South Melbourne make history with Australia Cup win over Melbourne Victory on penalties
A night that could echo for decades
It was remarkable. It was incredible. South Melbourne emerged as champions of the Australia Cup after a heart-stopping penalty shootout at AAMI Park on Saturday night, becoming the first team from outside the A-League to win the competition. The result has the potential to linger for decades.
From the NSL to the final
South Melbourne, standard bearers of the National Soccer League and home of Ange Postecoglou, Ferenc Puskas, John Margaritis and Paul Trimboli, were left behind when the old competition was discarded in favour of the A-League. For many years, simply surviving was the sum of their resistance. Now, 22 years on from that banishment, they have lifted the trophy against Melbourne Victory, a potent symbol of the "New Football" era.
Extra time drama and a shootout to decide it
Melbourne Victory led 1-0 after Denis Genreau's remarkable 95th-minute goal. With fewer than five minutes of extra time remaining, substitute Jordi Swibel burst down the right and whipped a ball in. Bul Juach turned it back centrally, and it fell to another substitute, Max Mikkola, who bundled it goalward and, despite Jason Davidson's best efforts, found the net to send the match to penalties.
Victory had chances to win it outright. Santos sent what should have been a 78th-minute, wide-open winner straight at South goalkeeper Javier Lopez, and the visitors hit the post twice: first when Lopez turned a Santos shot onto the woodwork in the 25th minute, and then deep into extra time when substitute Michael Ghossaini headed against it.
The shootout
Four perfect penalties were converted by Marco Jankovic, Jordi Swibel, James Lackay and Andrew Mesourouni, while Guillermo May, Michael Ghossaini and Denis Genreau converted for Victory. The decisive misses came from two former Victory-linked players with strong ties to South. Harrison Sawyer, a former favourite son who has bled for the club's shirt, was denied twice by Lopez, who came off his line for the first attempt and was then foiled again. Jason Davidson, son of South hall-of-famer Alan Davidson, with the game on the line, skied his attempt.
An atmosphere to remember
The 29,911 fans who packed into AAMI Park represented the largest crowd ever for a venue that has hosted A-League grand finals, Lions tours, Asian Cup clashes and Women's World Cup fixtures. The only blemish was an outbreak of boos at the start of the pre-game welcome to country ceremony, which sparked scrambles from terrace leaders trying to hush the crowd.
What comes next
South Melbourne has made no secret of its desire to take up a place in the A-League, and the result gives its case fresh weight. As the columnist Joey Lynch put it, the night was "history made" at AAMI Park, but "maybe the future was too". With 777 clubs starting this year's Cup, the triumph shows what can happen when the sum of the game's parts comes together.