6-0? 4-0? Even the most one-eyed Reds fan would have to agree that their team hasn’t fared well in big games at the Telstra Dome but even then there’s at least one good reason for them to be feeling optimistic ahead of tonight’s game. Football is a funny game.

Which must be concerning for the A-League’s answer to Sir Alex Ferguson. Ernie Merrick may have had the assistant referees tuned in last time the teams met but it’s unlikely Adelaide are going to sit that high up the park tonight.

In fact the only way Adelaide will sit up high is if they’ve brought the double decker bus to park in front of their goal. Their victory over the Roar last weekend has as much to do with the pairing of Salley and Reid at the base of their midfield as it did with their oppositions hopeless finishing. Thompson and Allsop won’t be nearly as generous if Hernandez can continue to supply the chances. If Adelaide can keep Hernandez quiet then they’ll have the platform to launch their counter-attachng plan from – otherwise there could be a strong sense of deja vu going around tonight.

Don’t forget to refresh your browser every few minutes and post a comment or two. My predication is Adelaide 2-1 in extra time. You heard it here first.

So here we are. Less than half an hour until kick off and I can report that both coaches have named unchanged teams.

Adelaide United: 20.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 2.Robert CORNTHWAITE,  7.Lucas PANTELIS, 10.CRISTIANO, 13.Travis DODD (C), 14.Scott JAMIESON, 15.Jonas SALLEY, 16.Daniel MULLEN, 18.Fabian BARBIERO, 19.Sasa OGNENOVSKI,  24.Paul REID.

Subs: 30.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 6. CASSIO, 9.Paul AGOSTINO, 27.Michael MARRONE, 28.Rostyn GRIFFITHS.

Melbourne Victory: 1.Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2.Kevin MUSCAT (C),  5.Sebastian RYALL, 7.Matthew KEMP,  9.Danny ALLSOPP, 10.Archie THOMPSON, 12.Rodrigo VARGAS, 14.Billy CELESKI, 15.Tom PONDELJAK, 16.Carlos HERNANDEZ, 22.Nick WARD

Subs: 20.Mitchell LANGERAK (gk), 8.Grant BREBNER, 11.NEY FABIANO, 17.Jose Luis LOPEZ, 19.Evan BERGER.

No surprise that Merrick has stuck with the same line up but maybe a little bit surprising that Vidmar has stuck with the same side for once. Cassio must be kicking himself for getting that silly red card last time he visited the Dome.

Good to see that Adrian and Midfielder have already dropped in. Midfielder I’m with you, I think it might be Adelaide’s night. Adrian, anymore news or observations from the ground would be much appreciated.

“There’s no time for doubt, only for belief.”  Andy Harper doing what he does best pre-game. If I managed a team of commentators, he’d be on the bench.

Anthem.

0 mins: And we’re off, Matthew Breeze gets his first big one underway. Adelaide kick off and are running left to right as I see it.

1 mins: Adelaide have started brightly. Barbiero nearly gets away down the right channel but Kemp has him covered.

3 mins: Good shout for an Adelaide penalty as Jamieson goes down but you’re never going to get those this early in a big game.

5 mins: They’re feeling each other out by playing an open game. Looks like Salley is going to hang out next to Hernandez all night and Mullen has been given the task of watching Thompson. Not an enviable task.

7 mins: Ward breaks from midfield and drives a low shot just wide of the post. It’s very open so far.

9 mins: CRISTIANO IS OFF! The Brazilian clobbers Vargas with his elbow and there’s plenty of blood. Looked more like a yellow to me. Unbelievable.

12 mins: Adelaide get something to go their way and have a free kick from wide on the right that Salley heads high and wide from the edge of the box.

13 mins: Looks like the assistant referee made the Cristiano call.

15 mins: Victory are bossing this one now. Adelaide are allowing them deeper and deeper into their box. Hernandez and Thompson combine to win a corner after a goalmouth scramble.

