Tim Cahill has brought success to Melbourne City at long last, scoring the only goal of the FFA Cup final against Sydney FC as the A-League upstarts claimed the first trophy in their seven-year history.
Cahill headed home Ivan Franjic's cross on 53 minutes to earn City the prize before hobbling off with a knee injury shortly after.
City will anxiously await a diagnosis on the star Socceroo, but whatever the outcome the club richly celebrated a maiden triumph.
Transformed by the millions provided by cashed-up owners City Football Group, the triumph showed the sleeping giants of Australian football have woken up.
As an event, there was much to like — this was a proper cup final, the emotion running as freely as the sweat and the raucous crowd of 18,751 howling at every provocation. Within seconds it exploded into life, after Michael Zullo was the victim of ugly tackles from first Cahill and then Luke Brattan. Sensing his leftback was being targeted Sydney coach Graham Arnold reacted furiously, and instantly almost every player was involved in the ruckus.
Brattan was booked for the tackle, Milos Ninkovic perhaps fortunate not to get at least that for shoving Fernando Brandan to the floor. But the tone was set for the night, and the tackles came thunderously.
Sydney briefly threatened, with Rhyan Grant wriggling free in the City box but underhitting his cutback to Bobo. But City were in their stride, led by the imperious Fornaroli. The Uruguayan was scarcely containable as Sydney desperately scrambled in defence, his mesmeric ability to hold the ball and turn causing constant problems.
From Neil Kilkenny’s freekick Tim Cahill headed narrowly wide, then Fornaroli drove in a cross that Brandan skied over the bar wastefully from close range. Fornaroli beat Matt Jurman to a cross but headed wide, and Brandon ‘Neill was booked for a late tackle on City’s captain.
Ninkovic seemed dazed by the early aggression, unable to get into the game and his touch uncharacteristically heavy. He was hardly alone, with Sydney struggling to get any attacking foothold in the game. Early in the second half Josh Brillante’s header into the City box gave Alex Brosque space, but his shot lacked conviction.
That was hardly a description you could level moments later when Cahill made the breakthrough. Arnold could only watch in despair as his side fell to a suckerpunch — a short corner gave Brattan the angle for a cross, and Cahill peeled away from Matt Jurman at the far post to plant a header past Danny Vukovic.
Seconds later he limped out of the contest, his work done — two chances, one goal. Sydney could find no greater cohesion having gone behind than before and Arnold took off the ineffective Filip Holosko to bring on the power of Matt Simon, and with 70 minutes gone the forward drove in a cross that Bobo headed goalward only for Michael Jakobsen to clear off the line.
In the final seconds Brosque went down under challenge from Osama Malik and appealed for a penalty, but referee Peter Green waved them away, and the game was up.
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