2013 A-League Grand Final

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}

{{Use Australian English|date=October 2015}}

{{Infobox football match

|title = 2013 A-League Grand Final

|image =

|event = 2012–13 A-League

|team1 = Western Sydney
Wanderers

|team2 = Central Coast
Mariners

|team1score = 0

|team2score = 2

|date = 21 April 2013

|stadium = Sydney Football Stadium

|city = Sydney

|man_of_the_match1a = Daniel McBreen

|referee = Peter Green

|attendance = 42,102

|previous = 2012

|next = 2014

}}

The 2013 A-League Grand Final was the eighth A-League Grand Final, which took place at the Sydney Football Stadium on 21 April 2013. The match was won by Central Coast Mariners, who beat Western Sydney Wanderers 2–0, in front of 42,102 people. This was the first time the Central Coast Mariners became champions of Australia, after losing three previous grand finals.

Route to the final

{{See also|2012–13 A-League}}

Both teams came into the final in good form, the Wanderers undefeated in 13 games and the Mariners having won their past 4 A-League games in a row. The sides had previously met three times over the course of the season, with each team winning one match as well as one draw.

In their inaugural season, Wanderers performed strongly. Mixed early results were followed by a streak of 12 undefeated games, including a run of 10 wins in a row, which saw the side top the regular season table, winning the A-League premiership. In the semi-final, the Wanderers beat Brisbane Roar 2–0, scoring a goal in each half to qualify for the grand final.

Entering the season as reigning A-League premiers, the Mariners had a strong season, highlighted by the fact that they lost only one match at their home ground, Bluetongue Stadium- against the Wanderers. After finishing second in the regular season, the Mariners played Melbourne Victory in the semi-final, winning 1-0 through a Daniel McBreen goal and so qualifying for the final.

The top six teams from the 2012–13 season qualified for the finals series, with the top two receiving byes into the semi-finals.

{{6TeamBracket|seeds=no

| RD1= Elimination Finals

| RD2= Semi-finals

| RD3= Grand Final

| RD1-team1= Adelaide United

| RD1-score1= 1

| RD1-team2= Brisbane Roar

| RD1-score2= 2

| RD1-team3= {{nowrap|Melbourne Victory {{aet}}}}

| RD1-score3= 2

| RD1-team4= Perth Glory

| RD1-score4= 1

| RD2-team1= {{nowrap|Western Sydney Wanderers}}

| RD2-score1= 2

| RD2-team2= Brisbane Roar

| RD2-score2= 0

| RD2-team3= Central Coast Mariners

| RD2-score3= 1

| RD2-team4= Melbourne Victory

| RD2-score4= 0

| RD3-team1= {{nowrap|Western Sydney Wanderers}}

| RD3-score1= 0

| RD3-team2= Central Coast Mariners

| RD3-score2= 2

}}

Match

=Summary=

It was announced by the FFA, following Western Sydney Wanderers earning the right to host the grand final, that the match would be played at the Sydney Football Stadium due to its greater capacity than the Wanderers usual home ground, Parramatta Stadium. The match was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 42,102 at the Sydney Football Stadium- the largest crowd of the 2012–13 A-League. In Australia, it was shown live on Fox Sports.

The first clear-cut chance of the match came when Trent Sainsbury played a ball over the top for Mile Sterjovski. Sterjovski got in behind the defence and chipped over Wanderers' 'keeper Ante Covic, only for his shot to hit the crossbar and bounce out for a goal kick. Shortly before half-time, the Mariners took the lead. Michael McGlinchey's corner found Patrick Zwaanswijk at the near post, whose powerful header put the Mariners ahead going into half-time.

Soon after play resumed, both Shinji Ono and Sterjovski had attempts on goal from attacking positions for their respective sides, but neither was able to put their shot on target. Midway through the half, the Mariners were awarded a penalty. It came after Daniel McBreen retrieved a ball deep inside the penalty area and cut back the bouncing ball, only for it to hit the arm of Jérome Polenz, leading Peter Green to award a penalty. From the resultant penalty, McBreen sent Covic the wrong way, powering his shot into the top left corner and giving the Mariners a two-goal advantage which they retained until the final whistle.

Daniel McBreen was awarded the Joe Marston Medal as man of the match. The win marked the Central Coast Mariners' first A-League Championship.

=Details=

{{Football box

| date = {{Start date|2013|04|21|df=y}}

| time = 16:00 AEST

| team1 = Western Sydney Wanderers

| team2 = Central Coast Mariners

| score = 0–2

| report = Reports{{cite web |title=2013 A-League Grand Final |url=http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/aleague/matchcentre/matchstats/Western-Sydney-Wanderers-v-Central-Coast-Mariners-Hyundai-A-League/2824 |access-date=30 December 2022 |archive-date=16 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016012209/http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/aleague/matchcentre/matchstats/Western-Sydney-Wanderers-v-Central-Coast-Mariners-Hyundai-A-League/2824 |url-status=dead }}

| goals2 = Zwaanswijk {{goal|44}}
McBreen {{goal|68|pen.}}

| stadium = Sydney Football Stadium

| attendance = 42,102

| referee = Peter Green (Australia)

