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It was a game that promised so much, but admittedly delivered very little for the country’s last remaining minnows.
A visit from the A-League front-runners was always going to a tough ask for the Bentleigh Greens – who this past week christened themselves as the unofficial champions of Asia.
In case you missed it over the weekend. #ACLFinal #FFACup #GoGreens pic.twitter.com/liUAx8GRU9
— Bentleigh Greens SC (@BentleighGreens) November 5, 2014
And the night ran true to the script of the realist, as a rather assured Perth Glory outfit moved into the inaugural FFA Cup final with a 3-0 victory over the underdogs from South East Melbourne.
In truth, the Greens were industrious in defeat, but the Glory’s individual quality proved the difference – Nebojša Marinković in particular continuing his silky start to the season.
The Serbian scored two and had a hand in the third – his first effort a gorgeous crossbar-down free kick that trumped his weekend strike against the Mariners.
It sure is a great time to be a Glory fan, and despite an accumulating travel schedule, the boys from the West are showing little signs of wear and tear.
But for Bentleigh, the defeat signalled the end of a seven-game streak that stretches all the way back to February.
To their credit, John Anastasiadis’s men showed bravery and a second-half spark that delighted the capacity 3,300 crowd at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex.
Yet the contest was effectively decided with Marinković’s second goal in the 50th minute, before Chris Harold sealed the win with minutes remaining.
Sadly, what we now have is a Cup devoid of fairy tale storylines; no longer will we be able to dream of the unlikely, or collectively swoon over the wonders of forgotten suburban grounds – at least until next year.
Welcome to the cold reality of football.
We should be thankful though, that the romance has extended this long.
Bentleigh’s run to the semi-finals was aided by the structure of the initial FFA Cup draw, which guaranteed the place of a least one state-based club in the final four.
Whether the FFA next year continues with this manufactured format in lieu of the more traditional out-of-the-hat sequence remains to be seen.
In it’s inaugural year however, it was imperative that the FFA Cup captured the imagination and hearts of the people. Two all-A-League semi-final fixtures would have been an infinitely less captivating prospect than what we’ve been treated to this year.
After seeing the euphoria surrounding Bentleigh, and indeed their NPL counterparts before them, one would have to say that things have largely been a success – and so it’s difficult to argue with this structure.
There of course still remains a hearty chasm between the quality of teams in the A-League and our state leagues. Perhaps only once this gap has been reduced, should we look at altering the format.
The timing of the Cup, which sees the latter stages fall in the NPL off-season, may also be an issue worth visiting in upcoming editions.
Not that it should deter the NPL clubs. Rather, what Bentleigh have achieved and attracted this year will stand as burning incentive for 2015.
Many of the state league clubs, I think, may have undervalued or overlooked the potential of the Cup when they approached qualifying earlier this year.
What we will see in 2015, are these clubs tackling the qualifying process with an added measure of thought, now knowing full well the spotlight the Cup is able shine on teams, coaches, players and communities alike.
But before then, we still have an untouched trophy to hand out.
Tonight, the Central Coast Mariners will have the opportunity to put their forgettable start to the league behind them with a trip to Coopers Stadium.
Standing in their way is an unbeaten Adelaide United, who will be confident of joining Perth in the final.
Although without the injured Bruce Djite, Josep Gombau will be keen to attack a Mariners side that is beginning to look more and more toothless with each passing game.
The Reds are hot, the Mariners are not. Only a brave man would tip Phil Moss’s side for victory here…says the writer who scored a perfect zero in last weeks’ tips.
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