Auckland FC have won their first A-League Men championship title after defeating all-time record-holders Sydney FC 1-0 in front of a record crowd in Auckland on Saturday night.
Former Sydney FC coach Steve Corica’s resurrection from Sky Blues scapegoat to Auckland FC hero is complete after guiding the Black Knights to grand final glory over his old club.
A win for the Black Knights in front of a fervent home crowd could sell its own story, but Patrick Kisnorbo’s dogged Sky Blues stand in the way. The best-laid plans of the A-League Men often go awry.
Juan Mata had been written off, another caught in the mire of Australian football despite being a World Cup winner. Ever-smiling, now the 38-year-old also has the last laugh, having won the A-League Men’s Johnny Warren medal, the award for the competition’s player of the year.
Sydney FC’s head coach Patrick Kisnorbo has hailed the “resilience and mental toughness” of his side as they punched their ticket to the A-League Men grand final, winning a pulsating semi-final against premiers Newcastle on penalties.
Melbourne City attacker Marcus Younis is among the players hoping to give Tony Popovic a ‘massive headache’ when picking the Australia squad. Mitch Duke has done all he can to show Socceroos coach Tony Popovic he still has it. Craig Goodwin might yet make one last push.
Steve Rosich wants to secure football as the third pillar of Australian sport but admits there is work to do with several clubs’ futures under a cloud.
Newcastle has won the A-League Premier’s Plate for the first time in the club’s history.
A-League club was on the brink of collapse before coach Mark Milligan lifted ‘Box Office Jets’ to within sight of a breakthrough premiership. It wasn’t all that long ago that the Newcastle Jets were on the precipice of collapse.