16 mins: That’s left a nasty taste in my mouth, that was a big decision and I think he’s got that wrong. Kazama, it appears you tempted fate and lost. I feel for Adelaide fans right now.

18 mins: Kemp drives forward from left back and drives a shot at goal that gets deflected for a corner. Celeski drills it hard and low and lo and behold it’s cut out at the near post.

19 mins: Hernandez gets a bit too much time in the box and he finds Pondeljak on the edge but the ball gets stuck under his feet and Salley mops up.

22 mins: Muscat hits a raking ball for Allsop and only a last ditch block from Cornthwaite stops a goal. A better corner from Celeski is flicked on but there’sno Victory player to get on the end of it.

23 mins: Adelaide are seriously under the pump now, they can’t get out of their half.

25 mins: Just to make me look stupid Cornthwaite takes a throw in the Melbourne half.

26 mins: Muscat threads a pass to Allsop on the edge of the area where the big man controls and rifles a shot that Galekovic has to pull out an impressive save to stop.

28 mins: Herandez drives from midfield into space but he pulls his shot well wide.

29 mins: Jamieson wins free kick for Adelaide in a dangerous position wide on the left wing. He swings a quality ball in that Salley gets to, but can’t direct on target.

30 mins: Dodd feeds Jamieson who pulls a shot across the face of goal. What bus?

32 mins: Our live correspondent has just reported that the Victory fans are getting frustrated. What more do they want? Bigger goals perhaps? We’ll look into it at half-time.

34 mins: Thompson tees up Hernandez but the Costa Rican blasts his shot over from inside the penalty area.

35 mins: Adelaide just can’t make enough options for each other.

36 mins: The Big O gets a yellow for bundling a Victory player momentarily after the whistle is blown. Vidmar’s press conference should be interesting post-match.

39 mins: This is like watching Arsenal play Stoke.

40 mins: Kemp drives into the Adelaide box but his square ball is easily cut out which pretty much sums up their play in the final third so far.

41 mins: United win flick on that the Victory clear for a throw. From the long throw The Big O (easier than typing his whole name) has a decent ask for a penalty but it hasn’t been his day so far and a free kick is given against him.

44 mins: More Melbourne attacks amount to nothing. Merrick won’t be pleased but they still have the upper hand.

45 mins +1: The Adelaide players will be pleased to hear the whistle for once because it signals some respite from the blue waves.

Well they’re back on the pitch, lets hope we don’t have to talk about the referee this half.

46 mins: Vidmar might be wishing he actually brought a bus with him.

47 mins: Dodd finds himself in between three Victory defenders, in their box, but he can’t get his head up and he’s forced away from goal. He had a chance then, he just didn’t know it.

48 mins: Thompson drops all the way back to halfway to pick up the ball. That speaks volumes of Adelaide’s defending.

49 mins: Allsop lays it off for Ward but he shanks it well wide off the side of the side of his boot.

50 mins: Merrick looks to be preparing Berger for an introduction. The PM or the game? Probably the game I’d say. Looks like Ward or Pondeljak might come off.

52 mins: Vargas bundles Dodd over near the corner flag so Adelaide basically have a corner. Jamieson whips it in and it falls for The Big O who has a goalbound snap shot blocked. Then Mullen charges down the right after picking up the clearence and squares it for Barbiero who has a shot from inside the six yard box  blocked by Theoklitos. What a chance.

54 mins: Dodd jinks his way to the edge of the Victory box but hits his stinging shot straight at the keeper who can’t hold it at the first attempt but gets to the rebound just in front of Dodd.

55 mins: Berger replaces Ward. Looks like they’ll play with wing backs and a back three now.

56 mins: Adelaide wina another corner that Salley gets to again but can’t direct towards goal. They’re really taking it to the Victory. It’s hard to keep up with.

59 mins: PONDELJAK SCORES!!! he drifts in from the left and hits a low, slightly innocuous shot towards the back post. Galekovic must have seen that late because he surely would have stopped that otherwise. The Jak gets a yellow for putting his shirt over his head. Killjoy Breeze strikes again.

