The Mark Viduka Medal, for the man of the match, is presented by the big marn himself, Mark Viduka. And it goes to Cirio. No arguments. And after a few generous words from Perth’s captain Michael Thwaite, and the handing out of runners-up medallions, Adelaide finally get to hoist the trophy. As as they celebrate into the night along with their supporters I’ll leave you to it.
Thanks for reading. Night.
Adelaide parade around the pitch in front of the 16,000-odd full-house and Carrusca gives his team’s work safety officer the chills when he scales the goals and straddles the crossbar, bouncing up and down.
Full-time: Adelaide 1-0 Perth
Adelaide win the inaugural FFA Cup and deservedly so. Perth just couldn’t impose themselves, and after Risdon was sent off with 30 minutes to go their task become all the more difficult. Adelaide took some time to find their rhythm but when they did they fashioned a number of good chances, but could only take the one. Still, that’s all it takes sometimes, and it was enough tonight.
90 min + 3: Just a minute to go as Adelaide play keepings off and the crowd noise becomes a crescendo, peppered by whistles. But Perth win the ball and Maclaren tries a cheeky chip from the right of Adelaide’s area, but his ambition exceeded the execution and Galekovic watched it sail out. And there’s the ref’s whistle!
90 min + 1: Perth just cannot get a touch here as Adelaide traverse the entire pitch in order to keep the ball off them. Jeggo, meantime, is clipped by a frustrated Thwaite in the centre circle and Adelaide don’t hurry the free-kick.
89 min: You can see why Adelaide struggle to convert possession into goals; they are again passing it around Perth’s 18-yard box but everyone in red wants to take an extra touch, or find a teammate running through, instead of leathering it first time. So they get closed down again and again.
There will be 3 minutes time added on.
87 min: Adelaide are lining up along the Perth 18-yard box but no-one can get a decent shot in, particularly Jeggo whose ruins a good opportunity to get himself on the score sheet with a weak shot into the legs of the defence.
85 min: Adelaide are set for a corner but it’s put on ice as Djite is substituted for Cameron Watson as Gombau looks to bolster the midfield with the win in sight. The corner is finally taken ... but nah. All that waiting for nothing.
82 min: A cross from the right seeks out the sub Maclaren (who snuck on at some point) at the near post but Galekovic is awake to it and catches it on the half-volley. A reminder that it is just 1-0 and Perth are very much in this.
81 min: Into the last 10 minutes... is it time for Perth to go for broke? Keogh looks up for it after collecting an errant elbow that has him hot under the collar.
79 min: Ferreira now chances his arm, or leg as the case may be. A speculative left-foot drive from 30 yards that rolls right of Vukovic’s left post.
And now Carrusca —who made the assist for Cirio’s goal— is off for Pablo Sanchez and he gets a lovely ovation from the home crowd.
77 min: And Carrusca wastes the opportunity by sending his free-kick into the crowd. Is there helium in the ball tonight?
76 min: Free-kick to Adelaide just outside the area, dead centre. Thwaite stuck his leg across Carrusca to dispossess him but took more Carrusca than ball. Carrusca went down like a gum tree in a storm.
74 min: Carrusca, on the right, finds the ball falling to him inside the penalty area but his attempt at side-footing it inside the far post fails with some degree of comfort. Should have done better there, perhaps even sealed the match.
71 min: Adelaide now look in total control and they pass it around the back with comfort. To get back into this Perth will have to risk pushing forward. How long will they wait?
That’s Cirio’s sixth FFA Cup goal now in five games. Not a bad return. And of course when you’re asked the question in 23 years’ time about who scored the first even goal in an FFA Cup final you now have your answer.
67 min: After some searching passes by Djite outside Perth’s D, Carrusca turned on the ball and found Cirio running into the area. Cirio, at pace, managed to nick it around Vukovic and from an acute angle near the right by-line he found the goal, though it may have been helped in by a desperate lunge from Djulbic. Lovely-worked goal and Cirio was mobbed by his delighted teammates.
GOAL! Adelaide 1-0 Perth (Cirio 67)
And there’s the breakthrough!
Updated
65 min: Marrone overlaps down the right as Adelaide continue to press for the goal you feel will win them the game. Perth just haven’t been at the races tonight.
62 min: Elrich pushes forward again but after an exchange of passes Adelaide can’t find the killer ball and Vukovic intercepts a through-ball to no-one.
Mabil has been substituted, by the by. Ferreira is on in his place.
