It’s A-League Grand Final time, as Melbourne City take on Central Coast Mariners on Saturday, 3 June.
It’s a battle between the two top teams, City, who were the season premiers with a 16-7-3 win-draw-loss record, and the Mariners, who were second on a 13-5-8 record.
Dynasty is the word in mind for Melbourne, who are chasing that glory with a fourth consecutive grand final appearance, winning one in 2021.
Meanwhile, Central Coast will play their fifth grand final, with the last being a decade ago.
That 2013 grand final win was significant for the Coasties because they had almost imploded under financial duress.
Despite running out of money, the club managed to keep up their brilliant on field form to win the championship.
Since then the Mariners declined into mediocrity, but now have the chance to upset the best team of the last few years in a David vs Goliath battle.
Both teams are in good form, so the above tagline may not be warranted.
Neither side have lost a game in over two months, with the only non-victory in that time for Central Coast being a 1-1 draw against City.
Melbourne City had another draw in the semi-final 1st leg against Sydney FC.
Both also come out of their semi-finals looking primed for the championship, with aggregate scores of 5-1 for City and 4-1 for the Mariners.
The decider will be the final game for City captain Scott Jamieson, who will retire after the match. Goalkeeper Tom Glover will also be seen off, as he departs for Europe.
Two young Greek’s could be calling themselves champions if Central Coast claim victory, both Nectarios Triantis and Christian Theoharous.
The Grand Final kicks off at 7.45pm AEST and will be broadcast on Network 10, and streamed on Paramount+ and 10Play.
