2024 Australia Cup final

2024 Australia Cup Final
Event2024 Australia Cup
Date29 September 2024 (2024-09-29)
VenueAAMI Park, Melbourne
Man of the MatchFilip Kurto (Macarthur FC)[1]
RefereeJonathan Barreiro
Attendance13,289
2023
2025

The 2024 Australia Cup Final was a association football match played between A-League Men sides Melbourne Victory and Macarthur FC at AAMI Park in Melbourne on 29 September 2024 to determine the winners of the 2024 Australia Cup.[2] It was the ninth Australia Cup final and the 42nd final of Australian soccer's primary cup competitions.

The 2024 Australia Cup final's crowd of 13,289 is the lowest ever crowd for an Australia Cup final.

Teams

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Team Previous final appearances (bold indicates winners)
Melbourne Victory 2 (2015, 2021)
Macarthur FC 1 (2022)

Route to the final

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Melbourne Victory Round Macarthur FC
Opponent Score Opponent Score
Lambton Jaffas 4–1 (A) Round of 32 O'Connor Knights 2–1 (A)
NWS Spirit 4–0 (A) Round of 16 Newcastle Jets 4–3 (A)
Moreton City Excelsior 4–0 (A) Quarter-finals Oakleigh Cannons 1–0 (A)
Adelaide United 1–0 (H) Semi-finals South Melbourne 1–0 (A)
Note: In all results above, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Melbourne Victory

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Melbourne Victory began their Australia Cup run in the Round of 32 with an away match against the Lambon Jaffas. Victory won the match 4–1 through two goals by Nishan Velupillay and one each by Bruno Fornaroli and Alex Lee and qualifying for the Round of 16.[3] Two weeks later, Victory began their Round of 16 match away against NWS Spirit winning 4–0 through another two goals by Nishan Velupillay, and further goals by Ryan Teague and Nikos Vergos.[4] The quarter-final match away against Moreton City Excelsior saw Victory win 4–0; so far all three cup matches scoring four goals, as Nikos Vergos scored two goals, and Kasey Bos and Nishan Velupillay each scoring one.[5] The semi-final against Adelaide United was Victory's first home tie in this Australia Cup run, which was won 1–0 through a late winner by Jordi Valadon.[6]

Macarthur FC

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Macarthur FC also began their Australia Cup run in the Round of 32 playing away against O'Connor Knights; despite conceding the opening goal, came back to win 2–1 through goals by Jake Hollman and Luke Brattan to qualify for the Round of 16.[7] Macarthur versed A-League Men side away against the Newcastle Jets which was won 4–3 after falling behind twice as Valère Germain and Marin Jakoliš both scored two goals.[8] Macarthur travelled to Melbourne for their quarter-final and semi-final match-ups. First Macarthur took on Oakleigh Cannons away and won 1–0 through an early goal by Valère Germain.[5] The semi-final was up against South Melbourne away and also won 1–0 through a Valère Germain penalty in the 84th minute who was also sent off in the last minutes of the match.[9]

Match

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Background

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Details

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Melbourne Victory0–1Macarthur FC
Report
  • Jakoliš 58'
Attendance: 13,289
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
Melbourne Victory
Macarthur FC
GK 25 Australia Jack Duncan
RB 2 Australia Jason Geria
CB 5 Australia Brendan Hamill
CB 21 Portugal Roderick Miranda
LB 28 Australia Kasey Bos
CM 14 Australia Jordi Valadon
CM 8 France Zinédine Machach downward-facing red arrow 79'
CM 6 Australia Ryan Teague
RW 27 Australia Reno Piscopo downward-facing red arrow 66'
CF 9 Greece Nikos Vergos downward-facing red arrow 66'
LW 17 Australia Nishan Velupillay
Substitutes:
GK 40 Australia Christian Siciliano
DF 3 Ivory Coast Adama Traoré
DF 22 Australia Joshua Rawlins
MF 18 Australia Fabian Monge
FW 10 Australia Bruno Fornaroli upward-facing green arrow 66'
FW 19 Australia Jing Reec upward-facing green arrow 66'
FW 35 Australia Jordan Hoey upward-facing green arrow 79'
Head Coach:
Australia Patrick Kisnorbo
GK 12 Poland Filip Kurto
CB 6 Australia Tomislav Uskok
CB 5 Australia Matthew Jurman
CB 13 Australia Ivan Vujica
RM 20 Australia Kealey Adamson
CM 26 Australia Luke Brattan
CM 22 Australia Liam Rose
LM 18 Australia Walter Scott
RW 8 Australia Jake Hollman Yellow card 65' downward-facing red arrow 73'
CF 11 Australia Jed Drew downward-facing red arrow 80'
LW 44 Croatia Marin Jakoliš Yellow card 55' downward-facing red arrow 90+5'
Substitutes:
GK 40 Australia Franklin Jan
DF 16 Australia Oliver Jones upward-facing green arrow 90+5'
DF 27 Australia Joshua Damevski
DF 33 Australia Yianni Nicolaou
MF 28 Australia Ante Vojvodic
FW 19 Australia Ariath Piol upward-facing green arrow 80'
FW 24 Australia Dean Bosnjak upward-facing green arrow 73'
Head Coach:
Australia Mile Sterjovski

