Victory beaten on penalties in Final

Sydney triumph after dominating all season

by SIMON HILL, World Soccer, June 2017 

Although they dominated the regular season, Sydney had to rely on penalties to see off a dogged Melbourne Victory in the Grand Final in a brutal finale that saw nine yellow cards issued and more than 50 fouls committed. Besart Berisha’s fifth Grand Final goal had given Victory the lead, but an equaliser from Rhyan Grant took the game into extra-time and then spot-kicks. 

After Carl Valeri and Marco Rojas missed for Victory it was left to Milos Ninkovic to stroke home the winning kick to give Sydney a third title, and their first in seven years. 

It was a fitting reward for Graham Arnold’s team, who set the tone for the campaign right from the opening weekend when they hammered rivals Western Sydney Wanderers 4-0 in front of an extraordinary crowd of nearly 62,000 at ANZ Stadium. They would go on to break records aplenty on their way to winning the Premiership by 17 points – including the most points (66), the most wins (20), and the fewest goals conceded (12). 

Sydney’s success was down to smart recruitment, with Arnold signing four Australian internationals, a top goalkeeper in Danny Vukovic and marquee striker Bobo, who contributed 15 goals. Arnold then set his side up in a system that was based on a collective structure which was designed to win the ball back as high up the pitch as possible. 

In any other season, Victory’s haul of 49 points would have put them very close to winning the Premiers Plate, but Kevin Muscat’s team had the misfortune to come up against a side that is already being compared to the great Brisbane team that won back to back titles in 2011 and 2012. 

Perhaps worn down by the relentless grind of having to chase Sydney, Victory suffered a major lapse in form after an excellent start to the season, winning just five of their last 13 games, although they did recover well enough to reach the Grand Final. Individually, Rojas and James Troisi enjoyed fine returns to the A-League, and during the course of the season Berisha became the first player in the competition’s history to reach 100 goals. 

Melbourne City ended their trophy drought by winning the FFA Cup in November, but rather than that being the catalyst for an expected title assault they inexplicably fell away, despite 11 goals from returning hero Tim Cahill and 17 from Bruno Fornaroli. Coach John Van’t Schip left mid-season to be with his ailing father back in Holland, and his replacement, Michael Valkanis, was unable to find any consistency. 

Perth Glory were the great entertainers, scoring 53 goals and conceding just as many. The talismanic Diego Castro had a sensational second half of the season, but a leaky defence meant they were only ever a puncher's chance in the finals. 

Brisbane Roar, meanwhile, were the nearly men once more, finishing third after an horrendous injury list and Asian Champions League travel derailed their bid for a fourth championship. However, Roar striker Jamie Maclaren shared the golden boot with Berisha. 

Western Sydney Wanderers had a difficult campaign, finishing sixth on the back of a relocation to Spotless Stadium, while Wellington Phoenix’s much-lauded attack failed to produce the expected number of goals. 

Central Coast Mariners avoided last spot courtesy of a derby win over the Newcastle Jets, who were bottom for the second time in three seasons. 

Reigning champions Adelaide United were a huge disappointment and coach Gui Amor stepped down at the end of the campaign. They took nine matches to register their first win and only a late burst of form avoided the indignity of going from champs to chumps in the space of a season.

A-LEAGUE 

2016-17

PLAYER OF THE SEASON: Milos Ninkovic (Sydney)

The 32-year-old Serbian playmaker contributed nine goals and 11 assists in an impressive campaign and deservedly won the Johnny Warren Medal as the A-League’s best player.

COACH OF THE SEASON: Graham Arnold (Sydney)

This season was a big test of his abilities after missing the finals last year. His recruitment was spot-on and his players bought into a style of play which other teams simply couldn’t live with.

NEWCOMER OF THE SEASON: Riley McGree (Adelaide United)

In a league where youngsters can struggle for opportunities, the teenager was a breath of fresh air. By the end of the season, coach Ange Postecoglou had called him into the national squad.