}}

style="width:92%"
style="vertical-align:top"

|{{Football kit

| pattern_la = _wsw1213h

| pattern_b = _wsw1213h

| pattern_ra = _wsw1213h

| pattern_sh =

| pattern_so =

| leftarm = 000000

| body = 000000

| rightarm = 000000

| shorts = FFFFFF

| socks = 000000

| alt = A red and black shirt with white shorts, and black socks

| title = Western Sydney Wanderers

}}

|{{Football kit

| pattern_la = _ccm1213h

| pattern_b = _ccm1213h

| pattern_ra =

| pattern_sh =

| pattern_so = _yellowtop

| leftarm = 000066

| body = 000080

| rightarm = 000066

| shorts = 000080

| socks = 000080

| alt = A yellow shirt with navy trim, navy shorts and navy socks

| title = Central Coast Mariners

}}

style="width:100%"
style="vertical-align:top;width:45%"|

{| style="font-size: 90%;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"

|colspan=4|

style="width:25px"|style="width:25px"|
GKstyle="font-weight:bold" | 1{{flagicon|AUS}} Ante Covic
RBstyle="font-weight:bold" | 6{{flagicon|GER}} Jérome Polenz{{suboff|76}}
CBstyle="font-weight:bold" | 4{{flagicon|AUS}} Nikolai Topor-Stanley
CBstyle="font-weight:bold" | 5{{flagicon|AUS}} Michael Beauchamp (c)
LBstyle="font-weight:bold" | 2{{flagicon|AUS}} Shannon Cole
DMstyle="font-weight:bold" | 8{{flagicon|CRO}} Mateo Poljak
CMstyle="font-weight:bold" | 10{{flagicon|AUS}} Aaron Mooy
CMstyle="font-weight:bold" | 21{{flagicon|JPN}} Shinji Ono
RWstyle="font-weight:bold" | 14{{flagicon|AUS}} Kwabena Appiah-Kubi{{suboff|72}}
LWstyle="font-weight:bold" | 19{{flagicon|AUS}} Mark Bridge
FWstyle="font-weight:bold" | 9{{flagicon|CRO}} Dino Kresinger{{suboff|67}}
colspan=3|Substitutes:
GKstyle="font-weight:bold" | 30{{flagicon|AUS}} Carlos Saliadarre
DFstyle="font-weight:bold" | 11{{flagicon|AUS}} Tarek Elrich{{subon|72}}
MFstyle="font-weight:bold" | 16{{flagicon|AUS}} Rocky Visconte{{subon|76}}
MFstyle="font-weight:bold" | 23{{flagicon|AUS}} Jason Trifiro
FWstyle="font-weight:bold" | 7{{flagicon|AUS}} Labinot Haliti{{subon|67}}
colspan=3|Manager:
colspan=3|{{flagicon|AUS}} Tony Popovic

| style="vertical-align:top;" |

| style="vertical-align:top;width:45%"|

style="font-size: 90%; margin: auto;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"

|colspan=4|

style="width:25px"|style="width:25px"|
GKstyle="font-weight:bold" | 1{{flagicon|AUS}} Mathew Ryan
RBstyle="font-weight:bold" | 4{{flagicon|AUS}} Pedj Bojic
CBstyle="font-weight:bold" | 16{{flagicon|AUS}} Trent Sainsbury
CBstyle="font-weight:bold" | 6{{flagicon|NED}} Patrick Zwaanswijk
LBstyle="font-weight:bold" | 3{{flagicon|AUS}} Joshua Rose
DMstyle="font-weight:bold" | 7{{flagicon|MLT}} John Hutchinson (c)
DMstyle="font-weight:bold" | 11{{flagicon|AUS}} Oliver Bozanic
RWstyle="font-weight:bold" | 9{{flagicon|AUS}} Bernie Ibini-Isei
AMstyle="font-weight:bold" | 2{{flagicon|AUS}} Daniel McBreen{{yel|70}}
LWstyle="font-weight:bold" | 14{{flagicon|NZL}} Michael McGlinchey{{yel|51}}{{suboff|88}}
FWstyle="font-weight:bold" | 21{{flagicon|AUS}} Mile Sterjovski{{suboff|73}}
colspan=3|Substitutes:
GKstyle="font-weight:bold" | 20{{flagicon|AUS}} Justin Pasfield
DFstyle="font-weight:bold" | 5{{flagicon|AUS}} Zachary Anderson
MFstyle="font-weight:bold" | 17{{flagicon|AUS}} Anthony Caceres
MFstyle="font-weight:bold" | 29{{flagicon|AUS}} Nicholas Fitzgerald{{subon|88}}
FWstyle="font-weight:bold" | 19{{flagicon|AUS}} Mitchell Duke{{subon|73}}
colspan=3|Manager:
colspan=3|{{flagicon|AUS}} Graham Arnold

|}

style="width:100%;font-size:90%"

|style="width:40%;vertical-align:top"|

Joe Marston Medal:


Daniel McBreen (Central Coast Mariners)

Assistant referees:


Nathan MacDonald


David Walsh


Fourth official:


Strebre Delovski

|style="width:60%;vertical-align:top"|

Match rules

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Maximum of five named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin: 0 auto; width: 20%"
A-League
2013 Champions
{{flagicon|AUS|size=100px}}
Central Coast Mariners
First Title

=Statistics=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:12px; text-align: center;" width=40%
width=100|

!width=70|Western Sydney Wanderers

!width=70|Central Coast Mariners

Goals Scored

||0||2

Total Shots

||4||14

Shots on Target

||1||5

Ball Possession

||55%||45%

Corner Kicks

||5||6

Fouls Committed

||6||12

Offsides

||2||0

Yellow Cards

||0||2

Second Caution Red Cards

||0||0

Direct Red Cards

||0||0

See also

References

{{reflist}}