2024 Australia Cup final

Last updated

2024 Australia Cup Final
Event 2024 Australia Cup
Date29 September 2024 (2024-09-29)
Venue AAMI Park, Melbourne
Man of the Match Filip Kurto (Macarthur FC) [1]
Referee Jonathan Barreiro
Attendance13,289
2023
2025

The 2024 Australia Cup Final was an association football match played between A-League Men sides Melbourne Victory and Macarthur FC at AAMI Park in Melbourne on 29 September 2024 to determine the winners of the 2024 Australia Cup. [2] It was the ninth Australia Cup final and the 42nd final of Australian soccer's primary cup competitions. It was the first FFA Cup/Australia Cup final to be played in September.

Contents

The 2024 Australia Cup final's crowd of 13,289 is the lowest ever crowd for an Australia Cup final.

Teams

TeamPrevious final appearances (bold indicates winners)
Melbourne Victory 2 ( 2015, 2021 )
Macarthur FC 1 (2022)

Route to the final

Melbourne Victory Round Macarthur FC
OpponentScoreOpponentScore
Lambton Jaffas 4–1 (A)Round of 32 O'Connor Knights 2–1 (A)
NWS Spirit 4–0 (A)Round of 16 Newcastle Jets 4–3 (A)
Moreton City Excelsior 4–0 (A)Quarter-finals Oakleigh Cannons 1–0 (A)
Adelaide United 1–0 (H)Semi-finals South Melbourne 1–0 (A)
Note: In all results above, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Melbourne Victory

Melbourne Victory began their Australia Cup run in the Round of 32 with an away match against the Lambon Jaffas. Victory won the match 4–1 through two goals by Nishan Velupillay and one each by Bruno Fornaroli and Alex Lee and qualifying for the Round of 16. [3] Two weeks later, Victory began their Round of 16 match away against NWS Spirit winning 4–0 through another two goals by Nishan Velupillay, and further goals by Ryan Teague and Nikos Vergos. [4] The quarter-final match away against Moreton City Excelsior saw Victory win 4–0; so far all three cup matches scoring four goals, as Nikos Vergos scored two goals, and Kasey Bos and Nishan Velupillay each scoring one. [5] The semi-final against Adelaide United was Victory's first home tie in this Australia Cup run, which was won 1–0 through a late winner by Jordi Valadon. [6]

Macarthur FC

Macarthur FC also began their Australia Cup run in the Round of 32 playing away against O'Connor Knights; despite conceding the opening goal, came back to win 2–1 through goals by Jake Hollman and Luke Brattan to qualify for the Round of 16. [7] Macarthur versed A-League Men side away against the Newcastle Jets which was won 4–3 after falling behind twice as Valère Germain and Marin Jakoliš both scored two goals. [8] Macarthur travelled to Melbourne for their quarter-final and semi-final match-ups. First Macarthur took on Oakleigh Cannons away and won 1–0 through an early goal by Valère Germain. [5] The semi-final was up against South Melbourne away and also won 1–0 through a Valère Germain penalty in the 84th minute who was also sent off in the last minutes of the match. [9]

Match

Background

Details

Melbourne Victory (1)0–1 Macarthur FC (1)
Report
  • Jakoliš Soccerball shade.svg58'
AAMI Park , Melbourne
Attendance: 13,289
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
Melbourne Victory
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
Macarthur FC
GK25 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Duncan
RB2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jason Geria
CB5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brendan Hamill
CB21 Flag of Portugal (official).svg Roderick Miranda
LB28 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kasey Bos
CM14 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jordi Valadon
CM8 Flag of France.svg Zinédine Machach Sub off.svg 79'
CM6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ryan Teague
RW27 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Reno Piscopo Sub off.svg 66'
CF9 Flag of Greece.svg Nikos Vergos Sub off.svg 66'
LW17 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Nishan Velupillay
Substitutes:
GK40 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Christian Siciliano
DF3 Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg Adama Traoré
DF22 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Joshua Rawlins
MF18 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Fabian Monge
FW10 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bruno Fornaroli Sub on.svg 66'
FW19 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jing Reec Sub on.svg 66'
FW35 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jordan Hoey Sub on.svg 79'
Head Coach:
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Patrick Kisnorbo
GK12 Flag of Poland.svg Filip Kurto
CB6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tomislav Uskok
CB5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matthew Jurman
CB13 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ivan Vujica
RM20 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kealey Adamson
CM26 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Luke Brattan
CM22 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Liam Rose
LM18 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Walter Scott
RW8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jake Hollman Yellow card.svg 65'Sub off.svg 73'
CF11 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jed Drew Sub off.svg 80'
LW44 Flag of Croatia.svg Marin Jakoliš Yellow card.svg 55'Sub off.svg 90+5'
Substitutes:
GK40 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Franklin Jan
DF16 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Oliver Jones Sub on.svg 90+5'
DF27 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Joshua Damevski
DF33 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Yianni Nicolaou
MF28 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ante Vojvodic
FW19 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ariath Piol Sub on.svg 80'
FW24 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dean Bosnjak Sub on.svg 73'
Head Coach:
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mile Sterjovski

