The 2019 FFA Cup final was the sixth final of the FFA Cup (now known as the Australia Cup), Australia's main soccer cup competition and the final match of the 2019 FFA Cup. The match was contested between Adelaide United and Melbourne City, and was held at Coopers Stadium, home of Adelaide United. Hosts Adelaide United defeated Melbourne City by four goals to nil, recording their third FFA Cup title and second in succession.
The match was broadcast live on Fox Sports.
Road to the final Adelaide UnitedRoundMelbourne CityOpponentResultOpponentResultMelbourne Knights5–2 (A)Round of 32Campbelltown City3–1 (A)Olympic FC3–2 (A)Round of 16Marconi Stallions2–1 (A)Newcastle Jets1–0 (H)Quarter-finalsWestern Sydney Wanderers3–0 (H)Central Coast Mariners2–1 (A)Semi-finalsBrisbane Strikers5–1 (A)Note: In all results above, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
Adelaide United entered the tournament as the reigning champions, having defeated Sydney FC 2–1 in the 2018 Cup Final at home. The Reds were drawn away to high-profile NPL VIC club Melbourne Knights and won 5–2, with Ben Halloran's two goals in that match helping to keep the Knights at bay. In the Round of 16, Adelaide travelled to Brisbane to take on Olympic FC and were in danger of becoming the second A-League club to lose to an NPL club in this year's tournament. Olympic FC drew level with Adelaide twice in the match, before George Blackwood's 84th minute penalty conversion got the Reds over the line. United then met A-League clubs for the remainder of the cup, winning 1–0 against Newcastle Jets at home in the quarter-final. A come-from-behind semi-final victory over the Central Coast Mariners was sealed by to a controversial 90th minute goal scored by ex-City footballer Riley McGree. Adelaide United became the first A-League club to qualify for their fourth FFA Cup Final.
Melbourne City's opponent in the round of 32, was NPL SA club Campbelltown City in Adelaide. Goals from Jamie Maclaren and Craig Noone saw Melbourne City victorious by a margin of 3–1. In the round of 16, Melbourne City headed over to Sydney to take NPL NSW club Marconi Stallions. After Jamie Maclaren scored the opening goal in the second minute, Craig Noone would score Melbourne City's second off a flick from Connor Metcalfe to give Melbourne City a 2–0 lead. A late consolation goal wasn't enough for the Stallions, with the final scoreline reading 2–1. The club met Western Sydney Wanderers in the quarter-finals for the second time in three years and were dominant in a 3–0 win. In their semi-final tie, City traveled to take on the Brisbane Strikers at Perry Park. Despite conceding the first goal inside the opening five minutes, City won the match 5–1. Striker Jamie Maclaren scored in each match, and entered the final with six goals to his name.
Pre-match Venue For the second consecutive year, the host venue was randomly drawn following the conclusion of the semi-finals. Adelaide's home ground of Coopers Stadium was drawn, making it the third time the venue had hosted the showpiece event and for the second consecutive year.
Analysis Adelaide entered the match as the reigning cup champions and made their fourth appearance in the event. Success would provide the club with their third title, having won the cup in 2014 and 2018. City meanwhile have reached the final once before, in 2016 when they defeated Sydney FC at home to claim the senior men's team first piece of silverware.
The two teams met three days prior in Round 2 of the A-League where City came out on top 2–1 with Jamie Maclaren scoring a brace and Riley McGree scoring Adelaide's only goal.
Match Details
GK 20 Paul Izzo RB 4 Ryan Strain CB 2 Michael Marrone CB 22 Michael Jakobsen (c) LB 7 Ryan Kitto DM 27 Louis D'Arrigo DM 5 Michaël Maria RM 26 Ben Halloran CM 8 Riley McGree LM 17 Nikola Mileusnic CF 35 Al Hassan Toure Substitutes:GK 30 Isaac Richards MF 18 Lachlan Brook MF 16 Nathan Konstandopoulos MF 6 Vince Lia FW 11 Kristian Opseth Manager: Gertjan Verbeek GK 23 Dean Bouzanis RB 2 Scott Galloway CB 4 Harrison Delbridge CB 22 Curtis Good LB 3 Scott Jamieson (c) CM 34 Connor Metcalfe CM 6 Joshua Brillante CM 20 Adrián Luna RW 19 Lachlan Wales CF 29 Jamie Maclaren LW 11 Craig Noone Substitutes:GK 1 Tom Glover DF 40 Richard Windbichler MF 17 Denis Genreau MF 7 Rostyn Griffiths FW 21 Ramy Najjarine Manager: Erick Mombaerts Man of the Match (Mark Viduka Medal): Al Hassan Toure
Assistant referees: Matthew Cream Wilson Brown Fourth official: Josh Mannella Additional assistant referees: Shaun Evans Adam KerseyMatch rules: 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Five named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.
Statistics Statistics Adelaide United Melbourne CityGoals scored 40 Total shots 1113 34%66% Corner kicks 27 Fouls 138Offsides 12Yellow cards 42Red cards 00
References
External links FFA Cup official website