Here is this week’s episode of the Official A-Leagues Podcast, where Jason Davidson reflects on Melbourne Victory’s FFA Cup triumph, his stunning goal and the electric atmosphere at AAMI Park.
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Melbourne Victory’s FFA Cup hero Jason Davidson says the context of the moment, coupled with the reaction from family, friends and the fans in the stands made his FFA Cup final rocket one of the finest moments of his career to date.
Davidson’s 70th-minute free -kick stunner sent Victory on the way to a 2-1 FFA Cup final triumph over Central Coast Mariners at AAMI Park on Saturday.
A special guest on this week’s episode of The Official A-Leagues Podcast, Davidson says his semi-final strike against United Arab Emirates in the 2015 AFC Men’s Asian Cup contends for the honour of the best goal of his career, but his scorching FFA Cup final free-kick, in a ‘swinging moment’ in front of family and friends in that atmosphere, puts it in a class of its own.
“Firstly, to be in a final in Melbourne with our fans, that was something from the start of the season we talked about, trying to turn around what’s been happening at the club for the last few years,” Davidson said.
“We set targets, and going and competing for every trophy was one of our targets. We accomplished that, we got into the final and just to play with 15,000 odd fans there, you saw behind the goal the terrace, the atmosphere from when the national anthem was sung, it was just buzzing.
“As players, having that 12th man behind us just creates a different atmosphere, got us pumping.
As the game went on, especially in the second half and the fans were getting louder and louder it created a different atmosphere, the momentum started to kick in.
“To take that free kick to score and to celebrate with family and friends and all the fans, it’s got to be up there with (all) the accomplishments I’ve had in my career.”
Davidson kicked off the party at AAMI Park on Saturday evening, sparking the type of scenes becoming synonymous with the Victory fanbase this season.
Chris Ikonomidis then took the atmosphere through the roof with his sealer, lashing a left-footed strike into the bottom right corner to write Victory’s name on the cup.
The fence in front of the North End collapsed in the aftermath as fans spilled onto the turf; the home crowd bursting at the seams.
“It’s pretty clear that Victory have the best fans in the country, certainly at the moment,” said Robbie Cornthwaite on the Official A-Leagues Podcast.
“I watched a few of the different camera angles, and a few mobile phone recordings of the Davidson free-kick and to see that end, the North End I think they call it, the Victory fans, it was just like a mosh pit, it was scenes.
“It’s like what you see in Europe or South America, and I just thought this is the reminder to everyone who thinks the A-League is a little bit stagnant at the moment with COVID postponements, we know we’ve got a lot of games coming up in the next weeks and days which is massive for both competitions, but it was just a little reminder of what this league and this sport is capable of in this country – and I thought it came at the perfect moment.”
