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Matthew Comito 1624785046,1624793225 Melbourne City are A-League Champions for the first time in the club s 11-season history, after coming from behind to notch a comprehensive 3-1 Grand Final victory over the ten-men of Sydney FC on Sunday, June 27. The Premiers were on the back foot after Kosta Barbarouses put the visitors 1-0 up in the 21st minute but it was one-way traffic from that moment on, sparked by a Nathaniel Atkinson strike which rattled into the top corner to restore parity just two minutes after Sydney s opening goal. Luke Brattan received a yellow card from referee Chris Beath in the 25th minute for a dangerous challenge on Aiden O Neill before disaster struck for the pivotal Sky Blues midfielder ten minutes later. Attempting to curtail the dangerous threat of City live-wire Marco Tilio, Brattan flew in to a late challenge with studs raised to catch the attention of Beath for a second time in the first half. ....
Matthew Comito 1624789568,1624789686 Melbourne City s Nathaniel Atkinson wrote the final chapter in a comeback story for the ages on Sunday night, winning the Joe Marston Medal as best on ground in his side s 3-1 Grand Final triumph over Sydney FC. It s a remarkable end to an individual season which seemed all-but over in February, when the 22-year-old succumbed to a high-grade hamstring tear in early April. The Tasmanian was ruled out for two to three months in the club s official statement on April 8. It was a blow that not only put Atkinson s 2020/21 campaign on ice, but his Olympic dream in doubt as the Australian U-23 s continued preparations for the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games. ....
IT all began on a freezing winter’s evening 11 years ago – for me, and for the club I would fall in love with.
Sunday’s much-anticipated Grand Final between Melbourne City and Sydney FC promises to be a fitting conclusion to one of the most competitive seasons in the competition’s 16-year history.
For City, my team, it offers a reward for the investment and commitment the club’s owners have put in since taking over in 2014. ....
“That decision is what everyone remembers,” says Mathew Cheeseman, and he’s right – a penalty in the 94th minute of a grand final to win the game tends to stick in the memory.
That it was a fiercely contested decision, and was decried as wrong by many observers initially, just added to the significance of the moment – never mind the fact that ultimately it would be proved spot on. ....