The FFA Cup has been a fantastic introduction to the Australian footballing landscape. It is somewhat fitting then that tonight’s final pits the competition’s two biggest protagonists against one another.
It may be a repeat of Sunday’s A-League fixture, but if Melbourne City’s 2-1 win over Adelaide United is anything to go by, then it’s a game most will have no issue watching again.
With less than 1000 tickets left to be snapped up, fans are voting with their feet on this one.
And a win tonight would be a glowing endorsement for the process Erik Mombaerts has set in motion at Australia’s richest franchise.
The Frenchman is proving you don’t need to revolutionise your squad to deliver vast improvements.
The charismatic coach opted for a minor face-lift in terms of personnel, but he’s pulled off some major reconstructive surgery in terms of tactical style and approach.
City look rejuvenated. They play the ball calmly and confidently out of the back, but not as if to bore their opponents – and fans – to death.
Dean Bouzanis has been a solid custodian in goal, while Harrison Delbridge’s quality in the tackle and composure on the ball is surely earning him a look-in from the Socceroos camp.
The lung-busting runs of overlapping fullbacks Scott Jamieson and Scott Galloway provide plenty of opportunities to overload defences. It says a lot for Mombaerts’ options in midfield that Josh Brillante was not even required to start on Sunday.
Craig Noone looks as exciting a foreign addition as any, and while Ramy Najjarine remains relatively raw, he seems to grow in confidence every time he plays.
Najjarine will attract his fair share of critics for a lack of end product, but it’s pleasing to see a young Australian talent backed in by his manager and given the freedom to express himself on the ball.
With a bit of time and patience, City might have another Daniel Arzani on their hands. If nothing else, Najjarine shares Arzani’s never-ending fountain of confidence.
Mombaerts will need to see more in terms of goals and assists soon, with some highly-experienced Uruguayan imports champing at the bit for their chance, but here’s hoping Najjarine starts repaying the faith.
The jewel in the crown, however, is Jamie Maclaren.
Jamie Maclaren of Melbourne City. (Photo by Mike Owen/Getty Images)
His brace on the weekend was as Maclaren as it gets.
The Socceroo’s goal-scoring instincts are second-to-none at the moment. He patrols that ever-so dangerous space between the six-yard box and the penalty spot like a hyena, drooling at the prospect of any scraps that come his way.
And when the chances present themselves, he just does not miss.
But it was his contribution in overall attacking play which truly impressed. Maclaren consistently found pockets of space.
A man of his size and stature will always struggle to play the role of the target man, but he plays the lone striker role in his distinct way by simply never standing still.
His ability to evade his two markers and bring others into play is outstanding. City would have won the derby had he been available.
He was the difference on Sunday, and he could well be the difference tonight.
Adelaide United, to their credit, contributed to Sunday’s entertaining league affair.
They paid the price for a slow start, but a much-improved second half demonstrated their potential.
Gertjan Verbeek might consider himself unlucky to have taken zero points from his opening two games. A leaky and at times undisciplined defence is his Achilles heel.
Like Mombaerts, Verbeek is looking to deliver a change in fortunes with a change in tactical direction, as opposed to simply overhauling an entire squad.
The Dutchman has some catching up to do when it comes to matching the Frenchman in that respect.
It’s early days, but there was a tangible sense of optimism at AAMI Park on Sunday.
The days of Warren Joyce’s lifeless football already seem a distant memory, and while City still need to prove their title credentials, Mombaerts has delivered a quiet revolution at the competition’s perennial underachievers.
Taking the FFA Cup in hostile surrounds at Coopers Stadium will be no mean feat, and would suggest that City finally have a coach who can deliver on their lofty ambitions.
John Fee
City have decided to NOT spend big on Visa and marque wages at the moment so that rules out your Argument i think.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Because they can spend additional money on other things including facilities, coaches, medical, Academy, technology, travel, sports science etc etc plus of course spend more on their visa players. So it is an advantage that they’re rich.
John Fee
Why do journalists always say that Melbourne City is the richest club, they are still bound by the same cap rules as are the rest of the A League. Melbourne city may be part of a very rich group of clubs but the purse strings are held very tightly by the city Group .
Nick Symonds
Guest
The number of players in Australia has more than doubled since 1997 while at the same time the number of places in the national league has been reduced. There were over 200 more places during the NSL because of more teams and less visa players. On top of that, FIFA have made restrictions on under 18's moving abroad. Simply put, there need to be more opportunities domestically to unearth their talent. A national second division would be a huge help if it eventuates. If grassroots infrastructure was improved to allow for increased use and even higher participation then the need for more opportunities becomes even more acute. As you say, what qualifies as a "golden generation" might be a bit subjective. But this latest bunch do seem to have a penchant for dribbling past opponents.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
I thought it was on last night - popped my red and sat down in front of the TV, alas, no game. Recorked after one glass and held over for tonight. But yeah - the FFA Cup, and the A League is just not getting noticed by other than the football clique. Listening to Macquarie Sports Radio, they've been talking cricket, women's cricket, and more cricket, day after day while barely mentioning the FFA Cup final, and the A League. ABC radio is the same - devoted their entire weekend to women's cricket. Occasionally they'll do a guest spot report on 'soccer', but they won't discuss it. What is going on in the Football HQ? Highest participation rates in Australia, yet even our best grounds, like for tonight's final, are discards from the other codes. Our hierarchy need to lift their collective game, set their sites higher, and do it now.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Franco What part are you having trouble understanding? Crowds, viewing, sponsorship are all down and have continued to go down from the first year. That’s a telling statement on the lack of engagement the competition is getting. Tonight’s crowd is not the competition, nor is the 3,000 Strikers got to their semi final (or the 6,200 Roar got). Overall the competition is going backwards. It needs fixing.
