In a battle between two up-and-coming Australian coaches, Patrick Kisnorbo’s Melbourne City will take on John Aloisi’s Western United in the A-League Men Grand Final.
The A-League Men Grand Final sees one of its newest teams looking to continue punching above its weight. But have they finally met their match?
Two rising Aussie coaches in Patrick Kisnorbo and John Aloisi go head to head, managing clubs that have a large disparity in resources. But now it all comes down to just 90 minutes.
It’s Melbourne City taking on new state rival Western United. Let’s dive into the detail.
Embed from Getty ImagesMelbourne City
Patrick Kisnorbo’s Melbourne City side will start as heavy favourites as they take on John Aloisi’s Western United in a Melbourne derby grand final showdown.
Melbourne City will be aiming for a piece of history as they look to become the first A-Leagues side to ever record back-to-back Premiership and Championship doubles.
City claimed the Premiers Plate after dominating the season and will be appearing in their third consecutive decider.
Owned by the powerful City Football Group, the side features a star-studded line up and boasts a Socceroos attack featuring golden boot winner Jamie Maclaren, Andrew Nabbout, Mathew Leckie and Marco Tilio.
This season, Kisnorbo’s side scored 55 goals, the most of any side in the competition. Central Coast was the next best with 49.
City had a strong defensive campaign as well, with experienced centre-back duo Nuno Reis and Socceroo Curtis Good leading the way. City progressed past Adelaide United in the semis with a 2-1 win in the second leg, but were pushed to extra time.
In a further finals boost, creative midfielder Florin Berengeur returned from injury. The Frenchman had a consistent season and contributed five goals and five assists, always looking to create chances for the strikers.
Embed from Getty ImagesWestern United
They make it to the big dance in just their third season, a remarkable achievement. United finished third-last a year ago and flipped that to third in this regular season, four points behind City.
Former Socceroos legend John Aloisi is at the helm, having turned Western United into a defensively strong, gritty, determined team this season. The playing style has admittedly drawn some criticism along the way.
The outfit are faced with the challenge of cracking a Victorian market that already featured multiple teams, so building their fan base has been slow. Winning, though, generally helps.
United’s been led by their marquee signings with Swiss centre-back Leo Lacroix and Serbian striker Aleksandar Prijovic both having outstanding seasons.
Prijovic finished fifth in the golden boot race and scored nine goals during the regular season.
Prijovic has scored three more times across the finals as well – including a brace in the second leg of the Semi Finals against the Melbourne Victory, plus an assist. Melbourne United did it the hard way against their rival, fighting back from a 1-0 deficit after the first leg. But their dominant 4-1 victory to book a Grand Final spot was certainly eye-catching.
Veteran goalkeeper Jamie Young has been superb this season for Western United and is a big reason behind the side’s success.
How they match up
This season, Western United have beaten City twice, two 1-0 wins, while the sides also played out a 2-2 draw in March.
Australians love an underdog, so no doubt plenty of the neutrals will be hoping John Aloisi unit can claim bragging rights over Patrick Kisnorbo.
Whatever the result, Australian football has already been a winner, as two up-and-coming Aussie coaches battle it out in the big dance.