Perth's Risdon sent off!
59 min: With Carrusca having got the better of him Risdon, on the sideline, can’r resist pulling Carrusca back by the shirt. A clear foul and that’s his second yellow. Perth look in all sorts now.
Though maybe not if they can’t hit the target. From distance, Elrich almost hits his shot over the roof of the stadium.
57 min: More pressure from Adelaide has Perth defending in numbers and you can almost hear them sigh with relief when they win the ball and punt it downfield simply to buy time.
54 min: Isaias hauls down Zadkovic for no reason I can make out. He was going nowhere in a hurry. But Perth make nothing of the free-kick and Adelaide break. Cirio runs the ball to the left edge of Perth’s D and, as he tries to find space for a shot, he cuts in and out like a jigsaw maker with too many Red Bulls under his belt. His path continually blocked he slips the ball right to Mabil who cuts to his right and from an acute angle again shoots to the heavens, sparing Vukovic from making a save. Mabil just can’t hit the target tonight.
52 min: Gombau takes his turn for the sideline interview but I can’t decipher a word. I did hear him say thank you, however, as the Fox team left him in an awful hurry.
50 min: Jamieson, in space, keep running because Adelaide are letting him. Given their largesse he makes it to the shade of Adelaide’s box before welly-ing it high and wide.
Updated
48 min: Perth are really missing Mitch Nichols’ mobility and guile tonight. Zadkovich is not quite a like-for-like substitution.
And here’s a contested drop ball! Talk about history! Adelaide win it, for those keeping stats.
47 min: And an early free kick is taken by Carrusca on the right flank but it gets no curl and Galekovic claims it on the six-yard box with little fuss.
Pfffft!
And the Reds get us underway for the second half. They had the better of things in the first 45 but will bemoan their poor finishing; well, Mabil’s poor finishing. For Perth, De Silva has been replaced by Sidney.
Half-time: Adelaide 0-0 Perth
And that’s the whistle for oranges. I might get one myself. Back soon. Remember, there are operators standing by for your calls. Send them to paul.connolly@theguardian.com.
45 min + 1: A goal gone begging for Adelaide! Griffths is dispossessed on the halfway line and it falls to Djite who after a burst of pace slides a lovely pass behind a retreating Jamieson and finds Mabil in all kinds of space. From the right edge of the 6-yard box Mabil shoots but he can’t keep it down, and Galekovic is spared making a save as the ball flies high. He really should have hit the target at least, and Gombau nearly falls off his chair.
Updated
45 min: Tempers do seem to be getting a little heated out there, particularly among the Glory ranks. It’s not helping that Adelaide are making more and more incursions into their defensive third.
42 min: Risdon earns a yellow for chopping down Cirio after the Spaniard silkily slipped the ball past him with the Perth D looming. Cynical. But Adelaide can’t manufacture a shot on target from the ensuing free kick, and Perth clear.
39 min: Looking to take a quick throw, but finding Carrusca getting in his way, Griffiths gives him the gentlest of pushes in the chest. Alert but not alarmed, the referee races over at great pace to throw himself between the two men just in case they were planning at going the knuckle, State of Origin style.
38 min: A long ball to Keogh almost finds him in space but McGowan has it under control and Keogh clatters into the back of him, earning Adelaide a free kick.
35 min: Another corner for Adelaide and the crowd are really lifting, but they come down to earth soon enough when the short corner sees Adelaide retreat with the ball to their own half. I realise you keep possession when you take a short corner but surely you should still aim to get the ball into an area that gives the opposition the sweats.
33 min: Elrich surges towards Perth’s box and although he has cover Richard Garcia deliberately, and lazily, pulls him back with his arm. Easier than running, I suppose, but he earns a yellow from it.
The resulting free kick is buddled over the byline by Perth but Adelaide’s corner is headed clear by Djulbic.
31 min: Quick feet by Griffiths in traffic earns Adelaide their first corner. It’s taken short but Perth hound the ball off Cirio and any danger is averted.
29 min: Mabil’s cross from the right wing sails across everyone and out over the left touchline. Fair to say he overhit that.
But this game is building, it seems, and the crowd are getting more involved.
27 min: Adelaide then surge into Perth’s penalty box with Cirio looking to slide in a by-line beating cross, but the ball just beats him over the line.
25 min: Perth blow a golden opportunity to open the scoring! Markinovic glides through the heart of Adelaide after dropping the shoulder to beat the first defender, then hurdling the second. He sends a lovely ball forward for Garcia who only has Galekovic to beat. But he clumsily fails to round him and the movement comes to a crashing halt, though Keogh calls for a penalty for what I don’t know.
