| Event | 2017–18 A-League | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 5 May 2018 | ||||||
| Venue | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Lawrence Thomas | ||||||
| Referee | Jarred Gillett | ||||||
| Attendance | 29,410 | ||||||
The 2018 A-League Grand Final was the thirteenth A-League Grand Final, played on 5 May 2018. The match took place at McDonald Jones Stadium, with Newcastle Jets hosting Melbourne Victory, the first A-League grand final held outside a metropolitan city. [1]
Kosta Barbarouses scored the only goal of the game, in the 9th minute. It was a controversial goal, as replays showed that there was an offside offence in the lead up to the goal, but the Video Assistant Referee system had gone down for technical reasons and the goal was allowed to stand.
In the following table, finals until 2004 were in the National Soccer League era, since 2006 were in the A-League era.
| Team | Previous final appearances (bold indicates winners) |
|---|---|
| Newcastle Jets | 1 ( 2008 ) |
| Melbourne Victory | 5 ( 2007 , 2009 , 2010, 2015 , 2017) |
Kosta Barbarouses's 9th-minute goal was the fastest ever goal scored in an A-League Grand Final. [2]
Kosta Barbarouses's 9th-minute goal was the equal 3rd fastest goal ever scored in any previous National Soccer League Grand Final & A-League Grand Final history behind John Anastasiadis in 1998 for South Melbourne against Carlton at Olympic Park, Mile Sterjovski in 1999 for Sydney United against South Melbourne at Olympic Park, and Mark Koussas in 1984 for Sydney Olympic against South Melbourne at Olympic Park.
Melbourne Victory became the first ever team to qualify for the A-League Grand Final from outside the top 3. With their win, the Victory became the first team in A-League history to win 4 championships, and the first team in A-League history to win the Championship from outside the top 2. [3]
Melbourne Victory also became the first team to win the championship from outside the top 2 positions after regular season since Adelaide City won the 1994 NSL Grand Final from 5th spot on the ladder and Melbourne Victory are only just the 9th team in history to win an away from home Grand Final in 34-year history of season deciders in NSL & A-League history and were just only the 7th team in history to win the NSL Grand Final & A-League Grand Final from outside the top 2 positions after regular season.
Melbourne Victory equal the record for most NSL & A-League championships on four titles along with Hakoah Sydney City (1977, 1980, 1981, 1982), Marconi Stallions (1979, 1988, 1989, 1993), and South Melbourne (1984, 1991, 1998, 1999).
The crowd of 29,410 was Newcastle's biggest ever home attendance.
Kosta Barbarouses's goal in the 9th minute of the game came about via a header from James Donachie, however Donachie was offside when Leroy George took the free kick which Donachie passed to Barbarouses. The game's video assistant referee (VAR) system failed to detect Donachie's offside position as its video feed had failed in the thirty seconds leading up to the goal. By the time the system was restored, the game had resumed, meaning the decision to allow the goal stood. The Football Federation Australia later acknowledged the technical issues, but offered no real apology to the Newcastle team or fans. [4] It was discovered that the VAR system had lost access to the camera views which would have allowed for the offside ruling. The incident only happened once throughout the season. FFA's Head of Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League, Greg O'Rourke, stated "This is important not just for the Hyundai A-League but for other leagues around the world and for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia at which VAR will be used for the first time." [5]
Roy O'Donovan was immediately issued a red card, and later on a 10 game ban, for the high kick he delivered against Victory goal keeper Lawrence Thomas's face in the 93rd minute of the final. [6]
Following the 3 days of deliberation after the hearing, the Football Federation Australia's disciplinary and ethics committee decided on the harsh punishment for the Newcastle striker. It is the second-biggest ban ever given in the A-League, over the 8-game ban he had been given two years earlier for headbutting Wellington's Manny Muscat. O'Donovan's representation agreed that his actions were "careless" but also argued that he had been playing the ball in desperation to score an equaliser in the game's final seconds. Arguments which the disciplinary committee dismissed, insisting that his intention was clearly to injure Thomas as he was rushing for the ball. Ivan Griscti, FIFA's counsel, stated that "it does appear that the player is looking at the goalkeeper". O'Donovan attempted to plead his case via video link, stating that his vision at the time was blurred having been elbowed in the face from Besart Berisha only moments before, and that he had not realized that he had made contact with Thomas' head. [7]
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney FC | 64 |
| 2 | Newcastle Jets | 50 |
| 3 | Melbourne City | 43 |
| 4 | Melbourne Victory | 41 |
| 5 | Adelaide United | 39 |
| 6 | Brisbane Roar | 35 |
| Elimination-finals | Semi-finals | Grand Final | |||||||||
| Sydney FC | 2 | ||||||||||
| Melbourne Victory | 2 | Melbourne Victory | 3 | ||||||||
| Adelaide United | 1 | Newcastle Jets | 0 | ||||||||
| Melbourne Victory | 1 | ||||||||||
| Newcastle Jets | 2 | ||||||||||
| Melbourne City | 2 | Melbourne City | 1 | ||||||||
| Brisbane Roar | 0 | ||||||||||
| Newcastle Jets | 0–1 | Melbourne Victory |
|---|---|---|
| Reports [8] |
|
          Newcastle Jets |      Melbourne Victory |
|
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Joe Marston Medal: Assistant referees: | Match rules
|
| A-League 2018 Champions |
|---|
 |
| Melbourne Victory Fourth Title |
| Newcastle Jets | Melbourne Victory | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 0 | 1 |
| Total shots | 14 | 7 |
| Shots on target | 4 | 2 |
| Ball possession | 58.3% | 41.7% |
| Corner kicks | 4 | 5 |
| Fouls Conceded | 12 | 17 |
| Offsides | 1 | 2 |
| Yellow cards | 2 | 1 |
| Red cards | 1 | 0 |
The Grand Final was broadcast live throughout Australia on Fox Sports and Network Ten. [10]
Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was formed in 2000 when it joined the National Soccer League (NSL) and was one of only three former NSL clubs to join in the formation of the A-League.
