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After a “fiery” extra-time clash, the Central Coast Mariners have made history and were crowned champions of the A-League, defeating Melbourne Victory 3-1 in the final.
Mark Jackson’s men became the first A-League team to achieve a treble in the history of the competition, after securing the premiership and AFC Cup earlier this season.
Victory were just minutes away from securing the title, before Mariners striker Ryan Edmondson leveled the scores in the 91st minute to take the game into extra time.
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Central Coast Stadium was again set alight seven minutes into extra time, when Miguel Di Pizio slammed the ball into the back of the net and put the side in front.
Josh Nisbet sent a beautiful pass to the left to find Ronald Barcellos who cut the ball through the centre for 18-year-old Di Pizio to shoot, and become the youngest ever goal scorer in an A-League Grand Final.
The Mariners stunned in front of a record-breaking 21,379 home crowd, with Edmonson sealing the deal in the 121st minute with a scorching ball into the back of the net.
After 50 minutes of deadlock, Jason Geria broke the stalemate when he smashed a screamer into the top-left corner.
The Victory defender is the only member of the Melbourne-based team to have previously played in a final, as he scored just the third goal of his A-League career.
Both teams came out full of energy with Melbourne Victory’s Daniel Arzani first to take a shot at goal but the ball drifted wide.
Central Coast had more possession of the ball, at 56 percent, with both sides recording one shot at goal each in the opening 15 minutes of the match.
Adama Traore was awarded the first yellow card in the match as Victory teammate Damien Da Silva was left covered in blood.
Traore had himself to blame for the incident, as he pulled down Mariner’s winger Theoharous, who was accelerating down the pitch in a beautiful counter-attack play.
Referee Alex King wasted no time awarding the caution, with the Mariners awarded a free kick.
Mikela Doka floated a free kick towards the back post where Brian Kaltak headed the ball forward, however, drama quickly struck as Mariners striker Alou Kuol and Victory defender Damien Da Silva collided in the air.
Both men suffered injuries to their heads and required heavy bandaging to remain on the field, with play paused for seven minutes.
“There is a nice little streak on Kuol’s head now but that was just an unfortunate one. This battle is going to be like this all night,” Alex Brosque said on Paramount +.
Victory took over possession late in the half, sending multiple shots at goal towards Mariners goalkeeper Danny Vukovic.
A sweeping attacking play saw the Mariners take various attempts at goal in the second half, however, all were unsuccessful.
Andy Harper described the scenes prior to the end of regulation as “fiery, competitive and combative,” with the Mariners struggling to convert attacking plays into points despite maintaining control over the match.
A late resurgence from the homeside saw Popovic fail to leave his fifth A-League Grand Final with a trophy, with the star coach still yet to claim the number one title whilst at the helm of a team.
After 125 minutes of play, the final whistle was blown as the Mariners celebrated their second straight A-League win.
