2019 A-League Grand Final

2019 A-League Grand Final
Event2018–19 A-League
Perth Glory Sydney FC
0 0
Sydney FC won 4–1 on penalties
Date19 May 2019
VenueOptus Stadium, Perth
Man of the MatchMiloš Ninković (Sydney FC)
RefereeShaun Evans
Attendance56,371
WeatherSunny and clear
19.9 °C (67.8 °F)
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The 2019 A-League Grand Final was the fourteenth A-League Grand Final, the championship-deciding match of the A-League in Australia and the culmination of the 2018–19 season. It was played on the 19 May 2019 at Optus Stadium in Perth between Perth Glory and Sydney FC, who finished the regular season first and second respectively. This was the first A-League grand final hosted in Perth and it is the highest attended grand final in A-League history.[1]

Sydney participated in their fifth grand final, winning three of the previous four played prior to this match. Perth participated in their sixth grand final overall and second in the A-League era, winning two of the previous five.

The match ended 0–0 after extra time, with Sydney winning 4–1 on penalties to secure their fourth A-League title.

Teams

In the following table, finals until 2004 were in the National Soccer League era, since 2006 were in the A-League era.

Team Previous final appearances (bold indicates winners)
Perth Glory 5 (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2012)
Sydney FC 4 (2006, 2010, 2015, 2017)

Route to the final

See also: 2018–19 A-League
Elimination-finals Semi-finals Grand Final
Perth Glory (pen.) 3 (5)
Adelaide United (a.e.t.) 1 Adelaide United 3 (4)
Melbourne City 0 Perth Glory 0 (1)
Sydney FC (pen.) 0 (4)
Sydney FC 6
Melbourne Victory 3 Melbourne Victory 1
Wellington Phoenix 1

The A-League Grand Final is the grand final for the A-League, a professional club soccer league that is based in Australia and New Zealand. The 2018–19 season was the fourteenth season in history and also the 42nd of top-flight football in Australia. Each team played against each other three times throughout the season for a total of twenty seven matches. After the regular season, the top six teams qualified to play in the finals with the teams placed between third and sixth playing in week one of the finals while the top two teams got a week off.[2] This meant that playing in the first week was, Adelaide United, Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix while Perth Glory and Sydney FC having the bye for the first week.[3]

The grand final will be contested by Perth Glory and Sydney FC which respectively finished one and two after the regular season with Perth finishing ahead of Sydney by eight points. During the regular season, the two teams played three times with Sydney leading the head-to-head at two wins to one.

Perth Glory

Main article: 2018–19 Perth Glory FC season

During the pre-season, they acquired former Socceroos Tomislav Mrcela from Korean club Jeonnam Dragons, Matthew Spiranovic from Chinese club Zhejiang Greentown and Jason Davidson from Croatian side HNK Rijeka in what became a trio in the backline.[4] In the opening game of the season, they drew with Western Sydney Wanderers 1–1 at home with Andy Keogh scoring the first goal for Perth in the 2018–19 season.[5] After gaining win in Round 2 and 3, Perth went to the top of the table after knocking off Adelaide United with two goals in the second half from Andy Keogh and Chris Ikonomidis securing the victory.[6]

Sydney FC

Main article: 2018–19 Sydney FC season

Summary of results

Perth Glory Round Sydney FC
1st place
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1 Perth Glory 27 60
2 Sydney FC (C) 27 52
3 Melbourne Victory 27 50
4 Adelaide United 27 44
5 Melbourne City 27 40
Source: A-Leagues
(C) Champions
 Regular season 2nd place
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1 Perth Glory 27 60
2 Sydney FC (C) 27 52
3 Melbourne Victory 27 50
4 Adelaide United 27 44
5 Melbourne City 27 40
Source: A-Leagues
(C) Champions
Opponent Score Opponent Score
Bye week NA Elimination Finals Bye week NA
Adelaide United 3–3 (5-4 on pen.) Semifinals Melbourne Victory 6–1

Pre-match

Venue

Perth Stadium in Perth hosted the 2019 A-League Grand Final

The Grand Final was held at Optus Stadium in Perth,[7] and was the second time that a major soccer match was held at the stadium, after the friendly between Perth Glory and Chelsea on 23 July 2018.[8] The stadium is mainly used as an Australian rules football ground for the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers in the Australian Football League in the winter months, while in the summer it's used for cricket for the Perth Scorchers and occasionally the Australia national cricket team.[9][10]

Ticket details

Ticket sales started on the Monday prior to the event. In the first few hours over 35,000 tickets had been sold, of which 20,000 were from club members. Two days later tickets went on sale to the general public.[11]

