Melbourne City beat Macarthur to set up A-League grand final rematch with Sydney FC

Updated: May 17, 2023, 12:06 am

The A-League will plan for Melbourne City to host the A-League grand final against Sydney FC in front of fans at AAMI Park after the premiers sealed their berth in the decider with a 2-0 win over Macarthur FC.

City had their home semifinal on Sunday moved from Melbourne to Sydney's Netstrata Jubilee Stadium after the Victorian state government banned crowds in metropolitan Melbourne. But with limited crowds expected to be allowed into stadiums this week, City should expect to host Saturday's grand final.

- A-League on ESPN+: Stream LIVE games and replays (U.S. only)

- Lynch: How Melbourne City won first-ever A-League Premiership

"With Melbourne City now having the right to host it is our intent to try and find a way for them to play it at AAMI Park next Saturday night," APL commissioner Greg O'Rourke told Fox Sports. "We'll go through the same process we did this week to try and have Melbourne play their semifinal at home which was to have a number of options on the table.

"We had 25 [per cent capacity], 50 [per cent] and above as well. We'll talk to the Victorian government and try to get the maximum crowd possible. It is quite difficult because today it's still zero (crowds) inside metro CBD."

O'Rourke expected a decision from the Victorian government by close of business Tuesday, while any plans for an away grand final were a "distant plan B." He said: "We really want to push everything we have to put this back in Melbourne and give Melbourne City the right they deserve.

O'Rourke said the two teams will be "locked down" in bubbles until the grand final is completed.

City coach Patrick Kisnorbo hailed the premiers' character in sealing a hard-fought victory but wouldn't focus on whether his side played the decider on home soil.

"It'd be a big thing for our home fans who have supported us for a long time," Kisnorbo said. "To be given the opportunity to support their team at our home ground would be great. But we'll see what happens."

Melbourne City's Stefan Colakovski scored one goal and assisted another in the space of two minutes to send his team through to the grand final.
Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Sunday's semifinal exploded to life when City defender Nuno Reis completed a brilliant goal-line clearance to deny Macarthur's Charles M'Mombwa the breakthrough goal in the 32nd minute.

Macarthur's Ivan Franjic clattered a scintillating long-range shot off the bar in the 35th minute. Ten minutes later, Bulls skipper Mark Milligan, in his final professional game, blocked Nathaniel Atkinson's goal-bound shot.

In the 54th minute, City broke through when Marco Tilio cut down the left then whipped the ball across goal, where Stefan Colakovski edged past Macarthur's defence to prod home the opener.

Less than a minute later, Colakovski took a brilliant touch to control a long ball, cut around Milligan then squared it to Tilio, who coolly tapped home in the 55th minute.

"That second [goal] just killed us. That was just too much, too soon," Bulls coach Ante Milicic said. "Yeah, there was a lot of time left in the game and we tried a few things but in the end against this kind of opponent, [it was] just too much for us on the night."