23 min: Zadkovich gets pinged for a clumsy foul, his third of the match. He’s finding it hard to get to the pace of the ball, according to Andy Harper, somewhat kindly.
21 min: Adelaide continue to probe, and Djite wins possession just in Perth’s half. He finds Cirio who crosses in Mabil’s direction but Thwaite intervenes when things looked dangerous.
“It’s all going to plan,” says Kenny Lowe, interviewed mid-game.
19 min: Adelaide sustain some pressure here but the best they can offer is a long-range shot from Carrusca, I think it was. He hit it sweetly but it was always rising and Vukovic had nowt to do.
17 min: A burst of action, again stemming from Mabil on the right. After carving himself some space he crossed through the legs of a couple of Perth defenders and that was enough to leave Djite unsighted in the middle when it appeared he’d at least get a shot in. The cross continued to Cirio who cut inside and found Jeggo but despite some twinkle-toeing he couldn’t manage a shot.
15 min: It really is a bit scrappy so far but here’s Marrone galloping downfield, only for his pass to Mabil to be intercepted. Marrone takes his throw into a blazing sun but Perth clean up and push forward.
12 min: Mabil has been a regular target for Adelaide’s midfield but on this occasion he’s given too much to do and a through-ball runs out for an Adelaide throw. Given Mabil’s pace, they’ll try again. And again.
Ange Postecoglou looks on from the stands. He looks like he’s thinking hard: Coopers green or red? Decisions, decisions.
10 min: As you’d expect, Perth are putting pressure on Adelaide to prevent them playing it out from the back with any kind of ease. By contrast Adelaide are allowing Perth to push up to the halfway before getting their hands out of their pockets.
7 min: One for Joe Gorman, when Zadkovich finds space outside Adelaide’s box and attempts a long-range bomb. It happened too fast for me to count the rows of fans but I’d guess it landed in row W. Maybe X.
5 min: No match rhythm to speak of just yet as both teams whack each other lightly with pillows, probing ever so gently for a weakness.
But then a bizarre non strike at goal! Cirio finds space on the edge of the D after some lovely lead-up play by Adelaide and he passes across the face of goal into the path of Mabil who seemed to be in a perfect position to side foot it inside the near post but he just let it run right past him. Did he catch his boot? Surely that’s the only explanation.
2 min: Adelaide look for a corner when Mabil and Thwaite chase a ball down the right wing and Mabil appears to kick it out off the shins of Thwaite. But Mabil —who’s starting in place of Ferreira— pushed him in the build-up, so no corner.
Pfffft!
And we’re off, with Perth hopefully not setting the tone by punting from inside their own half directly to Galekovic.
Kick-off is imminent: Adelaide playing in red tonight, Perth in yellow, Gomabu in beige chinos and a black jacket. Where’s his suit?! Perhaps they are all at the dry-cleaners, where the grass stains are proving stubborn to shift.
Ahead of the national anthem by Wendy Matthews —now there’s a blast from the past— the stadium is holding a moment’s silence for the victims of last night’s tragic events in Sydney’s Martin Place.
Fox Sports are using tinkly piano music to soundtrack the build-up, to inject ‘magic’ into proceedings. They are also overlaying footage of this year’s matches with a kind of grainy effect as if to simulate history.
But here’s the present! The teams are on their way, and they file in orderly fashion past the FFA Cup, a massive piece of silverware that would take an age to polish.
Updated
And Adelaide’s 3-1 win over Sydney, Djite at the double:
Now, with the game fast approaching, here’s a reminder of Perth’s best effort en route to the final, their 4-2 win over Victory. I realise I am getting old but I’d advise you turning the sound down. Dear God, what a racket!
If you prefer your teams in team-sheet form:
Has Kenny Lowe written his upside down or is Keogh starting in goal?
Your Westfield #FFACupFinal Starting Lists pic.twitter.com/0swRuTI0uB
— Westfield FFA Cup (@FFACup) December 16, 2014
The Teams
Adelaide United: Galekovic (c), Marrone, Boogaard, McGowan, Isaias, Cirio, Carrusca, Djite, Mabil, Jeggo, Elrich
Perth Glory: Vukovic, Griffiths, Djulbic, Zadkovich, Keogh, Nebo, Garcia, Risdon, de Silva, Jamieson, Thwaite (c)
According to the team sheets, both teams will start with a 4-3-3. I’ll start with a sparkling water but I may have to move on to something heavier at halftime.
