The 2024 Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final is locked in: Central Coast Mariners are set to host Melbourne Victory at Industree Group Stadium after two chaotic Semi-Finals on Saturday night.
Up first was Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory at Sky Stadium – where a 2-1 extra-time win to Melbourne Victory stunned the host and set Tony Popovic’s side on course towards the club’s fifth Championship title.
Then attention turned to Central Coast v Sydney FC in Gosford, where a 0-0 draw full of dramatic moments resulted in the Mariners progressing to their second-straight Grand Final.
Re-live all the action below from a massive evening in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Wellington Phoenix 1-2 Melbourne Victory
MATCH CENTRE: Click here for stats, highlights, video and more
Melbourne Victory are through to the Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final, having stunned Wellington Phoenix in a 2-1 extra-time win at Sky Stadium on Saturday night.
The shock Victory win decided a two-legged Semi-Final tie after a goalless draw in the first leg to send the away side through to the 2024 title decider, set to take place against either Central Coast Mariners in Gosford, or Sydney FC at Victory’s home venue, AAMI Park.
Adama Traore’s first A-Leagues goal in more than a decade put Victory on top with less than 10 minutes to play in regular time, and the long-range strike was a beauty. Traore’s opener came after a contentious penalty awarded to Wellington, taken by captain Alex Rufer and saved by Victory keeper Paul Izzo, whose phenomenal individual Finals Series rolled on.
Victory looked set to record a 1-0 win before a dramatic 99th-minute equaliser scored by Phoenix substitute Oskar Zawada, which forced another 30 minutes of play in front of 33,297 fans at Sky Stadium.
In the first half of additional extra-time, Victory reclaimed the lead. Jake Brimmer’s corner delivery created the chance for Chris Ikonomidis to snatch the winning goal, who ghosted in at the far post to turn Roderick Miranda’s flick-on header over the line.
FULL MATCH REPORT: Major extra-time upset ends Phoenix fairytale
Central Coast Mariners 0-0 Sydney FC
Central Coast Mariners have booked their spot in the Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final after surviving a Sydney FC onslaught to seal a 0-0 (2-1 aggregate) two-legged Semi-Final win at Industree Group Stadium.
In an action packed night in Gosford it was Sydney FC who had the game’s better chances, no more so than in the 67th minute where Robert Mak thought he’d broken the deadlock with his deflected shot appearing to cross the line.
However after a lengthy delay and subsequent VAR check referee Alireza Faghani ruled striker Fabio Gomes was interfering with play whilst in an offside position and subsequently gave an offside instead of awarding the goal.
MATCH CENTRE: Click here for stats, highlights, video and more