Assistant referees:
Ashley Beecham
Arvin Shanmuganathan
Fourth official:
Jack Morgan

Match rules

Post-match

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Melbourne Victory manager Patrick Kisnorbo stated he omitted star player Daniel Arzani from both the starting lineup and the substitute bench due to experimentation with the squad as a result of Arzani's eventual suspension from the first match of the regular season for yellow card accumulation.[10] Arzani played a key role in leading Victory to the final, having played in all four matches leading up to the final and contributing two assists in the quarter-final match against Moreton City Excelsior.[10][11] After the loss in the final, Kisnorbo stated he stood by his decision.[12] However, it was also reported a day after the match that the main reason Arzani was excluded from the matchday squad for the final was rumored to be for the anger he expressed towards Kisnorbo at training during the week, with speculation variously suggesting this was due to him discovering he wouldn't be in the starting team, while also being reported it was due to him being offered to other clubs during the offseason.[13] Days following the final, Arzani was included in Tony Popovic's inaugural Australia squad for World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan, but was not named in the matchday squad against China and was an unused substitute against Japan.[14]

Macarthur's Australia Cup triumph was their second silverware in club history following their 2022 Australia Cup win.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Harrington, Anna (29 September 2024). "Bulls put horror off-season behind them with Cup win". Yahoo!. Filip Kurto starred, becoming the first goalkeeper to win the Mark Viduka Medal.
  2. ^ "Australia Cup Final 2024 Venue and Date Confirmed". Australia Cup. 23 September 2024.
  3. ^ Gibson, Tim (6 August 2024). "WATCH: South Melbourne headline Victorian hatrick, Olympic Kingsway break West Aussie hoodoo". Australia Cup.
  4. ^ Gibson, Tim (28 August 2024). "WATCH: Moreton City remarkable comeback, Victory cruise through, Oakleigh win on penalties". Australia Cup.
  5. ^ a b Gibson, Tim (16 September 2024). "WATCH: Macarthur defeat Oakleigh, Victory down Moreton City to lock in semi-finals". Australia Cup.
  6. ^ Gibson, Tim (22 September 2024). "WATCH: Valadon strike steers Victory to Australia Cup Final". Australia Cup.
  7. ^ Gibson, Tim (1 August 2024). "WATCH: Cannons cupset Sydney again, Moreton City, Hume City and Macarthur FC advance". Australia Cup.
  8. ^ Gibson, Tim (25 August 2024). "WATCH: Bulls comeback in all A-League thriller, Jankovic inspires dramatic South Melbourne win". Australia Cup.
  9. ^ Gibson, Tim (22 September 2024). "WATCH: Bulls book Australia Cup Final spot overcoming intense Lakeside atmosphere". Australia Cup.
  10. ^ a b "Socceroo left out in Australia Cup Final bombshell as Germain replacement revealed". 29 September 2024.
  11. ^ https://www.theroar.com.au/2024/09/21/australia-cup-semi-finals-a-league-rivalry-set-to-erupt-in-victory-reds-blockbuster/
  12. ^ https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/other/kisnorbo-stands-by-arzani-final-omission-call/ar-AA1rq4ai
  13. ^ https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/daniel-arzanis-outburst-not-tolerated-by-melbourne-victory-coach-patrick-kisnorbo/news-story/1a6e17384e469a7b94d6491b827ec62c
  14. ^ "Tony Popovic names his inaugural Subway Socceroos squad | Socceroos". 4 October 2024.
  15. ^ "ASEAN Wrap: Macarthur lift Australia Cup".