The venue
Any question over the advantage Adelaide has in playing at home seems to be answered by this photo: Coopers Stadium looks a picture:
What a magnificent sight! @CoopersStadium is filling up. 30 minutes until kick-off. #FFACupFinal pic.twitter.com/GBiHseLfYN
— Westfield FFA Cup (@FFACup) December 16, 2014
The road to the final
Having both joined the FFA Cup for the round of 32, Adelaide and Perth have played four fixtures each. Perth began with a 2-0 win over Newcastle Jets and followed that up with a 4-1 away win over Melbourne’s St Albans Saints. In the quarters, Perth upset Melbourne Victory 4-2 in extra time after being down 1-0, then in the semis they accounted for Melbourne-based semi-pros Bentleigh Greens 3-0. Leading the way on their goalscorers’ list is Andy Keogh and Nebojsa Marinkovic, both with five goals.
Adelaide, on the other hand, beat four A-League opponents en route to the final: Wellington 1-0, Brisbane 2-0, Sydney FC 3-1 and Central Coast 3-2. Cirio has top-scored with five goals, with Djite three and Mabil one.
As for tonight’s match, well, we seem to be in luck because both Perth and Adelaide are in excellent form and on that basis it seems fair to expect —nay, demand— a memorable encounter. If not so memorable they’ll be talking about it 100 years from now, then at least memorable enough that we’ll be inclined to chat about it tomorrow at the office well (aka the big can of International Roast that the tight-arse purse string holders in your office seem to think is coffee).
Kenny Lowe’s Perth, of course, are outright leaders of the A-League after 10 rounds, and any surprise at their lofty position has since dissipated, the tipping point being, arguably, their excellent come-from-behind 2-1 win over Sydney at the SFS 12 days ago. Josep Gombau’s Adelaide, meantime, are five points behind in third having played some scintillating, Spanish-flavoured football along the way. They are coming off a surprise home loss to Brisbane but the home crowd should tip them, just, into favourites territory for tonight’s match.
It’s not particularly fair one team should get home ground advantage in a cup final but you can understand the FFA’s reluctance to play it at a neutral venue and in front of, they would have feared, more empty seats than punters. When the competition builds momentum and compiles history this may change. For tonight, however, Adelaide will begin with the advantage.
As always, your thoughts are welcome. Send ’em my way: paul.connolly@theguardian.com.
Hello, folks. One problem connected to the newness of tonight’s FFA Cup final is that in the build-up to kickoff we have no well of history to drop our pails into, no memorable finals from the past to reminisce over, no black-and-white footage of Brylcreemed men in voluminous shorts to get the blood pumping. But that’s not to dismiss this match in any way. Every journey begins with someone getting annoyed that they can’t find their keys/wallet/sunglasses. And then that journey recommences with a single step.
The FFA Cup might not be steeped in history but it embraces it, and that’s partly why it’s been a roaring success, perhaps to the surprise of many, including the Football Federation of Australia. With the A-League having come to pre-eminence in 2005 the FFA Cup has given so many clubs outside of it —clubs upon which football in this country is built— their time in the sun; either for the first time or for the first time in a long time, and it’s here we might recall the contributions of clubs like Hakoah Sydney City, Sydney Olympic, South Melbourne, Marconi, Adelaide City and Melbourne Knights.
Perhaps fittingly, tonight’s match will be contested by two teams who pre-date the A-league, both having played in the now defunct National Soccer League; Perth since 1996, Adelaide in 2003/04, the NSL’s final season. So both are very much part of the present yet provide a link to the past, which is more or less why this inaugural FFA Cup has captured the imagination of the country’s football community.
Preamble
Good evening and thanks for joining us for the Guardian’s minute(ish)-by-minute(ish) coverage of the inaugural FFA Cup final. Tonight’s match — which kicks off at 7pm (730pm AEDT) at United’s home ground, Coopers Stadium— is between Adelaide United and Perth Glory. They are the last two teams standing after the Cup kicked off early this year with preliminary knockout matches featuring 600 clubs around the country and a subsequent round of 32, when all 10 A-League clubs joined the competition. Paul Connolly is sharpening his pencils and will be along shortly to blog you through the match; in the meantime, here’s Bruce Djite talking to Jack Kerr about how things have clicked into place at Adelaide under the leadership of coach Josep Gombau.