61 mins: Dodd loses his feet as he’s about to shoot from around twenty out much to the amusement of the Melbourne fans.

62 mins: Agostino comes on for his last game and the first thing he gets to do is watch Hernandez miss a sitter.

64 mins: ALLSOP IS OFF!! There was a big pushing match there but it’s hard to see what happened. He may have headbutted Cornthwaite. Well that changes everything.

67 mins: Barbiero got a yellow too then, a few others may have too. There’s more action in this one now. Did you pick that one too Kazama?

69 mins: The ball falls to Vargas in the box after he’d stayed up following a corner but he mishits his effort. He looked like a defender there.

71 mins: Salley wins a free kick at the top of the box just off center. Jamieson is over it. He forces a decent save from Theoklitos who dives to his right and catches cleanly.

72 mins: Another Adelaide free kick deep in the Melbourne half. Cassio comes on for Jamieson. Mullen has a few attempts at getting it over from the free kick but nothing comes from any of his efforts.

74 mins: Naughty Danny was headbutting Simon Hill tells me, cheers Simon. Good luck with the rest of the call mate. Pondeljak hooks another shot wide.

76 mins: Mullen launches a long throw but Theoklitos plucks it out of the air. Hernandez brings down the clearance deftly, turns, shoots, and forces a fingertip save from Galekovic. Is he worth a million Melbourne fans?

77 mins: Are the neutrals hoping for an Adelaide win now?

79 mins: A tired looking Adelaide side are trying to make something happen.

80 mins: Cornthwaite picks up a yellow for dissent. The Victory must be thinking about hanging on now.

81 mins: Agostino has the chance to be a hero but he can’t connect to the cross. From the resulting corner he volleys just wide of the near post. He should have scored at least one of those chances but in his defence he hasn’t played much recently.

84 mins: Hernandez plays Berger through and he whips a low ball for Thompson but it’s a touch behind him and it runs right through. Thompson has been quite quiet tonight. If I were you Kazama, I’d predict an equaliser!

86 mins: Berger does his best Matthew Mitcham impression after climbing all over an Adelaide player. Unfortunately for the young man there isn’t a diving pool in the middle of the Telstra Dome. He’s replaced by Lopez.

90 mins: Dodd is booked for turning up in a red shirt. There’ll be three minutes of added time. It should be at least double that, maybe triple.

90 +2 mins: Reid pumps a long ball in and Theoklitos punches clear. Tense stuff.

90  +3 mins: Celeski kicks Agostino in the chest so Breeze blows for full-time. The Victory have won it again! Cassio has taken matters up with Celeski. That won’t be remembered but it was a terrible challenge.

All credit to the Victory, they’ve been the form side all regular season, all finals and they played well tonight. In fact they’ve shown how it should be done off the park too so you can’t begrudge them their title. And they’ve got some of the loyalest fans in the country that I’m sure will be partying in Melbourne tonight.

Thanks to everyone that’s dropped by tonight, it’s been a real pleasure. To Kazama, Adrian, Dasilva – commiserations. Football is a cruel game as I’m sure you guys have learnt on more than one occasion this year! Midfielder, it looks like we were both wrong but Slippery Jim might have hit the nail on the head this evening. It was a terrible shame that a red card had to come so early in the piece (Breeze gets booed as I type, I don’t think you can blame his after all that blood spilled onto the pitch) as it really did stop the game from being an even better spectacle. As it was Adelaide showed plently of courage and made the Victory sweat right until the final whistle. I think I’ve become a default Adelaide fan after watching them come so close all season!

Bit disappointing to hear the crowd booing the Adelaide players getting their runners up medals. Great to see a goalkeeper collect his medal without his gloves on, why do they do that!? I doubt they sleep with them on. Allsop gets a medal despite being sent off. Here we go… Muscat gets to have a chat with the Fox Sports News guy. Very humble victory speech from Muscat, he’s come along way has Kevin. And there it is!! The Golden Toilet Seat comes back to Melbourne!!

Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.