A-League finals kick off this weekend

The kickoff time for Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne City has changed, with many Greeks disappointed with the initial time

Danny Vukovic (centre) and teammates lift the Premiers plate after winning their A-League Men Round 25 match between the Central Coast Mariners and Adelaide United on Wednesday. Photo: AAP/Dan Himbrechts

2 May 2024 3:28pm

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The A-League Men’s Finals Series kicks off this weekend with two cut-throat Elimination Finals with Sydney FC hosting Macarthur FC and a Melbourne derby on Sunday with Melbourne Victory up against Melbourne City.

Meanwhile, the top two from the regular season, Central Coast Mariners and Wellington Phoenix, await the winners in two-legged Semi Finals.

It was the Mariners that were crowned the premiers of the league after defeating Adelaide United 2-0 in the final game of the regular season.

Goals to Jacob Farrell and Max Balard sealed the club’s first Premiers’ Plate in 12 years, continuing an incredible twelve months following their 2022-23 Championship season.

They now aim to claim an historic treble consisting of the A-League Men Premiers’ Plate, the A-League Men’s Championship and the AFC Cup.

A-Leagues Commissioner Nick Garcia congratulated Central Coast for their premiership winning season.

“They’ve played an incredibly entertaining brand of football, and continue to develop high-quality young players which has excited fans across the league,” he said in a media release.

“We now look forward to seeing them strive for an Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s Championship crown when the Final Series kicks off this weekend.”

The scheduling of Sunday’s derby between Victory and City came under some online fan backlash this weekend.

Many pointed to the 1pm start time as a poor decision due to Orthodox Easter falling on this weekend.

With a large number of the fanbase being of Greek background and more, there were several comments left by Greeks on Melbourne Victory’s social media posts.

The game has now been moved to 5pm.

Other comments have pointed out to the AFL having games scheduled around the same time.

Tickets for both Elimination Finals are on sale on the Ticketek website while tickets for both Semi Final second legs are on sale for home team club members, with general public tickets going on sale at 9am AEST on Tuesday May 7 for the Central Coast Mariners home Semi Final and on Thursday May 2 at 11am AEST/ 1:00pm NZT for the Wellington Phoenix home Semi Final.

Both Elimination Finals will be telecast live on 10 Bold and streamed exclusively on 10 Play and Paramount+.

Finals Series Schedule: