A needless penalty has prevented Wellington Phoenix from registering their first win under new coach Bev Priestman.

Off-field issues are ever-present but players in Australia’s domestic league take to the field in its 21st season with an added motivator Put aside, for a moment, anxiety around the A-Leagues’ next broadcast deal. Shelve calculations for the impending “hard” salary cap. Forget the perpetual challenges of venues, crowds, members. Of connecting the pyramid. Of all the worries in Australian football’s future. The A-League Men kicks off on Friday for its 21st season, and for the best 300 or so footballers in the country, nothing matters more than when the referee blows for kick-off. “Once the whistle goes, I’m going to be doing what it takes to win the game,” says Kai Trewin, the player of the year at champions Melbourne City. Continue reading...

Ten-month period of limbo comes to an end with appointment Australian leaves Lyon with one year remaining on contract Football Australia has ended 10 months of uncertainty by appointing widely respected Melbourne-born women’s football specialist Joe Montemurro to lead the Matildas towards next year’s home Asian Cup. The 55-year-old Montemurro has won trophies with Arsenal, Juventus and Lyon in a distinguished career in Europe, having broken through in the professional coaching ranks with stints at Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City in the W-League more than a decade ago. Continue reading...

Coach Aurelio Vidmar backs young talent and fresh faces as City turn the tables on rivals Melbourne Victory to claim an elusive second championship Despair for one side of Melbourne, jubilation for the other. It was 5 May 2024 and after a heroic performance from keeper Paul Izzo, Melbourne Victory had just eliminated Melbourne City from the A-League Men finals after a dramatic penalty shootout. Illustrative of the high standards set, it capped off the worst season City had experienced in recent times, scraping into the playoffs after sacking coach Rado Vidošić just two weeks into the campaign and failing to reach the grand final for the first time in five years. A host of club legends would soon depart amid league-wide cuts to distributions and budgets. It almost felt like the recession the club needed to have. But the bear is gone, and the bull is back. As referee Adam Kersey’s whistle rang out for the final time in front of a record crowd at AAMI Park and players sank to their knees in joyous celebration in front of him, coach Aurelio Vidmar was wrapped in a bear hug by his director of football Michael Petrillo and assistants Scott Jamieson and Paul Pezos. City had sealed a 1-0 triumph over Victory on Saturday night to become champions of Australia for the second time. Continue reading...

Melbourne City 1-0 Melbourne Victory Yonatan Cohen’s 10th minute strike seals title for City Jubilation for one side of Melbourne, despair for the other. Melbourne City are champions of the A-League Men after defeating Melbourne Victory 1-0 at AAMI Park on Saturday. As the final whistle rang out, Joe Marston Medalist Mat Leckie moved to embrace young teammate Alessandro Lopane. On the sideline, coach Aurelio Vidmar – who had never previously beaten Victory as City coach and lost to Victory in the 2009 decider as coach of Adelaide – was embraced in a bearhug by City director of football Michael Petrillo and assistants Paul Pezos and Scott Jamison. Continue reading...

Yonatan Cohen scores the first goal of the A-League grand final for Melbourne City.

Inaugural tournament signals a new era for the game and offers cross-confederation competition for victors Continental club competitions present opportunities like no other. A precious yet highly elusive chance to test one’s mettle against unknown opposition amid unfamiliar surroundings. For players, coaches and their respective clubs alike, this is where many believe true growth occurs. And it wasn’t just Lisbon that played host to these virtues this past weekend as a new dawn for women’s football arose in Asia. The final of the inaugural AFC Women’s Champions League took place in China with host club, Wuhan Jiangda, edging out Melbourne City after a nerve-racking penalty shootout following a tight, and often physical, 120 minutes of playing time with the score tied at 1-1. Continue reading...

Wuhan Jiangda win shootout 5-4 after Stott wastes chance Chinese side had equalised with 98th-minute penalty Melbourne City suffered a heartbreaking and drama-filled defeat by Wuhan Jiangda on penalties to fall short in the Women’s Asian Champions League final, going down 5-4 having had a chance to win the shootout by that scoreline. With scores locked at 1-1 after a chaotic 90 minutes and extra-time, City’s captain, Rebekah Stott, had the chance at 4-4 in the penalty shootout to seal victory, in front of a hostile crowd in Wuhan. Instead, she shot tamely straight at Chen Chen. Zhao Yuxin put Wuhan in front and Chen saved Bryleeh Henry’s penalty to seal a remarkable shootout victory. Continue reading...