Match

Summary

The match started at 4:45pm AWST in Perth with Shaun Evans, recipient of the A-League Referee of the Year, as the referee. The match was his first A-League Grand Final.[12]

Details

Perth Glory0–0 (a.e.t.)Sydney FC
Penalties
 1–4
Attendance: 56,371
Referee: Shaun Evans
Perth Glory
Sydney FC
GK 33 Australia Liam Reddy
CB 6 Australia Dino Djulbic Yellow card 116'
CB 13 Australia Matthew Spiranovic
CB 4 Australia Shane Lowry Yellow card 23'
RM 5 Australia Ivan Franjic downward-facing red arrow 90'
CM 88 Australia Neil Kilkenny Yellow card 69' downward-facing red arrow 105'
CM 27 Spain Juande Yellow card 90+1'
LM 3 Australia Jason Davidson
RF 7 Australia Joel Chianese downward-facing red arrow 73'
CF 17 Spain Diego Castro
LF 19 Australia Chris Ikonomidis downward-facing red arrow 115'
Substitutes:
GK 1 Australia Tando Velaphi
DF 23 Australia Scott Neville upward-facing green arrow 90'
MF 20 Australia Jake Brimmer upward-facing green arrow 105'
FW 9 Republic of Ireland Andy Keogh upward-facing green arrow 73'
FW 11 Australia Brendon Santalab upward-facing green arrow 115'
Manager: Australia Tony Popovic
GK 1 Australia Andrew Redmayne
RB 23 Australia Rhyan Grant Yellow card 88'
CB 4 Australia Alex Wilkinson
CB 2 Australia Aaron Calver
LB 7 Australia Michael Zullo
AM 22 Netherlands Siem de Jong Yellow card 55' downward-facing red arrow 78'
DM 6 Australia Joshua Brillante
DM 13 Australia Brandon O'Neill
AM 10 Serbia Miloš Ninković
CF 14 Australia Alex Brosque downward-facing red arrow 95'
CF 9 England Adam Le Fondre
Substitutes:
GK 20 Australia Alex Cisak
MF 8 Australia Paulo Retre
MF 11 Australia Daniel De Silva
MF 17 Australia Anthony Cáceres upward-facing green arrow 78'
FW 16 Iran Reza Ghoochannejhad upward-facing green arrow 95'
Manager: Australia Steve Corica Yellow card 31'

Joe Marston Medal:
Miloš Ninković (Sydney FC)

Assistant referees:
Andrew Lindsay
Paul Cetrangolo
Fourth official:
Chris Beath

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Five named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.
A-League
2019 Champions
Australia
Sydney FC

Statistics

Overall statistics
Perth Glory Sydney FC
Goals scored 0 0
Total shots 10 3
Shots on target 2 0
Ball possession 59% 41%
Corner kicks 8 2
Fouls Conceded 16 19
Offsides 2 4
Yellow cards 4 2
Red cards 0 0

Broadcasting

The Grand Final was broadcast live throughout Australia on Fox Sports and Network Ten.[13] The radio rights for the grand final was held by ABC with their grandstand coverage of the game.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Perth Glory A-League Grand Final offside controversy". The West Australian. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Competition Rules". A-League. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Hyundai A-League 2019 Finals Series Fixtures Confirmed". FFA. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  4. ^ Comito, Matthew (11 October 2018). "Perth Glory 2018/19 season preview". The Football Sack. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  5. ^ Morgan, Gareth (21 October 2018). "Keogh on target as Glory open with a draw". Perth Glory FC. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  6. ^ Morgan, Gareth (11 November 2018). "Impressive away win sends Glory top". A-League. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  7. ^ Taylor, Nick (11 May 2019). "Perth Glory's A-League grand final date and time locked in at Optus Stadium". The West Australian. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Perth Glory hold their own in friendly defeat to Chelsea". The Guardian. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  9. ^ "WACA to shift Test matches to new Perth Stadium at Burswood". WAToday. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  10. ^ Weber, David (20 October 2017). "AFL deal made for games to be played at new Perth Stadium". ABC News. ABC. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  11. ^ Bossi, Dominic (14 May 2019). "35,000 sold in hours: A-League grand final tickets fly out the door". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Shaun Evans to referee the Hyundai A-League 2019 Grand Final". A-League. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  13. ^ "New TV deal for Football". Hyundai A-League. Football Federation Australia. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  14. ^ "How to watch Hyundai A-League LIVE and FREE on 10 Bold". A-League. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.