Central Coast Mariners will face Melbourne City in the 2023 Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final on June 3, after a resounding 4-1 win over Adelaide United on aggregate in the Semi Finals.
Nick Montgomery’s side secured their place in the decider with a 2-0 win at Industree Group Stadium in the Semi Final second leg, to wrap up a big victory over the Reds on aggregate. This will be the first time the Mariners have played in the Grand Final since 2013 – where they won their one and only Championship.
On Friday night, Melbourne City booked their place in the decider with a 4-0 second leg victory over Sydney FC at AAMI Park, sealing a 5-1 win on aggregate. This is the fourth year in a row City will compete in an A-League Men Grand Final; the first to do so in the competition’s history.
Now, the two sides will lock horns on Saturday, June 3 at CommBank Stadium.
ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE GRAND FINAL – TICKET DETAILS
2023 ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE GRAND FINAL
Melbourne City v Central Coast Mariners
Saturday, June 3 2023
CommBank Stadium
Kick-off: 7.45pm AEST
BUY TICKETS
HOW TO BUY TICKETS?
Tickets for participating club members go on sale at 11am (AEST) on Monday 22 May via Ticketek – with members receiving a 20% discount.
Tickets for non-participating club members will go on sale at 11am (AEST) on Tuesday 23 May and the general public at 11am (AEST) on Wednesday 24 May via Ticketek.
TRAVEL PACKAGES
Travelling fans from Melbourne can access exclusive travel deals, including an exclusive discount code from Qantas for City fans travelling to Sydney for the Grand Final from Victoria. A-Leagues’ official accommodation partner IHG is also offering hotel discounts with fans able to access a 15% discount.
There will also be special offers in partnership with participating Grand Final teams to support travelling fans, including exclusive offers from Sportsnet Holidays.
ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE GRAND FINAL – TICKET DETAILS
HOSPITALITY PACKAGES
Watch the Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s Grand Final in style!
There are two hospitality packages available for the Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s Grand Final. You can purchase Northern Open Suite Lounge tickets via Ticketek.
To purchase Open Boxes, please email sales@aleagues.com.au. You can also download a booking form and send it straight to us at sales@aleagues.com.au.
HOW TO WATCH
The Grand Final will be broadcast live and free from 7.00pm AEST on 10 in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, 10 Bold in Perth, 10 Play and live on Paramount+.
GRAND FINAL PREVIEW
And then there were two.
One of Melbourne City and Central Coast Mariners will etch their name into A-Leagues folklore when they face off in the 2023 Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final on June 3.
City are into a fourth straight A-League Men Grand Final and will be looking to go one better after last season’s disappointment in the decider, by securing their second Championship.
They have been the benchmark all campaign, not relinquishing top spot from Round 2 onwards and securing a third straight Premiership with still a fortnight remaining in the season.
Rado Vidosic did a brilliant job at steering the ship post Patrick Kisnorbo’s departure, taking over in November after the latter departed for French outfit Troyes.
Their 55 points from a possible 78 was the highest tally they have achieved in their 13 year history, while star striker Jamie Maclaren secured a fourth straight Golden Boot and became the league’s all-time leading goalscorer in the process.
Jordan Bos put together a breakout season, securing a Socceroos call-up and move to Belgium in the upcoming off-season, while Marco Tilio, Aiden O’Neill and Tom Glover all look set to follow suit after impressive campaigns of their own.
Gun attacker Mathew Leckie also returned to some of his best form either side of his heroics at the FIFA World Cup with the Socceroos.
After securing the week off, City came up against Sydney FC in the Semi Finals, where they drew the first leg 1-1 at Allianz Stadium, before romping to a 4-0 victory in the second leg at home to wrap up a 5-1 win on aggregate.
Meanwhile, their opponents Central Coast are back in the big dance for the first time in 10 years.
The Mariners are one of the great underdog stories, emerging from the doldrums of the A-League Men’s table in the mid-2010s to becoming one of the competition’s most formidable teams once more.
Nick Montgomery’s side defied the losses of key players such as Kye Rowles, Mark Birighitti, Lewis Miller, Marco Urena and Garang Kuol in the mid-season window to lock-in a third straight finals appearance.
In the process, they unearthed the likes of Brian Kaltak, Nectar Triantis and Marco Tulio, and were bolstered by the return of key individuals Danny Vukovic and Sammy Silvera.
Jason Cummings and Josh Nisbet also put together unbelievable individual seasons, with the former finishing second in the league’s Golden Boot charts.
Central Coast built off their two Elimination Final exits in seasons prior and booked their place in the top two on the final weekend of the regular season with a 4-1 drubbing of Adelaide United – capping off a five game unbeaten streak before finals.
They again faced off against the Reds in the Semi Finals, where they came from behind to knock them off 2-1 on the road at Coopers Stadium and sealed the deal with a 2-0 victory in-front of a record home attendance the following week to wrap up a 4-1 victory on aggregate.
HEAD TO HEAD
Central Coast Mariners 1-1 Melbourne City – April 15 2023
The last time these two teams met was in Gosford in a late season showdown.
City just needed a win to wrap up the Premiership and looked to be on their way when Jordan Bos opened the scoring with an unbelievable curling effort.
However, Josh Nisbet stood up late in the contest and fired home a deflected effort off Nuno Reis to bring the scores level. Bos and Jamie Maclaren both had chances to win it in second-half stoppage time but were denied by two masterful saves from Danny Vukovic.
In the end, Nisbet’s goal was enough to delay City’s Premiership party by a single day as Western United’s victory over Adelaide the following evening wrapped up a third consecutive first place finish.
Melbourne City 1-0 Central Coast Mariners – December 27 2022
City and the Mariners met for the first time this season in searing December temperatures at AAMI Park.
Rado Vidosic’s side opened the scoring through Jamie Maclaren, who fired home a goal in his eighth successive game. The City striker had a golden opportunity to double their lead from the spot, but he was denied by Danny Vukovic.
As the game wore on, Tom Glover was forced to make two quality saves to keep out both Marco Tulio and Michael Ruhs as the Mariners pushed for an equaliser.
In the end, City were able to hold firm and come away with the three points, continuing an impressive start to the season.
