Ikonomidis leads Victory to Cup glory as Western United stays top

There was plenty of success for Victoria’s clubs this weekend as star winger Chris Ikonomidis powered Victory to cup triumph while Western United maintained their place as league leaders.

Melbourne Victory finally moved past their horrific form of the last two seasons to defeat Central Coast in the FFA Cup final (renamed the Australia Cup moving forward).

The Western side held onto a significant win against the Wanderers to earn bragging rights over their former coach, Mark Rudan, in the weekend’s A-League action.

Wellington pulled off a mighty triumph against Macarthur and Sydney FC earned an impressive away success over Adelaide.

READ MORE: Westerns’ showdown looms as United face first test as log leaders

FFA Cup final: Melbourne Victory – Central Coast, 2-1
The Victorians delivered a mighty finish for their local fans as they clinched the cup trophy (the second time of winning it) from the distraught Mariners to cap off a magical night in AAMI Park.

After 70 minutes of compact defending, Victory left-back Jason Davidson brought the game to life with a superb free-kick goal.

Greek-Australian forward Chris Ikonomidis entered the match as a substitute and stepped up with minutes left to score a fantastic left-foot half volley (90+5’) much to the joy of the fans in attendance who joined the players in celebration.

Central Coast captain Oliver Bozanic gave his side some hope with his sublime lobbed finish (90+7’) but the job was too big a hurdle to overcome.

Victory manager Tony Popovic was delighted to see the club earn silverware again after some unsuccessful years.

“It’s a step forward, of course, and this club was accustomed to winning trophies, challenging for honours constantly … expectations have always been high and we’ve brought that back now,” Mr Popovic told media after the match.

Wellington Phoenix-Macarthur FC, 3-1
The New Zealanders procured a vital three points on Sunday afternoon to get their season back on track.

The Phoenix went ahead after winger Rene Piscopo’s penalty snuck past keeper Filip Kurto into the bottom left corner (12’).

The Bulls found their equaliser through a tidy finish by captain and playmaker Ulises Davilla (58’) before forward Jaushua Sotirio scored a quick brace (71’, 78’) to bring Wellington a well-earned win.

Newly acquired Apostolos Giannou played the first 65 minutes for Marcarthur.

Western Sydney-Western United, 0-1
The Green and Black outfit ended Rudan’s honeymoon with the Wanderers abruptly as they were resigned to another loss.

Former PAOK and current Western striker Aleksandar Prijovic scored the match’s only goal with a powerful strike (29’) with the defence doing the rest of the work.

The Red and Black club fielded five Greek-Australians on the night: John Koutroumbis and James Troisi in the starting lineup and Tass Mourdoukoutas, Terry Antonis and Dimitri Petratos coming off the bench.

Adelaide United-Sydney FC, 1-2
The Sky Blues look to be returning to their best after a fantastic performance from goalkeeper Thomas Heward-Belle helped his side ascend to second on the ladder.

Forward Elvis Kamsoba opened the scoring with a great dribble and finish which squeezed into the bottom-left corner (10’) before Reds’ captain Stefan Mauk brought it level with an effort from close range following a Heward-Belle save.

Brazilian marksman Bobo got his second goal in as many weeks to regain the lead for the Sydneysiders.

Heward-Belle made many pivotal saves throughout the game but none was more significant than his save of striker Hiroshi Ibusuki’s penalty attempt, diving strongly to his left to protect his goal and secure the three points for his club.

Sydney coach Steve Corica praised the efforts of his second-string goalkeeper as well as the team in general.

“That’s his job, to save goals, and he did it really well tonight and he deserved it …We know what they (Adelaide) are going to give at home, they’re a very good team and difficult to beat, and that’s why we’re pleased with the three points and the performance,” Mr Corica said post-match.

Three matches were postponed this weekend because of the FFA Cup and due to Covid cases in the Perth camp: Melbourne City-Perth Glory, Melbourne Victory-Western United and Western Sydney-Central Coast.