Griffo
Roar Guru
I wouldn't discount Adelaide at home, in a cup final, but City seemed relatively at ease on the weekend. Either way I'm looking forward to the game tonight. I can only echo the sentiments of what a second division might bring, how a straight, blind draw might fare for the competition in general (it's okay if A-League sides don't make the final), but can offer no real alternative of a Saturday final pre-A-League season vs one near the end of an A-League season (both have pros and cons, potentially). And if mid-week A-League season games generally garner a lower crowd average then it might be expected the FFA Cup mid-week games will do so as well, irrespective of a teams potential one-off game (which could be seen as an event in it's own right if they are knocked out).
Griffo
Roar Guru
Qualifiers on when they termed a 'golden generation' aside, it is good to see some younger players take on opponents 1v1 when there has been a dearth of this generally in recent times.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Get you get a pair of sunnies, Stevo? It was a curious addition to pre-game swag, compare to the blow up noise sticks you sometimes get, and wondered if they were cheap plastic rubbish or a half-decent pair of useable glasses.
lesterlike
Roar Rookie
Waz is right the cup needs to be reformed ASAP. It was exciting in its first year but as usual, FFA meddling and failing to appeal to football tradition has led to people growing tired of it already. The rigged draw is an insult to the intelligence of fans, moving games to empty pro stadiums miles away from home teams is a huge buzzkill and the suggestion by O'Rourke that we should leave the bottom 2 A-League teams out of the tournament to avoid restructuring qualification is pathetically lazy. It is time the cup reverted to a proper cup like fans are used to, with most games played on Saturday early afternoons to avoid lighting issues and encourage attendance from home and interstate fans. The real appeal of the cup, watching A-League teams struggle with lower standard facilities against a team of part timers. If some Vic State League 4 team draws Melbourne Victory and plays out of a grass paddock with a bog for a pitch and facilites that are little more than some dodgy cold showers and cramped change rooms, then play the game there. Moving games to a neutral stadium that is miles away and too big for an A-League team interests no one.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
The final last year shows attendance at 14000 plus - not actual capacity but pretty good but after all the final is an event and even though we talk about Sydneysiders being event goers, Adelaide fans certainly turn up for the big event in far greater numbers than in the lead up - switch to the cricket ground for A League final comes to mind. I don’t hear much talk about it anywhere though and as I previously stated, nice if you are in it, but nobody is bothered really when their team is knocked out although better to avoid embarrassment. Hope it is an entertaining game tonight - that to me is the best way of selling the product.
Franko
Guest
Stand outside Hindmarsh tonight and see how far you get telling the sell out crowd the comp is going backwards. Ask your mates at Brisbane Strikers who had what, 5-6k through the gate in their GF+SF FFA cup games, it'd take them a cumulative NPL season to get those numbers. HAL ratings and crowds up or down? So is the problem with the FFA cup, or football?
markc
Guest
And also will help with crowds by being played on Friday nights or weekends. Personally I quite enjoy it as a lead up to the season and watch it on Foxtel even if City not playing, but it makes it very hard for families to attend during school nights
jamesb
Roar Guru
It's turned into a pre season comp because of the A League's long off season. Ultimately what would help the FFA Cup is the formation of the second division.
Nick Symonds
Guest
Najjarine adds to a list of good dribblers along with Daniel Arzani, Tyrese Francois, Reno Piscopo and Remy Cho. They're the new golden generation. I wonder how many more we could find if there were more teams and more places in the A-League.
Franko
Guest
I'd expect City to win this, they have too much experience and class. I'd also expect a sell out, not bad for a Wednesday night. Finally, this should be a cracking game, aside one youngster last week the rest have played with confidence, D'Arrigo, Toure and even Brook looked good last weekend.
Waz
Roar Rookie
If it engages fans they’d be attending games. They’re not attending games, attendance is awful. If it engages fans they’d be watching on tv. They’re not, viewership is awful. If it engages fans sponsors would be all over it. They’re not, can you list out the FFA Cups sponsors? They’re not there! If it engages fans social media metrics would be good. They’re not, it doesn’t even rate. Even if all these things are accepted as being poor, if it WERE engaging fans you would at least expect attendance, viewing, sponsorship & social media hits to be increasing year on year .... instead they are decreasing and going from bad to worse. The FFA Cup is not engaging fans. What is it with people in and around Australian football and an inability to look at something and say “something’s not right, we need to change something!” Here’s a tip - if your car is misfiring or clearly in need of some repair, denying it will not change anything. It still needs work doing!! As I said, the FFA Cup is in need of an overhaul because the FFA will not be able to fund it for much longer. You can stick your head in the sand if you like, I prefer to lobby for change ... and to do it before it’s too late!
Stevo
Roar Rookie
You didn’t mention the Erick sunnies that were on offer pre-game on Sunday! But yes he has set about his task very well and the lads have a more positive approach to play. Let’s get another trophy boyz :happy:
Franko
Guest
And yet when Brisbane were in it all we heard about was Robbie Fowler measuring out training pitches and the swathes of orange heading north to "the template" Dolphin stadium. . It's a great comp, engages fans and players top to bottom and only needs the final moved to kick off the A-League season and it's basically perfect. No other code can compete with it.
brookvalesouth
Roar Rookie
I'm already in love with Le Patron!