2009 A-League Grand Final

The 2009 A-League Grand Final took place at Telstra Dome in Melbourne, Australia on 28 February 2009.

2009 A-League Grand Final
Event2008–09 A-League
Melbourne Victory Adelaide United
1 0
Date28 February 2009
VenueTelstra Dome, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Man of the MatchTom Pondeljak, Melbourne Victory
RefereeMatthew Breeze
Attendance53,273

It was the final match in the A-League 2008–09 season, and was played between premiers Melbourne Victory and runners-up Adelaide United. Melbourne Victory won the match 1–0 and became the winners of the 2008–09 Championship, thus becoming the first team to win the A-League domestic treble, after also claiming the 2008 Pre-Season Challenge Cup, and the 2008–09 Premiership.[1]

The match will always be marred by the 10th minute sending off of Cristiano which ultimately contributed to the loss.[2][3] Similarly Daniel Allsopp was sent off in the 65th minute for an alleged headbutt.[1] The decision infuriated Former Australia international Robbie Slater who was commentating the game "Did the blood coming from Roddy's ear sway it? I thought it was a disgraceful decision and the grand final was ruined." [4]

The Grand Final was the last event to be held at the Telstra Dome, the former name of Melbourne's Docklands Stadium. Due to a change in sponsorship, the stadium is now known as Etihad Stadium.

Route to the finals
See also: 2008–09 A-League
  Semi Finals Preliminary Final Grand Final
    L1 L2    
                           
1 Melbourne Victory 2 4    
2 Adelaide United 0 0             Melbourne Victory 1
      Adelaide United 1     Adelaide United 0
      Queensland Roar 0  
3 Queensland Roar 2 2
4 Central Coast Mariners 0 1  

Match

Summary

With both teams down to ten men for the last 25 minutes, Adelaide were left scoreless with Melbourne taking their second A-League championship medal. Pondeljak's goal earned him the prestigious Joe Marston Medal.

A contentious early red card given to the lone Adelaide striker Cristiano by referee Matthew Breeze saw the Reds go down to ten men by the tenth minute.[2][3] However, Adelaide managed to hold back Melbourne from scoring until Tom Pondeljak scored 23 metres out from goal in the 60th minute to allow Melbourne to take the lead.

Five minutes later, Melbourne striker Daniel Allsopp was also sent off for allegedly headbutting Adelaide's Robert Cornthwaite in an incident in the Melbourne penalty box.[1]

Both Cristiano and Allsopp's red cards were revoked by the Football Federation Australia in a post-match conference.[5]

Details
Melbourne Victory1–0Adelaide United
Pondeljak  60' Report
Summary
Attendance: 53,273
Melbourne
Adelaide
MELBOURNE VICTORY:
GK1 Michael Theoklitos
RB5 Sebastian Ryall
CB2 Kevin Muscat (c)
CB12 Rodrigo Vargas
LB7 Matthew Kemp
DM14 Billy Celeski
RM15 Tom Pondeljak 61'   83'
LM22 Nick Ward 56'
AM16 Carlos Hernández
CF9 Daniel Allsopp 65'
CF10 Archie Thompson
Substitutes:
GK20 Mitchell Langerak
MF8 Grant Brebner 83'
FW11 Ney Fabiano
MF17 José Luis López 89'
MF19 Evan Berger 56'   89'
Manager:
Ernie Merrick


Joe Marston Medal: Tom Pondeljak

Assistant Referees:
Matthew Cream
Assistant 2
Fourth Official:
Peter Green
ADELAIDE UNITED:
GK20 Eugene Galeković
RB16 Daniel Mullen
CB19 Saša Ognenovski 37'
CB2 Robert Cornthwaite   81'
LB14 Scott Jamieson 56'   73'
DM15 Jonas Salley
DM24 Paul Reid
RW13 Travis Dodd (c) 90'
AM18 Fabian Barbiero 64'
LW7 Lucas Pantelis 63'
CF10 Cristiano 10'
Substitutes:
GK30 Mark Birighitti
FW3 Alemão
DF6 Cássio 73'
FW9 Paul Agostino 63'
MF28 Rostyn Griffiths
Manager:
Aurelio Vidmar
A-League
2009 Champions
Melbourne Victory
Second Title

Statistics
Melbourne Adelaide
Attempts at goal159
Attempts on target63
Attempts off target96
Attempts – Woodwork00
Keeper saves24
Ball possession50%50%
Corners82
Fouls committed1719
Offsides21
Yellow cards15
Red cards11

Controversy

The red card to Adelaide talisman Cristiano after just 10 minutes in the championship decider against Melbourne Victory created a lot of controversy post match.[6] The Brazilian starlet had been warned before that referee Matthew Breeze would send him off if he suspected anything untoward about his heading with flailing arms. He felt as though he was a marked man all season by referee Matthew Breeze[4] " I couldn't sleep after the game." [4]

Fox Sports analyst and Former Australia international Robbie Slater claimed the referee made the wrong call, "ruined" the Grand Final and argued that the A-League should hire an elite overseas official to handle its championship game.[4]

See also

References
  1. O'Brien, Bren (28 February 2009). "Victory prevail in epic". A-League.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  2. O'Brien, Bren (28 February 2009). "Vidmar: Red card killed us". A-League.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  3. Taylor, John (2 March 2009). "A-League grand final red card sparks referee import call". Fox Sports (Australia). Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  4. Taylor, John (2 March 2009). "A-League grand final red card sparks referee import call". Fox Sports. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  5. "Reds striker Cristiano's red card from A-League grand final has been revoked". Fox Sports (Australia). 3 March 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  6. http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/cristiano-speaks-out-about-red/story-e6frf4hl-1111119004833#.UXYo_bVgecU
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