Melbourne Victory booked their spot in their first FFA Cup final since 2015 with a come-from-behind 4-1 win over the Wellington Phoenix on Saturday.
Gary Hooper gave Wellington hope of reaching their first decider when he put the New Zealand outfit ahead just prior to half-time at Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium.
But after the break, Victory clicked into gear with Josh Brillante drawing them level before Ben Folami and a Nick D’Agostino double made sure of the win.
Tony Popovic’s side will now play the Central Coast Mariners at Melbourne’s AAMI Park on February 5.
“Tonight is a great night for everyone involved in the club,” Victory head coach Popovic said.
“For the chairman and the board, they have invested so much into this club for a long period of time (and) after the last few years this is a special moment.
“We’re in a final and we don’t want to just participate, we want to win it.
“Next week will be a nice week of build-up and it’s fantastic for our fans who came down to Geelong and they will go happy knowing they’ve got a special game to look forward to at AAMI Park.”
Until Brillante’s 65th-minute strike, Victory had struggled to break the Phoenix’s solid defensive resolve after Wellington had fashioned a lead in style.
Reno Piscopo dropped deep onto the centre circle and with a nonchalant, no-look pass he was able to split the Victory defence.
Hooper was onside as he raced after it and the Englishman’s effort cannoned off Ivan Kelava and into the back of the Victory net.
Wellington thought they had doubled their lead on the hour mark when Jaushua Sotirio poked in a deflected David Ball shot only for the goal to be chalked off for offside.
That warning shot sparked Victory into life with Brillante regathering a ball on the edge of the box and thrashing it past Alex Paulsen into the Wellington net to draw them level.
Wellington wilted after going behind as Robbie Kruse jinked down the left to set up D’Agostino who put Victory ahead in the 80th minute.
Folami got in on the act soon after when he weaved across the face of the Wellington penalty box to finish with ease.
D’Agostino tapped in his second in added time to wrap up the result.
