2018 A-League Grand Final
The 2018 A-League Grand Final was the thirteenth A-League Grand Final, played on 5 May 2018. The match took place at McDonald Jones Stadium, with Newcastle Jets hosting Melbourne Victory, the first A-League grand final held outside a metropolitan city.[1]
| Event | 2017–18 A-League | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | 5 May 2018 | ||||||
| Venue | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Lawrence Thomas | ||||||
| Referee | Jarred Gillett | ||||||
| Attendance | 29,410 | ||||||
Route to the final
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney FC | 64 |
| 2 | Newcastle Jets | 50 |
| 3 | Melbourne City | 43 |
| 4 | Melbourne Victory | 41 |
| 5 | Adelaide United | 39 |
| 6 | Brisbane Roar | 35 |
| Elimination-finals | Semi-finals | Grand Final | |||||||
| Sydney FC | 2 | ||||||||
| Melbourne Victory | 2 | Melbourne Victory | 3 | ||||||
| Adelaide United | 1 | Newcastle Jets | 0 | ||||||
| Melbourne Victory | 1 | ||||||||
| Newcastle Jets | 2 | ||||||||
| Melbourne City | 2 | Melbourne City | 1 | ||||||
| Brisbane Roar | 0 | ||||||||
Match
Details
          Newcastle Jets
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     Melbourne Victory
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Joe Marston Medal: Assistant referees:
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Match rules
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| A-League 2018 Champions |
|---|
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| Melbourne Victory Fourth Title |
Statistics
| Newcastle Jets | Melbourne Victory | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 0 | 1 |
| Total shots | 14 | 7 |
| Shots on target | 4 | 2 |
| Ball possession | 58.3% | 41.7% |
| Corner kicks | 4 | 5 |
| Fouls Conceded | 12 | 17 |
| Offsides | 1 | 2 |
| Yellow cards | 2 | 1 |
| Red cards | 1 | 0 |
Broadcasting
The Grand Final was broadcast live throughout Australia on Fox Sports and Network Ten.[3]
Records
Kosta Barbarouses's 9th-minute goal was the fastest ever goal scored in an A-League Grand Final.[4]
Kosta Barbarouses's 9th-minute goal was the equal 3rd fastest goal ever scored in any previous National Soccer League Grand Final & A-League Grand Final history behind John Anastasiadis in 1998 for South Melbourne against Carlton at Olympic Park, Mile Sterjovski in 1999 for Sydney United against South Melbourne at Olympic Park, and Mark Koussas in 1984 for Sydney Olympic against South Melbourne at Olympic Park.
Melbourne Victory became the first ever team to qualify for the A-League Grand Final from outside the top 3. With their win, the Victory became the first team in A-League history to win 4 championships, and the first team in A-League history to win the Championship from outside the top 2.[5]
Melbourne Victory also became the first team to win the championship from outside the top 2 positions after regular season since Adelaide City won the 1994 NSL Grand Final from 5th spot on the ladder and Melbourne Victory are only just the 9th team in history to win an away from home Grand Final in 34-year history of season deciders in NSL & A-League history and were just only the 7th team in history to win the NSL Grand Final & A-League Grand Final from outside the top 2 positions after regular season.
Melbourne Victory equal the record for most NSL & A-League championships on four titles along with Hakoah Sydney City (1977, 1980, 1981, 1982), Marconi Stallions (1979, 1988, 1989, 1993), and South Melbourne (1984, 1991, 1998, 1999).
The crowd of 29,410 was Newcastle's biggest ever home attendance.
Video assistant referee (VAR) controversy
Kosta Barbarouses's goal in the 9th minute of the game came about via a header from James Donachie, however Donachie was offside when Leroy George took the free kick which Donachie passed to Barbarouses. The game's video assistant referee (VAR) system failed to detect Donachie's offside position as its video feed had failed in the thirty seconds leading up to the goal, although the issue was clear and obvious to everyone in the stadium and from the Fox Sports broadcast footage. By the time the system was restored, the game had resumed, meaning the decision to allow the goal stood. The Football Federation Australia later acknowledged the technical issues, but offered no real apology to the Newcastle team or fans.[6]
See also
References
- Gardiner, James (29 April 2018). "Newcastle Jets to host A-League grand final after Victory stun Sydney FC". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- "Newcastle Jets v Melbourne Victory". A-League. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- "New TV deal for Football". Hyundai A-League. Football Federation Australia. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- "A-League grand final: Melbourne Victory beat Newcastle Jets 1-0 to win fourth championship". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- Rosengarten, Jake. "Melbourne Victory's grand final win sees Melbourne City without an Asian Champions League spot". Fox Sports Australia. News Corp. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- "Major VAR glitch behind offside goal standing in A-League decider". ABC News. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.