A-League Roundup: Melbourne Derby Grand Final on the Horizon Following Semi-Final Upset

For the first time in the history of the men’s A-League, longstanding adversaries Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory are the final two teams remaining ahead of the championship showdown.

Auckland 0-2 Melbourne Victory (1-2 agg)

In recent seasons, few A-League teams seemed more poised for the Premiership-Championship double than Steve Corica’s Auckland FC. They had done all the heavy lifting in the first leg of their semi-final against Melbourne Victory and only needed to extend their eight-match unbeaten streak on home turf to secure a place in their inaugural Grand Final.

There hadn’t been any mention of ‘clean sheet’ and ‘Melbourne Victory’ in the same breath for eight rounds, with Arthur Diles’ side last managing a shutout way back in early March against the struggling Central Coast Mariners.

Everything appeared to favour an Auckland rout, but the Victory outperformed their Kiwi counterparts, marking their first head-to-head victory. Auckland’s head coach Steve Corica could perhaps diplomatically call it luck when both a linesman and VAR chose to rule out a 69th-minute header from Logan Rogerson, which would have levelled the aggregate score.

“They got it wrong in my opinion, and that could have cost us – getting back into the game and making it to the final,” Corica stated.

“Such significant decisions should ideally go in the right direction.“

It has been an extraordinary six-month journey for Victory manager Diles, who began the season without any intention of being an A-League head coach but was thrust into the role mid-way through the campaign following the unexpected exit of Patrick Kisnorbo.

Melbourne City 1-1 Western United (4-1 agg)

Melbourne City’s path to the Grand Final appeared even more inevitable after they put one, if not both feet in the door last week with a commanding 3-0 win at the same venue.

In a delightful turn of events for the league, the conclusion of the 2024/25 season will feature not only an all-Melbourne derby but will occur on a weekend free from AFL or NRL matches that could compete with A-League attendance.

“This is the ideal outcome for the A-League and Australian football,” said Melbourne City striker Max Caputo.

“Having a Melbourne derby in a Grand Final is sure to draw the crowds… (there aren’t) much bigger stakes than this.“

For Western United, securing a trophy would have served as a much-needed distraction from serious off-field issues that have resulted in a FIFA transfer ban and breach notices from Professional Footballers Australia for failing to pay their men’s and women’s players on time.

Goal of the Week: Semi-Final Second Legs

While it’s true that Aloisi’s men allowed the City side to dominate during this period, it was still an impressive display to witness.

Aziz Behich had the rebound fall perfectly at his feet, a well-deserved reward for a lightning-fast run down the left during the build-up. Pay attention to where he starts at the opening of the clip – it’s clear he had fully earned the chance to find the back of the net!