2021 FFA Cup final

The 2021 FFA Cup Final was the final match of the 2021 FFA Cup, Australia's main soccer cup competition. It was contested between Melbourne Victory and Central Coast Mariners on 5 February 2022 at the AAMI Park in Melbourne.

2021 FFA Cup Final

Event	2021 FFA Cup
Melbourne Victory Central Coast Mariners 2 1
Date	5 February 2022
Venue	AAMI Park, Melbourne
Man of the Match	Jake Brimmer and Kye Rowles
Referee	Shaun Evans
Attendance	15,343[1]
Weather	Sunny 27 °C (81 °F)[2]
← 2019 ← 2020 2022 →

The 2021 final was the first since the 2019 FFA Cup Final, after the 2020 FFA Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Following the quarter-final win for Melbourne Victory against Adelaide United, the final would not feature Adelaide for the first time since 2016.^[3]

This was Mariners' first FFA Cup final, and their first final in any competition since their win in the 2013 A-League Grand Final.^[4] This was Victory's second FFA Cup final and the first since 2015, in which they were victorious.

The 2021 FFA Cup Final was the last final played under the FFA Cup name; from 2022, the competition will be known as the Australia Cup.^[5]

Route to the final

Melbourne Victory		Round	Central Coast Mariners
Opponent	Result		Opponent	Result
Perth Glory	1–1 (A) (4–3 p)	A-League playoff round
Adelaide City	1–0 (A)	Round of 32	Blacktown City	1–0 (A)
Gold Coast Knights	2–1 (a.e.t.) (A)	Round of 16	Wollongong Wolves	2–1 (A)
Adelaide United	2–1 (A)	Quarter-finals	APIA Leichhardt	6–0 (A)
Wellington Phoenix	4–1 (H)	Semi-finals	Sydney FC	1–0 (A)
Note: In all results above, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Further information: 2021 FFA Cup

Melbourne Victory, as an A-League team finishing in the bottom four in the 2020–21 A-League, entered into an A-League playoff round..

Meanwhile, Central Coast Mariners entered in the round of 32. Their first match was away to National Premier Leagues NSW side Blacktown City in Mudgee. The Mariners won 1–0 through a second-half goal to Béni Nkololo.^[6] In the next round they drew another NPL NSW side, Wollongong Wolves. They went behind early after goalkeeper Mark Birighitti conceded a penalty and was sent off for violent conduct, however, recovered to win 2–1 through second-half goals to Moresche and debutant Harry McCarthy.^[7] In the quarter-finals, the Mariners drew a third NPL NSW side, APIA Leichhardt, who upset A-League Men side Western Sydney Wanderers in the previous round. The Mariners won 6–0 at Leichhardt Stadium to advance to the semifinals.^[8] In the semifinals, the Mariners defeated Sydney FC 1–0 after Marco Ureña scored a second-half penalty.^[9]

Pre-match

Venue selection

The Final was originally intended to be at a neutral venue.^[10] However, on 27 January 2022, it was confirmed that the winner of the semi-final match between Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne Victory would host the final, subject to a random draw and the eventual participants.^[11] After winning the semi-final, Melbourne Victory was confirmed as the host.

Match

Details

Melbourne Victory	2–1	Central Coast Mariners
Davidson 70' Ikonomidis 90+5'	Report	Bozanic 90+7'

5 February 2022

20:00 AEDT

AAMI Park, Melbourne

Attendance: 15,343^[1]

Referee: Shaun Evans

Melbourne Victory

Central Coast Mariners

GK 20 Ivan Kelava RB 2 Jason Geria CB 17 Brendan Hamill CB 5 Matthew Spiranovic LB 3 Jason Davidson DM 6 Leigh Broxham DM 8 Joshua Brillante (c) AM 22 Jake Brimmer  90+2' LW 11 Ben Folami  72'  74' CF 18 Nicholas D'Agostino  75' RW 23 Marco Rojas  82' Substitutes: GK 1 Matt Acton DF 15 Aaron Anderson DF 16 Stefan Nigro MF 7 Chris Ikonomidis  74' MF 13 Birkan Kirdar  90+2' FW 9 Francesco Margiotta  75' FW 24 Nishan Velupillay  82' Manager: Tony Popovic

GK 1 Mark Birighitti RB 3 Lewis Miller CB 23 Dan Hall CB 14 Kye Rowles LB 18 Jacob Farrell RM 4 Josh Nisbet  80' CM 34 Harrison Steele  69'  73' CM 8 Oliver Bozanic (c) LM 27 Nicolai Müller  56' CF 12 Marco Ureña CF 10 Moresche  73' Substitutes: GK 30 Patrick Beach DF 15 Storm Roux DF 21 Ruon Tongyik MF 7 Cy Goddard  73' MF 11 Béni Nkololo  56' MF 16 Max Balard  73' MF 36 Garang Kuol  80' Manager: Nick Montgomery

Mark Viduka Medal: Jake Brimmer (Melbourne Victory) Kye Rowles (Central Coast Mariners) Assistant referees: Kearney Robinson David Walsh Fourth official: Andrew Lindsay Additional assistant referees: Jonathan Barreiro Kurt Ams

Match rules:[12] 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Seven named substitutes, of which up to five may be used.

Statistics

Victory players lifting the trophy

Statistics	Melbourne Victory	Central Coast Mariners
Goals scored	2	1
Total shots	18	7
Shots on target	4	2
Ball possession	52%	48%
Corner kicks	11	2
Fouls committed	13	17
Offsides	1	2
Yellow cards	1	1
Red cards	0	0

References

1. Lynch, Michael (5 February 2022). "Davidson blasts Victory to FFA Cup glory". The Age. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
2. "Melbourne 24 hour Observations". www.weatherzone.com.au. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
3. McKay, Ben (5 January 2022). "Victory knock Adelaide out of FFA Cup". The West Australian. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
4. "History made as Mariners progress to FFA Cup Final". Central Coast Mariners FC. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
5. "'Australia Cup' name to return to Australia's largest national knockout football competition". FFA Cup. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
6. "Mariners progress with a gritty win in FFA Cup match". Coast Community News. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
7. "Mariners beat Wolves to make it to FFA quarter finals". Coast Community News. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
8. "Mariners hit APIA Leichhardt for six". Central Coast Mariners. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
9. "Central Coast Mariners through to first FFA Cup final after controversial defeat of Sydney FC". ABC News. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
10. "Stand-alone Final and AFC Champions League prize to headline rebooted FFA Cup in 2021". Football Australia.
11. Manuca, David (27 January 2022). "Live draw to decide FFA Cup Final 2021 host city". TheFFACup.com.au. Football Australia.
12. "FFA Cup How Draw Works". Football Australia. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2014.

External links

• Official website