Melbourne City FC suffered a disappointing FFA Cup Final loss, going down 4-0 to Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium on Wednesday night.
In front of a vocal home crowd, Al Hassan Toure sparked the hosts with a 25th minute strike, before a rampant second half performance saw the Reds net three via Ben Halloran, Nikola Mileusnic and Riley McGree.
Despite falling at the final hurdle, City will look to bounce back from their disappointment when they take on Western United at GMHBA Stadium on Sunday.
Starting XI
Head Coach Erick Mombaerts made three changes to the starting XI that defeated Adelaide on the weekend, with Josh Brillante, Curtis Good and Adrian Luna all coming into the starting squad.
Javier Cabrera missed the clash as he faces a race with fitness to be available for Round 3.
The team is in for tonight's #FFACupFinal! pic.twitter.com/TxbO86XzSv
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) October 23, 2019
What happened?
In warm conditions at Coopers Stadium, the FFA Cup Final 2019 kicked off with both teams eager to wrestle the early ascendency.
On enemy territory, it was Mombaerts’ men who had the stronger start, producing three threatening chances inside the first quarter of an hour of play.
The best of those chances came in the seventh minute when captain Scott Jamieson whipped in a curling cross which was expertly met by Jamie Maclaren, whose glancing header was just wide.
Jamieson was again the provider on the 20th minute mark, as Lachie Wales produced a brilliant first touch to turn his marker before firing his effort wide of the near post.
Despite City’s chances down one end, the Reds would open the scoring down the other via Al Hassan Toure in the 25th minute. Latching onto a quickly played through ball, Toure’s electrifying pace saw him run in behind City’s defence before beating Dean Bouzanis at his near post.
In the 33rd minute, Harrison Delbridge looked to take on the game from central defence, as he strolled though the middle of the park before firing a fierce effort down Paul Izzo’s throat. In what proved to be the most meaningful shot on target for City in the first half, the visitors went into the break 1-0 down.
The Reds came out firing in the second period, taking just four minutes to extend their lead to 2-0. From one end to the other, a swift counter saw Ben Halloran find the back of the net.
City’s Craig Noone skipped past his marker before finding space as he looked to peg a goal back, although his effort was just shy of the top corner.
On the 55th minute mark, City switched to three at the back in a bid to get back into the match with Richard Windbichler replacing Scott Galloway.
Despite City’s best efforts to find a way through, Adelaide proved to be too strong on the counter, as the hosts made it 3-0 when Halloran’s low cross found Nikola Mileusnic at the back post for the easiest of tap-ins.
Adelaide sealed a 4-0 win and their third FFA Cup trophy when Riley McGree found the bottom corner of the net with a 75th minute strike.
What’s next?
City will be eager to bounce back when they travel to Geelong to take on Western United at GMHBA Stadium on Sunday 27 October, kick-off 6:00pm, before returning to AAMI Park in Round 4 when they host Wellington Phoenix on Sunday 3 November, kick-off 4:00pm. Get your tickets here.
