Central Coast Mariners have won the 2022/23 A-League Men after thoroughly dismantling favorites Melbourne City 6-1 in Saturday’s Grand Final at the CommBank Stadium in Sydney. In what could possibly his final outing for the Mariners, Australia international Jason Cummings scored a hat-trick as CCM claim their first A-League Men title since 2013.
In the first A-League Men Grand Final match to be hosted at a neutral venue – due to a controversial deal struck between the league and Destination NSW that saw the centerpiece match of the season being played out at Sydney for the next few years – many would expect Melbourne City, who had won this season’s Premiers in convincing fashion, would finally win their second A-League Men title, especially going up against a Mariners side who finished 11 points off the Cityzens in the regular season.
The final was indeed a one-sided affair, but not in a way that many would expect.
Determined to send off retiring skipper Scott Jamieson on a high in their fourth consecutive Grand Final, Melbourne City had Central Coast on the ropes in a nervy opening 20 minutes, before the latter managed to break the deadlock. Beni N’kololo managed to send a cross from the right towards Cummings, who fired a shot that was blocked by Melbourne City defender Curtis Good. Former Hibernian man Cummings, who was released from fellow Scottish side Dundee for being “unfit to train” barely a year ago, pounced on the rebound and tapped in Central Coast’s opening goal of the match.
From there it went all very wrong for Melbourne City. Fourteen minutes after Cummings’ opener, the Premiers found themselves torn apart once again, this time by Samuel Silvera, who had received the ball from none other than Cummings himself. With only Nuno Reis in his way, Silvera skinned the Portuguese defender and blazed his way into the Melbourne City defense, dispatching a shot beyond goalie Tom Glover’s reaches. 2-0 for the Mariners.
Being two goals down stung Melbourne City into action. In the 40th minute, a show of excellent teamwork between Good and Marco Tilio unlocked the Cityzens’ danger man – Jamie Maclaren. Maclaren, Melbourne City’s all-time top scorer with 95 goals, unselfishly played the ball towards Richard van der Verne, who smashed home past Danny Vukovic in the Central Coast goal.
Melbourne City then almost found themselves 3-1 down just before half-time, only to have Glover to thank as he superbly denied N’kololo’s effort. 2-1 for the Mariners at the break, with Melbourne City still retaining hopes that they could salvage the tie and turn things around in the second half.
Said hopes were increasing gradually as the second stanza went on, as Melbourne City flew out of the traps and piled the pressure on an excellent Central Coast backline marshaled by Nectarios Triantis – who is bound for EFL Championship side Sunderland after the Grand Final – and Vanuatu international Brian Kaltak, with his country’s prime minister Ismael Kalsakau personally watching him from the CommBank Stadium stands.
However, in the 65th minute, Melbourne City’s Andrew Nabbout crushed any hopes of a comeback for his team after he had needlessly given away a penalty by shoving Jacob Farrell within the box. Cummings was entrusted with the duty of taking the spot-kick and he did so superbly with no mistakes whatsoever.
Affectionately dubbed “Cumdog” by not only Australian football fans but also by football fans from all over the globe, Cummings completed his hat-trick in the 73rd minute. Callum Talbot conceded a penalty for Melbourne City after he had adjudged to have handled within the area and Cummings was there to make it 4-1 for the Mariners with a powerful penalty.
The goal pretty much killed off any hopes of a fightback from Melbourne City, who limped their way into the finish line as Central Coast ran rampant all around the Premiers. N’kololo made it 5-1 in the 83rd minute after he had headed in a Silvera cross, before Brazilian substitute Moresche, who had been playing for Singapore Premier League side Geylang International two years prior, sealed up the result and the trophy for Central Coast with his side’s sixth goal in the first minute of injury time. Geylang boleh indeed for the 24-year old striker.
As referee Chris Beath blew for full-time, despair washed over the Melbourne City camp. They have failed to send off the retiring Jamieson on a high and they will lose reliable young defender Jordan Bos, who’s heading for Westerlo in Belgium after the Grand Final. The likes of Tilio and Aiden O’Neill could potentially leave the Cityzens as well, further weakening what arguably was the best A-League Men team in recent years.
By contrast, the Central Coast camp was alive with celebrations. For Cummings, this was the perfect way to close his Central Coast tenure. Having been drafted into the Mariners as an outcast from Scotland, Cummings have elevated Central Coast from a side battling to avoid the wooden spoon in the regular season to a side consistently challenging for honors in the top half of the table. The 27-year old is bound to depart Central Coast for Indian Super League champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant, but he made sure that he left no business unfinished with the Mariners. A Grand Final hat-trick, and the Johnny Marston Medal for being the final’s MVP was well and truly Cummings’, a man who had came as a loser and left as an immortal hero that has quenched Central Coast’s 10-year thirst for silverware.