Assistant referees:
Ashley Beecham
Arvin Shanmuganathan
Fourth official:
Jack Morgan

Match rules

Post-match

Melbourne Victory manager Patrick Kisnorbo stated he omitted star player Daniel Arzani from both the starting lineup and the substitute bench due to experimentation with the squad as a result of Arzani's eventual suspension from the first match of the regular season for yellow card accumulation. [10] Arzani played a key role in leading Victory to the final, having played in all four matches leading up to the final and contributing two assists in the quarter-final match against Moreton City Excelsior. [10] [11] After the loss in the final, Kisnorbo stated he stood by his decision. [12] However, it was also reported a day after the match that the main reason Arzani was excluded from the matchday squad for the final was rumored to be for the anger he expressed towards Kisnorbo at training during the week, with speculation variously suggesting this was due to him discovering he wouldn't be in the starting team, while also being reported it was due to him being offered to other clubs during the offseason. [13] Days following the final, Arzani was included in Tony Popovic's inaugural Australia squad for World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan, but was not named in the matchday squad against China and was an unused substitute against Japan. [14] After returning to Melbourne from international duty, Arzani was replaced in Victory's starting lineup by Kisnorbo for Reno Piscopo in the ensuing matches, and was not called up by Popovic for the next set of World Cup qualifying matches in November. [15] [16]

Macarthur's Australia Cup triumph was their second silverware in club history following their 2022 Australia Cup win. [17]

References

  1. Harrington, Anna (29 September 2024). "Bulls put horror off-season behind them with Cup win". Yahoo!. Filip Kurto starred, becoming the first goalkeeper to win the Mark Viduka Medal.
  2. "Australia Cup Final 2024 Venue and Date Confirmed". Australia Cup . 23 September 2024.
  3. Gibson, Tim (6 August 2024). "WATCH: South Melbourne headline Victorian hatrick, Olympic Kingsway break West Aussie hoodoo". Australia Cup .
  4. Gibson, Tim (28 August 2024). "WATCH: Moreton City remarkable comeback, Victory cruise through, Oakleigh win on penalties". Australia Cup .
  5. 1 2 Gibson, Tim (16 September 2024). "WATCH: Macarthur defeat Oakleigh, Victory down Moreton City to lock in semi-finals". Australia Cup .
  6. Gibson, Tim (22 September 2024). "WATCH: Valadon strike steers Victory to Australia Cup Final". Australia Cup .
  7. Gibson, Tim (1 August 2024). "WATCH: Cannons cupset Sydney again, Moreton City, Hume City and Macarthur FC advance". Australia Cup .
  8. Gibson, Tim (25 August 2024). "WATCH: Bulls comeback in all A-League thriller, Jankovic inspires dramatic South Melbourne win". Australia Cup .
  9. Gibson, Tim (22 September 2024). "WATCH: Bulls book Australia Cup Final spot overcoming intense Lakeside atmosphere". Australia Cup .
  10. 1 2 "Socceroo left out in Australia Cup Final bombshell as Germain replacement revealed". 29 September 2024.
  11. https://www.theroar.com.au/2024/09/21/australia-cup-semi-finals-a-league-rivalry-set-to-erupt-in-victory-reds-blockbuster/
  12. https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/other/kisnorbo-stands-by-arzani-final-omission-call/ar-AA1rq4ai
  13. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/daniel-arzanis-outburst-not-tolerated-by-melbourne-victory-coach-patrick-kisnorbo/news-story/1a6e17384e469a7b94d6491b827ec62c
  14. "Tony Popovic names his inaugural Subway Socceroos squad | Socceroos". 4 October 2024.
  15. "Arzani seizes 'opportunity' as Victory produce payback against Macarthur".
  16. "Subway Socceroos Squad for November World Cup Qualifiers confirmed | Socceroos".
  17. "ASEAN Wrap: Macarthur lift Australia Cup".