Melbourne City are Isuzu UTE A-League Champions for the second time in club history after a 1-0 triumph over Melbourne Victory in the first-ever Melbourne Derby Grand Final at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
Yonatan Cohen’s 10th-minute strike proved the difference at a sold-out AAMI Park as City ended a 787-day, seven-game winless drought against their bitter rivals at the perfect time, to clinch their second Championship crown following their first triumph in 2021.
VISIT THE GRAND FINAL MATCH CENTRE
GRAND FINAL READING
REACTION: ‘Your league, my league, our league’: A Grand Final that reminded us why we love the game
ANALYSIS: How a surprise role switch took City’s ‘Ferrari out of the garage’ and into Grand Final folklore
‘F****** INCREDIBLE: City’s Championship celebration summed up by coach’s epic winning speech
READ MORE: 5 things you might have missed from City’s Grand Final win inc. teen talent’s moment of magic
SPECIAL INTERVIEW: ‘They threw me a lifeline’: City captain’s heartfelt tribute after 15-year road to Championship
Reaching their fifth Grand Final in the last six seasons, City banished the demons of past title deciders to deny Victory what would have been a record-equalling fifth Isuzu UTE A-League title.
But it wasn’t to be for Victory as Saturday’s historic Melbourne Derby Grand Final helped Aurelio Vidmar’s side claim ultimate bragging rights in Melbourne, with their 14th club trophy across men’s and women’s competitions eclipsing Victory’s tally of 13.
City’s Championship triumph took place in front of 29,902 fans – an attendance record for a sporting event at AAMI Park.
Mathew Leckie claimed the Joe Marston Medal as the best player afield in City’s team of Champions.
READ MORE: Mathew Leckie claims Joe Marston Medal in Socceroos star’s crowning A-Leagues moment
VISIT THE GRAND FINAL MATCH CENTRE
A heaving atmosphere at AAMI Park set the scene for a fast and frenetic start to Grand Final proceedings as Victory flew out of the blocks to hit City with a barrage of early pressure.
But after repelling the danger through the game’s early minutes, it was City who struck the initial blow with just 10 minutes on the clock.
Socceroo and City captain Aziz Behich’s backheel played through the legs of Josh Rawlins set up the chance. Andreas Kuen was the beneficiary of Behich’s trickery; the Austrian collected possession at the byline, and played a cutback cross to Max Caputo who crashed his first-time effort off the crossbar.
Yonatan Cohen was the quickest to react, and pounced on the rebound to fire his side into the lead.
VISIT THE GRAND FINAL MATCH CENTRE
As Victory searched for an equaliser, Mathew Leckie – unexpectedly playing in a defensive midfield role for City – came to his side’s rescue with a lunging block to deny Zinedine Machach from close range.
Leckie was everywhere for City through the first 25 minutes and would have doubled the lead if not for Jack Duncan’s clutch save low to his left to deny the Socceroo’s towering header.
Soon after, City keeper Patrick Beach matched Duncan’s heroics with a diving stop to prevent a low, fizzing Machach strike from finding the bottom-left corner.
The end-to-end action made for compelling viewing through a breathless opening half-hour of play as the quickfire chances cranked up the atmosphere inside AAMI Park to deafening volume.
VISIT THE GRAND FINAL MATCH CENTRE
There were fouls aplenty in the final 15 minutes of the first half as the free-flowing contest transformed into a stop-start battle. City kept their one-goal lead to the break, as Victory – who took nine shots to City’s three – went into the sheds searching for answers.
Less than a minute after the restart, City threatened to break the Grand Final apart when Cohen whipped a curling effort toward the top-left corner of Victory’s goal.
Duncan kept his side in the game with a leaping save; his outstretched right glove tipped Cohen’s shot off target and denied the City winger a Grand Final brace.
Then came a big chance for 19-year-old City striker Caputo to double the lead.
In a tussle with Victory defender Lachlan Jackson, Caputo came out on top to find himself all alone in the box. But with Steven Ugarkovic and Cohen all alone to his right, Caputo elected to turn and shoot himself, and fired wide in a major let-off for Victory.
With just 15 minutes to play, yet another glorious opportunity went begging for City as Victory clung on for dear life in the Grand Final.
Marco Tilio’s delivery off the left wing to the back post invited both Medin Memeti and Cohen to convert from inside the six-yard box. Memeti left the ball for Cohen but the Israeli’s unmarked header went high and wide.
Victory had a late penalty shout waved away for a potential handball from German Ferreyra, as City endured seven minutes of added time to get to the final whistle with their clean sheet intact, and with Cohen’s first-half strike the difference in the first-ever Melbourne Derby Grand Final.
GRAND FINAL READING
REACTION: ‘Your league, my league, our league’: A Grand Final that reminded us why we love the game
ANALYSIS: How a surprise role switch took City’s ‘Ferrari out of the garage’ and into Grand Final folklore
‘F****** INCREDIBLE: City’s Championship celebration summed up by coach’s epic winning speech
READ MORE: 5 things you might have missed from City’s Grand Final win inc. teen talent’s moment of magic
SPECIAL INTERVIEW: ‘They threw me a lifeline’: City captain’s heartfelt tribute after 15-year road to Championship
