2024 A-League Men finals series

The 2024 A-League Men finals series was the 19th annual edition of A-League finals series, the playoffs tournament staged to determine the champion of the 2023–24 A-League Men season. The series was played over four weeks culminating in the 2024 A-League Men Grand Final.

A-League Men finals series
Season2023–24
Dates4–25 May 2024
ChampionsCentral Coast Mariners
Matches played7
Goals scored12 (1.71 per match)
Top goalscorerRóbert Mak (2 goals)
Biggest home winSydney FC 4–0 Macarthur FC
(Elimination-finals, 4 May 2024)
Biggest away winSydney FC 1–2 Central Coast Mariners
(Semi-finals, 10 May 2024)
Wellington Phoenix 1–2 Melbourne Victory
(Semi-finals, 18 May 2024)
Highest scoringSydney FC 4–0 Macarthur FC
(Elimination-finals, 4 May 2024)
Highest attendance33,297
Wellington Phoenix 1–2 Melbourne Victory
(Semi-finals, 18 May 2024)
Lowest attendance11,792
Sydney FC 4–0 Macarthur FC
(Elimination-finals, 4 May 2024)
Total attendance138,011
Average attendance19,716
2023
2025

On 18 October 2023, the decision to host the 2023, 2024 and 2025 A-League Men Grand Finals in Sydney was reversed and renegotiated into Unite Round.[1][2][3]

Qualification

edit

The top two teams; Central Coast Mariners and Wellington Phoenix, qualify directly for the semi-finals. The teams placed third through to sixth play in the elimination-finals, with the third and fourth placed teams; Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC, hosting the matches.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Central Coast Mariners (C) 27 17 4 6 49 27 +22 55 Qualification for AFC Champions League Elite and Finals series
2 Wellington Phoenix[a] 27 15 8 4 42 26 +16 53 Qualification for Finals series[b]
3 Melbourne Victory 27 10 12 5 43 33 +10 42
4 Sydney FC 27 12 5 10 52 41 +11 41 Qualification for AFC Champions League Two and Finals series[c]
5 Macarthur FC 27 11 8 8 45 48 −3 41 Qualification for Finals series[b]
6 Melbourne City 27 11 6 10 50 38 +12 39
7 Western Sydney Wanderers 27 11 4 12 44 48 −4 37
8 Adelaide United 27 9 5 13 52 53 −1 32
9 Brisbane Roar 27 8 6 13 42 55 −13 30 Qualification for 2024 Australia Cup play-offs
10 Newcastle Jets 27 6 10 11 39 47 −8 28
11 Western United 27 7 5 15 36 55 −19 26
12 Perth Glory 27 5 7 15 46 69 −23 22
Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) wins; 3) goal difference; 4) goals scored; 5) head-to-head results; 5a) head-to-head points; 5b) head-to-head goal difference; 6) Fair Play points; 7) away goal difference; 8) away goals per match; 9) home goal difference; 10) home goals per match; 11) toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.[4][5]
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is part of the Oceania Football Confederation.
  2. ^ a b The top two teams enter the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the finals series at the elimination-finals.
  3. ^ Qualified for AFC Champions League Two as the 2023 Australia Cup winners.

Venues

edit

This year would see the first finals match played in New Zealand since 2015.

Melbourne Gosford
AAMI Park Industree Group Stadium
Capacity: 30,050 Capacity: 20,059
   
Sydney Wellington
Allianz Stadium Sky Stadium
Capacity: 42,500 Capacity: 34,500
   

Bracket

edit

The system used for the 2024 A-League Men finals series is the modified top-six play-offs by the A-Leagues. The top two teams enter the two-legged semi-finals receiving the bye for the elimination-finals in which the teams from third placed to sixth place enter the elimination-finals with "third against sixth" and "fourth against fifth". Losers for the elimination-finals are eliminated, and winners qualify for the two-legged semi-finals.

First placed team in the semi-finals plays the lowest ranked elimination-final winning team and secon placed team in the semi-finals plays the highest ranked elimination-final winner. Home-state advantage goes to the team with the higher ladder position.

Elimination-finals Semi-finals Grand final
4 Sydney FC 4
5 Macarthur FC 0 4 Sydney FC 1 0 1
1 Central Coast Mariners 2 0 2
1 Central Coast Mariners (a.e.t.) 3
3 Melbourne Victory (p) 1 (3) 3 Melbourne Victory 1
6 Melbourne City 1 (2) 3 Melbourne Victory (a.e.t.) 0 2 2
2 Wellington Phoenix 0 1 1

Elimination-finals

edit

Sydney FC vs Macarthur FC

edit

This was the 11th overall meeting between the two teams and their first in the finals series.

Sydney FC4–0Macarthur FC
Report
Attendance: 11,792
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sydney
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Macarthur
GK 1   Andrew Redmayne
RB 23   Rhyan Grant
CB 27   Hayden Matthews
CB 6   Jack Rodwell   75'
LB 16   Joel King
RM 10   Joe Lolley   29'   52'
CM 12   Corey Hollman   46'
CM 26   Luke Brattan   85'
LM 4   Jordan Courtney-Perkins
RF 11   Róbert Mak   85'
LF 17   Anthony Caceres
Substitutions:
MF 22   Max Burgess   46'
FW 25   Jaiden Kucharski   52'
MF 8   Jake Girdwood-Reich   75'
FW 9   Fábio Gomes   85'
FW 13   Patrick Wood   85'
DF 15   Gabriel Lacerda
GK 20   Adam Pavlesic
Manager:
  Ufuk Talay
GK 12   Filip Kurto
RB 20   Kealey Adamson   27'
CB 6   Tomislav Uskok
CB 3   Tommy Smith
LB 13   Ivan Vujica
DM 23   Clayton Lewis   57'
DM 15   Kearyn Baccus   68'
RM 17   Raphael Borges Rodrigues   57'
CM 10   Ulises Dávila
LM 37   Jed Drew   46'
CF 98   Valère Germain   75'
Substitutions:
DF 18   Walter Scott   46'
MF 7   Daniel De Silva   57'
MF 8   Jake Hollman   83'   57'
FW 31   Lachlan Rose   68'
DF 44   Matthew Millar   75'
MF 24   Charles M'Mombwa
GK 1   Danijel Nizic
Manager:
  Mile Sterjovski

