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Sydney travelled south-westward with intent to defend their title. Adelaide mustered a booming red crowd to meet them.
The 2018-19 FFA Cup final arrived in the City of Churches, and by the end of the night, Craig Goodwin was being held aloft as the city messiah.
A masterful brace from the Adelaide winger inspired a driving team-wide performance, and the home fans were sent into the raptures of victory.
Sydney were unchanged after the derby, save for Daniel De Silva returning to the bench. Adelaide had their team intact too – except for George Blackwood’s collarbone and Baba Diawara – and had a formidable 12th man on their side.
The match began as if ruffled by the thrill of the occasion, and a slightly palpitating game of football formed, hiccuping and giddy.
Mirko Boland and Ben Halloran gave the Sydney defence a fright early, with the German playing through his Australian colleague with a hooked, over-the-shoulder pass. THe Sky Blues managed to scramble the danger away.
Boland then gave Brandon O’Neill a friendly barge off the ball; “In case you hadn’t heard,” it seemed to say, “this is our patch you’re on.” Not exactly a pleasant thing to do, but an act that served to serrate the edge of the contest, all the better to cut through the tension before the first goal was scored.
Adelaide were again without a proper striker, but the early going suggested their front line might cause rather more trouble to the Sydney defence than they had in round one of the league. It was striking to see that, when a Reds break was on, the front four of Halloran, Boland, Goodwin and Ryan Strain all moved as a flat line, no small affront for the Sydney defence to have to corral while backtracking in a panic.
An interesting formation though it was, the lack of vertical layers to the attack – where a leading player might draw attention away from a player arriving late on the scene – was just as noticeable.
After 15 minutes, the visitors gathered themselves, and strung together three or so cogent attacks, most of which flowed, at one point or another, through the maestro Milos Ninkovic.
Milos Ninkovic (AAP Image/Brendan Esposito)
Adelaide wobbled a little, and almost succumbed to the urge to retreat meekly – a position in which Sydney would relish picking them off. But no, eventually a thudding counter-punch was thrown, a break down the field at speed. The sparring continued.
And then the home side landed a true blow on the point of the Sky Blue jaw. From a free kick, centrally positioned, and far enough out to consider a shot ambitious, Goodwin shot. It flew with a whizz into the top corner, with Andrew Redmayne flying through the air in vain. A super strike, and the second dead-ball banger Goodwin has scored in this year’s cup.
Sydney then returned that blow with a brutal slug of their own. Pressuring Jordan Elsey scarcely a minute after the concession, Alex Brosque forced a shockingly short-legged back-pass. Brosque made it to the ball before Paul Izzo, and Izzo scythed him down. A clear penalty, a booking for Izzo – beneficiary of the new rules about double-punishment after goal-denying fouls in the box – and Adam Le Fondre crashed home the spot kick. 1-1, and, half an hour old, the match was spurting out steam now.
Goodwin hit a wicked shot just past Redmayne’s left hand post. Oohs and aahs rippled around Coopers Stadium, the blasts of angel trumpets and devil trombones conducted by the hot bluster of a rollicking football match.
Marrone was booked for a crunching tackle on Ninkovic, and Michael Zullo and Isaias were booked for shirtfronting in response. This was everything the league encounter between these teams had not been; vigorously contested, attacking football, with a wonderful snarl. The cup final unsurprisingly coaxes out the best in teams.
There was, though, a stark difference between the systems on show; Le Fondre’s willingness and instinct for running in behind was not being mirrored by anyone in the Adelaide team. This is what happens when no true striker is fielded, with Halloran’s consistent drifting out to the wings or deep into the midfield was typical of his true position, in the attacking midfield.
At halftime, it was 1-1, and the excitement of the first half perhaps concealed slightly that Sydney had probably had the better of it.
Elsey nearly played through Brosque again, to start the second half, letting a ball bounce behind him with the Sydney striker stealing in. That re-established a frenetic tone.
Adelaide won another free kick, and Goodwin’s eyes lit up. It was a harder angle this time, and further out from goal. He almost blasted this one in too, spearing it just wide of the right-hand post. What a dead-ball gun he is, something that adds a sprinkle of blockbuster allure to every foul won within range.
Marco Kurz’s men peppered in some threatening corners. Ninkovic dragged back and shot sublimely in the Adelaide box, forcing Izzo to make a diving save. Bodies flew into aerial skirmishes, and met in a fleshy crunch. Intense was the word that came most immediately to mind.
Newly arrived substitute Ken Ilso flashed a shot across the face. Goodwin had crossed to him, one of a long list of venomous crosses hit by the Socceroos hopeful during the evening. A good crosser is a rare breed in this league, and Goodwin is a pedigree example.
In fits, raids came for both teams, pushing as they were each other to new levels of fervour. Then a move of the simplest order proved stunningly potent.
A speared cross from the left was touched back by Halloran, and it fell, bouncing nicely, for Goodwin. A measure of the absolute purity of his ball-striking on the evening, he connected with his weaker right foot, and the shot was so powerful and so straight, when it smacked into the top corner netting the very sound of the goal jolted the body.
It went from boot to net in the blink of an eye, a bullet, a zap, pneumatic piston of a shot, as if the ball was run at light speed down a taught length of cable. It was a goal more than worthy of taking the lead in a cup final.
Craig Goodwin (AAP Image/David Mariuz)
De Silva and Charles Lokoli Ngoy came on for Sydney, the cavalry arriving to lead another charge from behind. Brillante came off for Lokoli Ngoy, meaning Sydney had three up top. Ten minutes remained.
As the crowd of 14,448 bounced – well, except for the small patch of blue in there – the majesty of the cup came shimmering into view. Adelaide had put on a wonderful show, on the pitch and in the stands. Sydney had a clutch of late corners, and the tension was unbearable.
United held, and the roar that went up at the final whistle billowed out into the night.
Adelaide are the first club to win the cup twice, and have given Marco Kurz his first trophy as manager. They did it at home, they did it with style, and they had Craig Goodwin to thank for a virtuoso individual performance that paired stunning technique with fairy tale timing.
How plump, good-natured and healthy the game looks at times like these.