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory entered the competition in the inaugural season as the only Victorian-based club in the newly revamped domestic Australian league.
Glen Robert Moss is a New Zealand former football goalkeeper who is goalkeeping coach for Macarthur FC. He played for New Zealand at international level. A foundational member of both the New Zealand Knights and Wellington Phoenix, Moss has competed in 14 seasons of the A-League, making 250 appearances while playing for the Knights, Phoenix, Melbourne Victory, Gold Coast United, and Newcastle Jets. Career highlights include starting a Grand Final with Newcastle, appearing in AFC Champions League games with Melbourne Victory and Newcastle, and making an A-League Team of the Season with Gold Coast.
Roy Simon O'Donovan is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for National Premier Leagues Northern NSW side Newcastle Olympic FC. He has been capped by Ireland at Under-19, Under-21 and B level. O'Donovan has previously played for Cork City, Sunderland, Dundee United, Blackpool, Southend United, Hartlepool United, Coventry City, Hibernian, Northampton Town, DPMM FC, Mitra Kukar FC, Central Coast Mariners, Brisbane Roar, Newcastle Jets and Sydney Olympic.
Konstantinos "Kosta" Barbarouses is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a winger for A-League Men club Wellington Phoenix FC.
Jason Hoffman is an Australian association football player who currently plays for Newcastle Olympic FC. He is the most capped player in Newcastle Jets history.
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Andrew Nabbout is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a winger for A-League club Melbourne City.
The 2013–14 Melbourne Victory season is the ninth A-League season for the club.
The 2015 A-League Grand Final was the tenth A-League Grand Final, and was played on 17 May 2015, at AAMI Park to determine the 2014–15 A-League Champion. The match was contested by the two winning semi-finalists and Big Blue rivals, Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC, who finished the 2014–15 A-League season in first and second position respectively.
The 2015 FFA Cup Final was the 2nd final of the FFA Cup, the premier soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. The match was held on 7 November 2015 at AAMI Park. The final was held on a Saturday night for the first time. Adelaide United were the defending champions, though they were knocked out of the competition at the Quarter-Final stage by rivals Melbourne Victory.
The 2018–19 A-League was the 42nd season of national level soccer in Australia, and the 14th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. The regular season commenced on 19 October 2018 and concluded on 28 April 2019. The play-offs began on 3 May 2019 and ended with the Grand Final on 19 May 2019. Sydney FC defeated Perth Glory in the Grand Final.
The 2019–20 A-League, also known as the 2019–20 Hyundai A-League for sponsorship reasons, was the 43rd season of national level soccer in Australia, and the 15th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. The regular season commenced on 11 October 2019 and was scheduled to conclude on 26 April 2020, though was postponed to 19 August 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic caused Football Federation Australia (FFA) to suspend the season from late March to mid July. The season resumed on 17 July 2020, which meant the finals occurred in mid-August and the Grand Final was held on 30 August 2020.
The 2019–20 season was the Melbourne Victory's 15th season in the A-League. The club participated in the A-League, the FFA Cup, and the AFC Champions League.
The 2020 A-League Grand Final was the fifteenth A-League Grand Final, the championship-deciding match of the Australian A-League and the culmination of the 2019–20 season. The match was originally scheduled to be played in May 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was played on 30 August 2020 between Sydney FC and Melbourne City at Bankwest Stadium in the western Sydney suburb of Parramatta, New South Wales.
The 2021–22 season was Newcastle Jets' 21st season since its establishment in 2000. The club participated in the A-League for the 17th time.
The A-League Men Grand Final is an association football match to determine the champions for an A-League Men season. Played at the end of the finals series, the game has been held annually since 2006.
The 2018 A-League finals series was the 13th annual edition of the A-League finals series, the playoffs tournament staged to determine the champion of the 2018–19 A-League season. The series was played over three weeks culminating in the 2018 A-League Grand Final, where Melbourne Victory won a fourth championship 1–0 against Newcastle Jets.
