2013 A-League Grand Final

The 2013 A-League Grand Final was the eighth A-League Grand Final, which took place at the Sydney Football Stadium on 21 April 2013. The match was won by Central Coast Mariners, who beat Western Sydney Wanderers 2–0, in front of 42,102 people. This was the first time the Central Coast Mariners became champions of Australia, after losing three previous grand finals.

2013 A-League Grand Final
Event2012–13 A-League
Date21 April 2013
VenueSydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Man of the MatchDaniel McBreen
RefereePeter Green
Attendance42,102
2012
2014

Route to the final

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Both teams came into the final in good form, the Wanderers undefeated in 13 games and the Mariners having won their past 4 A-League games in a row. The sides had previously met three times over the course of the season, with each team winning one match as well as one draw.

In their inaugural season, Wanderers performed strongly. Mixed early results were followed by a streak of 12 undefeated games, including a run of 10 wins in a row, which saw the side top the regular season table, winning the A-League premiership. In the semi-final, the Wanderers beat Brisbane Roar 2–0, scoring a goal in each half to qualify for the grand final.

Entering the season as reigning A-League premiers, the Mariners had a strong season, highlighted by the fact that they lost only one match at their home ground, Bluetongue Stadium- against the Wanderers. After finishing second in the regular season, the Mariners played Melbourne Victory in the semi-final, winning 1-0 through a Daniel McBreen goal and so qualifying for the final.

The top six teams from the 2012–13 season qualified for the finals series, with the top two receiving byes into the semi-finals.

Elimination Finals Semi-finals Grand Final
Western Sydney Wanderers 2
Adelaide United 1 Brisbane Roar 0
Brisbane Roar 2 Western Sydney Wanderers 0
Central Coast Mariners 2
Central Coast Mariners 1
Melbourne Victory (a.e.t.) 2 Melbourne Victory 0
Perth Glory 1

Match

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Summary

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It was announced by the FFA, following Western Sydney Wanderers earning the right to host the grand final, that the match would be played at the Sydney Football Stadium due to its greater capacity than the Wanderers usual home ground, Parramatta Stadium. The match was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 42,102 at the Sydney Football Stadium- the largest crowd of the 2012–13 A-League. In Australia, it was shown live on Fox Sports.

The first clear-cut chance of the match came when Trent Sainsbury played a ball over the top for Mile Sterjovski. Sterjovski got in behind the defence and chipped over Wanderers' 'keeper Ante Covic, only for his shot to hit the crossbar and bounce out for a goal kick. Shortly before half-time, the Mariners took the lead. Michael McGlinchey's corner found Patrick Zwaanswijk at the near post, whose powerful header put the Mariners ahead going into half-time.

Soon after play resumed, both Shinji Ono and Sterjovski had attempts on goal from attacking positions for their respective sides, but neither was able to put their shot on target. Midway through the half, the Mariners were awarded a penalty. It came after Daniel McBreen retrieved a ball deep inside the penalty area and cut back the bouncing ball, only for it to hit the arm of Jérome Polenz, leading Peter Green to award a penalty. From the resultant penalty, McBreen sent Covic the wrong way, powering his shot into the top left corner and giving the Mariners a two-goal advantage which they retained until the final whistle.

Daniel McBreen was awarded the Joe Marston Medal as man of the match. The win marked the Central Coast Mariners' first A-League Championship.

Details

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Western Sydney Wanderers0–2Central Coast Mariners
Reports[1] Zwaanswijk   44'
McBreen   68' (pen.)
Attendance: 42,102
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Western Sydney Wanderers
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Central Coast Mariners
GK 1   Ante Covic
RB 6   Jérome Polenz   76'
CB 4   Nikolai Topor-Stanley
CB 5   Michael Beauchamp (c)
LB 2   Shannon Cole
DM 8   Mateo Poljak
CM 10   Aaron Mooy
CM 21   Shinji Ono
RW 14   Kwabena Appiah-Kubi   72'
LW 19   Mark Bridge
FW 9   Dino Kresinger   67'
Substitutes:
GK 30   Carlos Saliadarre
DF 11   Tarek Elrich   72'
MF 16   Rocky Visconte   76'
MF 23   Jason Trifiro
FW 7   Labinot Haliti   67'
Manager:
  Tony Popovic
GK 1   Mathew Ryan
RB 4   Pedj Bojic
CB 16   Trent Sainsbury
CB 6   Patrick Zwaanswijk
LB 3   Joshua Rose
DM 7   John Hutchinson (c)
DM 11   Oliver Bozanic
RW 9   Bernie Ibini-Isei
AM 2   Daniel McBreen   70'
LW 14   Michael McGlinchey   51'   88'
FW 21   Mile Sterjovski   73'
Substitutes:
GK 20   Justin Pasfield
DF 5   Zachary Anderson
MF 17   Anthony Caceres
MF 29   Nicholas Fitzgerald   88'
FW 19   Mitchell Duke   73'
Manager:
  Graham Arnold

Joe Marston Medal:
Daniel McBreen (Central Coast Mariners)

Assistant referees:
Nathan MacDonald
David Walsh
Fourth official:
Strebre Delovski

Match rules

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Maximum of five named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.
A-League
2013 Champions
 
Central Coast Mariners
First Title

Statistics

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Western Sydney Wanderers Central Coast Mariners
Goals Scored 0 2
Total Shots 4 14
Shots on Target 1 5
Ball Possession 55% 45%
Corner Kicks 5 6
Fouls Committed 6 12
Offsides 2 0
Yellow Cards 0 2
Second Caution Red Cards 0 0
Direct Red Cards 0 0

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2013 A-League Grand Final". Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
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