur Diles' charges couldn't find an equaliser.
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Perth Now
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The Advertiser
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"And sometimes as a player, you can go 10 years, 15 years, your whole career, and not win anything. "So does that define you, who you are as a coach or as a player? Probably not. But everyone always likes to see, is he a winner or has he won a championship? "So if you want to call it a monkey off the back, whatever, it doesn't really faze me, but I'm rapt." The former Socceroos captain's early days as Adelaide United coach included coaching a young Mathew Leckie and taking the Reds to an Asian Champions League Final and ALM decider. But those achievements were arguably overshadowed by Vidmar's outbursts, which included calling Adelaide "a pissant town" and blaming "politics" for his team's 4-0 semi-final loss to Victory in 2009. "Well, when you're young, you sometimes do some silly things," Vidmar, now 58, said with a laugh. "You regret it when you get a little bit older, but sometimes you've got the passion, and those moments sort of just pop up and things happen. "But it is what it is. I'm so rapt for everyone here, the players are really working their backsides off and really deserved that last night." Vidmar hopes to keep most of his squad together, including Marco Tilio, whose loan from Celtic is ending. Grand final goal scorer Yonatan Cohen is off-contract. In finishing second behind Auckland FC, City were the highest-ranked Australian team and qualified for the Asian Champions League Elite. Vidmar noted that would help on the recruiting front as City attempt to stay at the top. He can't wait to return to Asia after City flopped in the group stages in their last involvement in 2023. "It's a great competition," he said. "Some of those nights have been the most memorable nights in my football career and there's so much more respect for it than it used to be 10, 15 years ago. "Now we've seen all the money that's been thrown out to the Saudis, for example; theirs are going to be strong. The Japanese are always going to be strong. "So a great tournament. We deserve to get there. So looking forward to that. It's going to be special." With a maiden A-League Men championship finally in his grasp, Aurelio Vidmar feels a long way from the young coach who used to shoot his mouth off. Now he's ready to take Melbourne City up another gear, at home and in Asia. "Sometimes in life, sporting life, you can have all the luck in the world and be blessed and win multiple championships," Vidmar told AAP on Sunday, after City's 1-0 grand final win over Melbourne Victory. "And sometimes as a player, you can go 10 years, 15 years, your whole career, and not win anything. "So does that define you, who you are as a coach or as a player? Probably not. But everyone always likes to see, is he a winner or has he won a championship? "So if you want to call it a monkey off the back, whatever, it doesn't really faze me, but I'm rapt." 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In finishing second behind Auckland FC, City were the highest-ranked Australian team and qualified for the Asian Champions League Elite. Vidmar noted that would help on the recruiting front as City attempt to stay at the top. He can't wait to return to Asia after City flopped in the group stages in their last involvement in 2023. "It's a great competition," he said. "Some of those nights have been the most memorable nights in my football career and there's so much more respect for it than it used to be 10, 15 years ago. "Now we've seen all the money that's been thrown out to the Saudis, for example; theirs are going to be strong. The Japanese are always going to be strong. "So a great tournament. We deserve to get there. So looking forward to that. It's going to be special."
The Advertiser
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On Sunday, he said of the sold-out Matildas game at GIO : "It's a great indication that we need to keep Canberra United in the A-League Women's competition. "This is a critically important team in A-League Women's football, and a critically important team for the development of football. "Because what we want to see is more players coming out of places like Canberra, and going through the A-League Women's, and then coming into the international arena. "So I will certainly make sure I do my best to make sure Canberra stay in the competition." Joe Montemurro has quit French powerhouse Lyon, paving the way for the experienced women's football coach to officially take the Matildas job. Tom Sermanni will finish up his eight-and-a-half-month stint as interim coach after Monday night's clash with Argentina in Canberra. Montemurro is poised to be announced as full-time coach after Lyon confirmed his exit, with a year on his contract, on Sunday. "The club would like to thank Joe for his commitment throughout the season," the club said in a statement on its website. "Under his leadership, the team won its 18th French championship title, further cementing its exceptional record. "OL Lyonnes wishes him all the best in his future career." Montemurro has won trophies at Lyon, Juventus, Arsenal and Melbourne City and now is poised to take the Matildas to the Asian Cup along with qualifying for the 2027 Women's World Cup and 2028 Olympics. Monday will mark Sermanni's 151st and final game at the helm. In his final game, Sermanni is keen to build momentum while he has also tested more young players to add to Australia's depth ahead of the Asian Cup. "Since coming into the job it's just really been important to try and keep everything stable, everything ticking along so that hopefully the new coach comes in and can then really start to take the program forward in the direction that he or she wants to take it in," Sermanni said. "For me it would just be business as normal, and I think we're in the situation with a squad where a lot of players are looking forward towards the Asian Cup, and there's a lot of competition for places in that final 23-player squad." Sermanni used his final pre-match press conference to go in to bat for Canberra United, whose A-League Women future remains constantly under threat. The women's football stalwart last week fired up about a lack of professionalism within the A-League Women. On Sunday, he said of the sold-out Matildas game at GIO : "It's a great indication that we need to keep Canberra United in the A-League Women's competition. "This is a critically important team in A-League Women's football, and a critically important team for the development of football. "Because what we want to see is more players coming out of places like Canberra, and going through the A-League Women's, and then coming into the international arena. "So I will certainly make sure I do my best to make sure Canberra stay in the competition." Joe Montemurro has quit French powerhouse Lyon, paving the way for the experienced women's football coach to officially take the Matildas job. Tom Sermanni will finish up his eight-and-a-half-month stint as interim coach after Monday night's clash with Argentina in Canberra. Montemurro is poised to be announced as full-time coach after Lyon confirmed his exit, with a year on his contract, on Sunday. "The club would like to thank Joe for his commitment throughout the season," the club said in a statement on its website. "Under his leadership, the team won its 18th French championship title, further cementing its exceptional record. "OL Lyonnes wishes him all the best in his future career." Montemurro has won trophies at Lyon, Juventus, Arsenal and Melbourne City and now is poised to take the Matildas to the Asian Cup along with qualifying for the 2027 Women's World Cup and 2028 Olympics. Monday will mark Sermanni's 151st and final game at the helm. In his final game, Sermanni is keen to build momentum while he has also tested more young players to add to Australia's depth ahead of the Asian Cup. "Since coming into the job it's just really been important to try and keep everything stable, everything ticking along so that hopefully the new coach comes in and can then really start to take the program forward in the direction that he or she wants to take it in," Sermanni said. "For me it would just be business as normal, and I think we're in the situation with a squad where a lot of players are looking forward towards the Asian Cup, and there's a lot of competition for places in that final 23-player squad." Sermanni used his final pre-match press conference to go in to bat for Canberra United, whose A-League Women future remains constantly under threat. The women's football stalwart last week fired up about a lack of professionalism within the A-League Women. On Sunday, he said of the sold-out Matildas game at GIO : "It's a great indication that we need to keep Canberra United in the A-League Women's competition. "This is a critically important team in A-League Women's football, and a critically important team for the development of football. "Because what we want to see is more players coming out of places like Canberra, and going through the A-League Women's, and then coming into the international arena. "So I will certainly make sure I do my best to make sure Canberra stay in the competition."
