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.
Punter
Roar Rookie
I think Mr ALF's team came for 21st place after home & away to win their only GF in 70 years.
Jordan Van De Vorst
Guest
Agreed. I think the key to implementing an appropriate pro/rel system in Aus to devise a playoff system whereby the BEST teams are in the HAL the following year, no straight drops just to change teams for the sake of it. For example, Newcastle and Brisbane have poor seasons and finish 13th and 14th respectively. Brisbane wins the playoff and is safe. Newcastle play Bentleigh Greens, who won the 2nd div playoff, and cruise past them 4-0. Newcastle stay up as they have proven they are the 14th best team in Aus, Bentleigh Greens go back to the drawing board to find a way to be good enough to be in HAL. The point of pro/rel in the HAL is therefore not to contrive a massive changeover of teams from year to year, but to instead provide an opportunity to every team in the country. But the team/s that do well in the 2nd div still has to earnt it and prove that they absolutely are one of the best 14 teams in the country. Finishing top two in the league, then winning two playoff games means that promotion would have been well earned. I think with this system, you would see some change over in teams, but not a lot. The teams in the 1st div would be afforded every opportunity to stay up.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Spot on mister football with that analysis re epl Nemesis I’m for promotion and relegation in the near future I’m also for a playoff or final series as well depending on finishing position . Yes I agree people will be engaged with regular season games with something hanging on them re promotion or playoffs , will they be engaged in a relegation battle in Australia, .. possibly over time they will. What’s important is that enough people are enjoying this their tv or other viewing and match attendance to keep a 2 division professional competition in Australia viable.
Nemesis
Guest
"I totally agree with you fans have lost interest in all but grand finals." So, your solution to this is to ignore the other 29 rounds of ALeague featuring 139 matches & just focus on 1 match? Ok, that's your preferred option. My option is to create a system where we have 135 riveting H&A matches where every match has the competitive tension of a Grand Final because every result is important. You can't just cruise through a match because teams below you might be winning & you might be dropping into the next division, have your wages cut by 80%, or even completely out of job.
Fadida
Guest
I'm not saying Goodwin is the new Kewell either Chris, but he offers more than Kruse, who works hard but poses no attacking threat. Does anyone think RK could have scored either of the goals Goodwin scored last night? Goodwin potentially offers something that RK definitely doesn't and cant
Nemesis
Guest
"I think Kangas is expressing the perfectly valid opinion that every season in the Premier League, there are middling teams who, 9 out of 10 times, are going to finish between 6th and 18th." And in local closed competition in Australia we have middling to rubbish teams who have been middling to rubbish for the past 50 years. I think you follow one of those teams. Manchester United were in Division 2 when I first heard about them. If you think 18 teams in a closed competition with a Grand Final creates more competitive tension than 18 teams with Pro/Rel, you lack basic logical thinking and it's not worth discussing the topic with people like you.
Kaks
Roar Guru
Further proof that we dont need VAR
Mister Football
Roar Guru
I think Kangas is expressing the perfectly valid opinion that every season in the Premier League, there are middling teams who, 9 out of 10 times, are going to finish between 6th and 18th. Occasionally, a middling team will get close to 6th, occasionally one of these teams will get uncomfortably close to 18th, but nine out of ten times, they will finish in the middle.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
You just confirmed my point I totally agree with you fans have lost interest in all but grand finals
Nemesis
Guest
"I can’t see popular interest in an A league with only promotion and relegation to play for." Well here's a news flash for you... It doesn't have popular interest right now. For sure the Grand Final pulls lots of interest, but all the other finals are a non-event - based on the attendances & TV viewing, ALeague fans have lost interest in all finals, other than the Grand Final. A Promotion Playoff (2nd Div) & Relegation Playoff (1st Div) followed by Pro/Rel playoff between the winner & loser respectively will each have the same interst as one ALeague Grand Final
Kangas
Roar Rookie
I maintain my opinion that semi finals are a way of giving mid table teams a chance to end their season with some success . It’s a positive imo that the A league agrees with me in that semi finals are important. I can’t see popular interest in an A league with only promotion and relegation to play for . It won’t happen in my life time.
Nemesis
Guest
"Take a team like Everton , what do Everton have to play for every season?" You really don't watch much football, do you? Everton, like all teams has to play for 4 things every season in the Premier League 1) Win the Title 2) Qualify for UCL = finish 2, 3, 4 3) Qualify for UEL = finish 5 4) Avoid relegation = do not finish 18, 19, 20 Until the final few matches, there is no team that can go into matches not caring about the result because relegation is always a possibility of teams below you go on a run. Finally, the EPL cash distribution to clubs has a variable component that depends on the position on the table. Each position lower on the table equates to around A$4 million reduced from the "Merit Payment"
chris
Guest
Kangas I was simply stating the reason we THINK we need a finals series is because the competition is closed. There are many teams that mid way through the season are already looking at next season as they wont make the finals. Even with a top 8 in NRL, there are still many teams left with little else to play with x number of games remaining. Imagine if Pro/Rel was introduced in NRL? Have they ever looked into it?
chrs
Guest
Fad I get what you are saying. I don't think either of them should be in the NT to be honest. But there was a time where Kruse was a valuable member of the NT and, even now, at times, he exhibits some of the qualities that made him a first choice.
Fadida
Guest
Kruse hasn't played Bundesliga for years Chris. Does he provide a crossing or goal threat for the NT? This isn't a Kruse hate campaign, simply a statement of fact. Head to head does Kruse offer more?
Sydneysider
Guest
Yes Team FFA ensured that Sydney FC played every single game away from home in this years FFA Cup, clear favouritism shown to Sydney FC by the FFA.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
But yes 10-12 teams is an exaggeration Remember im not against relegation. But I am pro semi finals. Take a team like Everton , what do Everton have to play for every season ?? They are highly unlikely to get relegated, they are 10000/1 to come first . They regularly come 7 th and end up in the Europa league. They don’t have the financial depth to win the Europa league . A semi final system gives teams a lot to play for , that’s all I’m saying . Maybe a better example is the English championship and league one etc , which has a semi final series for promotion, this gives teams who are mid table something to play for .
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Goodwin if he can keep scoring goals will put himself in contention. He is hitting free kicks well, more consistent than his open field shots. Le Fondre makes good runs but doesn't have the pace these days to go on with it. Why Retre is playing right wing is a mystery , there are 50 better options even in the NPL. Van Linden is no Jordi Bujs, who made up for Redmaynes lack of distribution, this guy passes poorly and it takes hardly any pressure to send it back to Redmayne . While he is better in the air, his set pieces are poor, so why is he taking corners with Sydneys lack of height. Adelaide their midfield duo are the biggest drama queens, just when you thought Isaias was the ultimate in diving hysteria along comes Boland, their game plan is to dive, scream, clutch their heads with the slightest contact to hopefully get someone sent off.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Sorry I’m epl the mid table teams get to play for the Europa league Ask burnley ... was making the Europa league worth it . It’s a big maybe I’m guessing. I’m not against relegation, I’m stating there is nothing wrong with semi finals in the A league.
mattq
Roar Rookie
then it would have been a back pass