The season’s first piece of silverware will be handed out next Wednesday night as Adelaide United host Melbourne City in the FFA Cup 2019 Final.
Coopers Stadium will be rocking as the home fans look to celebrate cup success for the second year in a row.
The Reds have been the FFA Cup’s most successful club, winning the competition multiple times (2014 and 2018) and reaching the decider in four of the six years it’s been held.
Gertjan Verbeek’s troops have mixed free-flowing, attacking football with performances of grit and determination to reach this year’s final.
Their Cup run started against NPL opposition, putting five goals past Victoria’s Melbourne Knights (5-2) in the Round of 32, before edging past Queensland’s Olympic FC 3-2 in a thriller in the last 16.
Things were a little tougher from there, squeezing past a 10-man Newcastle Jets 1-0 in the Quarter Final, before coming from behind to edge 10-man Central Coast Mariners 2-1 in the semis.
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City, winners of the FFA Cup in 2016, have been more impressive with every match in this year’s competition.
It started with a 3-1 win over South Australian heavyweights Campbelltown City, before holding off a fast-finishing Marconi Stallions in the Round of 16.
Erick Mombaerts’ side showed their class in the Quarters, crushing fellow Hyundai A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers 3-0, before a resounding 5-1 Semi Final win over Queensland NPL side Brisbane Strikers.
Jamie Maclaren is the ace up City’s sleeve, with the Caltex Socceroos striker netting in every round to be the competition’s leading scorer in 2019 with six goals.
While City will rightly be confident as they head to the City of Churches, no team has managed to win the FFA Cup away from home in the previous five years.
Will that trend continue to give Adelaide back-to-back Cup triumphs or can City get the job done?
HOW TO WATCH: The FFA Cup Final 2019 – Reds v City
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MATCH DETAILS
Kick-off time: 7pm LOCAL, 7:30pm AEDT
Venue: Coopers Stadium
#FFACupFinal
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514574001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6090931225001
What they said
Reds skipper Michael Jakobsen:
“It’s something we aimed for in pre-season and something we’ve looked forward to every week.
“To go into a another final is perfect.
“Last year with Adelaide was an amazing atmosphere at home. If we can do it again that would be amazing.”
City coach Erick Mombaerts:
“It’s [making the final] the best start I could have dreamed of but a final is only good when you win.
“We’ve had a long pre-season and a competitive cup run so that has helped us. I think we are ready; we need to continue our work on the defensive style now.
“We have done a lot of work on the offensive organisation but now we need to focus on defence, we need to be better and improve.”
How to watch
- Watch on a live stream
If you can’t get to the game, do not miss a minute of the action by watching along.
FOX Sports will be showing the Final live, while you can see it all unfold live on Kayo.
- Follow on social media
There will be LIVE updates throughout on the FFA Cup Twitter channel @FFACup as well as half time and full time updates on the competition’s official Facebook page and Instagram account.
Join the conversation on Twitter using #FFACup and #MagicOfTheCup.
- Check in to the Match Centre
Follow the match via the official FFA Cup match centre for all the latest action including goals, highlights and statistics.
Adelaide United v Melbourne City
- Get to the game
There’s no better place to see the action unfold than at the venue.
Click on the link below to find ticket information.
Adelaide United v Melbourne City
