2009 A-League Grand Final
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| Event | 2008–09 A-League | ||||||
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| Date | 28 February 2009 | ||||||
| Venue | Telstra Dome, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Tom Pondeljak, Melbourne Victory | ||||||
| Referee | Matthew Breeze | ||||||
| Attendance | 53,273 | ||||||
The 2009 A-League Grand Final took place at Telstra Dome in Melbourne, Australia on 28 February 2009.
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 ever 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
| 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
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Wikinews has related news: Australian football: Melbourne Victory win A-League grand final |
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
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 Adelaide
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| A-League 2009 Champions |
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| Melbourne Victory Second Title |
Statistics
| Melbourne | Adelaide | |
|---|---|---|
| Attempts at goal | 15 | 9 |
| Attempts on target | 6 | 3 |
| Attempts off target | 9 | 6 |
| Attempts - Woodwork | 0 | 0 |
| Keeper saves | 2 | 4 |
| Ball possession | 50% | 50% |
| Corners | 8 | 2 |
| Fouls committed | 17 | 19 |
| Offsides | 2 | 1 |
| Yellow cards | 1 | 5 |
| Red cards | 1 | 1 |
Controversy
The red card to reds talisman Cristiano 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 called for a top-notch overseas referee to control he A-League grand final after yet another controversial decision "ruined" the decider at Telstra Dome on Saturday night.[4] Slater claimed that Breeze got it wrong when he sent Adelaide United striker Cristiano off after just 10 minutes in the championship decider against Melbourne Victory.[4]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 O'Brien, Bren (28 February 2009). "Victory prevail in epic". A-League.com.au. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
- 1 2 O'Brien, Bren (28 February 2009). "Vidmar: Red card killed us". A-League.com.au. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
- 1 2 Taylor, John (2 March 2009). "A-League grand final red card sparks referee import call". Fox Sports (Australia). Retrieved 3 March 2009.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Taylor, John (2 March 2009). "A-League grand final red card sparks referee import call". Fox Sports. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ↑ "Reds striker Cristiano's red card from A-League grand final has been revoked". Fox Sports (Australia). 3 March 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
- ↑ http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/cristiano-speaks-out-about-red/story-e6frf4hl-1111119004833#.UXYo_bVgecU