Assistant referees:[6]
Brad Wright
Arvin Shanmuganathan
Fourth official:[6]
Adam Kersey
Video assistant referee:[6]
Kate Jacewicz
Assistant video assistant referees:[6]
Kris Griffiths-Jones
Richard Naumovski

Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne City

edit

This was the 45th overall meeting between the two teams and their second in the finals series. The last time a Melbourne Derby was contested in the finals series was in 2015, which Melbourne Victory won 3–0.

Melbourne Victory1–1 (a.e.t.)Melbourne City
Report
Penalties
3–2
Attendance: 21,358
Referee: Alex King
 
 
 
 
 
 
Melbourne
Victory
 
 
 
 
 
 
Melbourne
City
GK 20   Paul Izzo
RB 2   Jason Geria   120+2'
CB 5   Damien Da Silva   115'
CB 21   Roderick Miranda
LB 3   Adama Traoré   85'
DM 25   Ryan Teague
DM 22   Jake Brimmer   68'
RM 19   Daniel Arzani   11'   80'
CM 8   Zinédine Machach   37'
LM 11   Ben Folami   68'
CF 10   Bruno Fornaroli   50'   80'
Substitutions:
MF 27   Jordi Valadon   68'
FW 17   Nishan Velupillay   68'
MF 7   Chris Ikonomidis   80'
MF 23   Salim Khelifi   80'
FW 37   Kasey Bos   85'
MF 6   Leigh Broxham   120+2'
GK 40   Christian Siciliano
Manager:
  Tony Popovic
GK 1   Jamie Young
RB 6   Steven Ugarkovic
CB 22   Curtis Good   102'   118'
CB 26   Samuel Souprayen   5'
LB 14   Vicente Fernández   75'
DM 7   Mathew Leckie   114'
DM 8   Jimmy Jeggo   38'
RM 44   Marin Jakoliš   109'
CM 10   Tolgay Arslan   75'
LM 11   Léo Natel
CF 9   Jamie Maclaren   41'   75'
Substitutions:
MF 17   Terry Antonis   90+2'   75'
FW 37   Max Caputo   75'
DF 25   Callum Talbot   75'
MF 21   Alessandro Lopane   109'
MF 35   Zane Schreiber   114'
GK 33   Patrick Beach
DF 2   Scott Galloway
Manager:
  Aurelio Vidmar

Assistant referees:[6]
Kearney Robinson
Andrew Lindsay
Fourth official:[6]
Daniel Elder
Video assistant referee:[6]
Kris Griffiths-Jones
Assistant video assistant referees:[6]
Kate Jacewicz
Richard Naumovski

Semi-finals

edit
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Central Coast Mariners 2–1 Sydney FC 2–1 0–0
Wellington Phoenix 1–2 Melbourne Victory 0–0 1–2 (a.e.t.)

Sydney FC vs Central Coast Mariners

edit
Sydney FC1–2Central Coast Mariners
King   25' Report
Attendance: 13,813
Referee: Ben Abraham
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sydney
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Central Coast
Mariners
GK 1   Andrew Redmayne
RB 16   Joel King
CB 27   Hayden Matthews
CB 6   Jack Rodwell   63'
CB 8   Jake Girdwood-Reich   19'
RB 23   Rhyan Grant
RM 12   Corey Hollman   40'   82'
CM 26   Luke Brattan
LM 4   Jordan Courtney-Perkins   46'
RF 17   Anthony Caceres
LF 11   Róbert Mak   84'
Substitutes:
MF 22   Max Burgess   19'   64'
FW 9   Fábio Gomes   46'
DF 15   Gabriel Lacerda   64'
DF 3   Aaron Gurd   84'
FW 25   Jaiden Kucharski
GK 20   Adam Pavlesic
FW 13   Patrick Wood
Manager:
  Ufuk Talay
GK 20   Danny Vukovic
RB 15   Storm Roux
CB 23   Dan Hall
CB 3   Brian Kaltak
LB 18   Jacob Farrell
RM 2   Mikael Doka
CM 26   Brad Tapp   84'
CM 6   Max Balard
LM 7   Christian Theoharous   68'
RF 9   Alou Kuol   20'   76'
LF 4   Josh Nisbet
Substitutes:
FW 22   Ronald Barcellos   68'
FW 99   Ryan Edmondson   76'
MF 37   Bailey Brandtman   84'
FW 17   Jing Reec
DF 33   Nathan Paull
MF 16   Harry Steele
GK 30   Jack Warshawsky
Manager:
  Mark Jackson

Assistant referees:[7]
Matthew McOrist
Andrej Giev
Fourth official:[7]
Alireza Faghani
Video assistant referee:[7]
Kris Griffiths-Jones
Assistant video assistant referees:[7]
Lara Lee
Richard Naumovski

Central Coast Mariners vs Sydney FC

edit

Assistant referees:[8]
Kearney Robinson
Arvin Shanmuganathan
Fourth official:[8]
Jonathan Barreiro
Video assistant referee:[8]
Kate Jacewicz
Assistant video assistant referees:[8]
Kris Griffiths-Jones
Richard Naumovski

Melbourne Victory vs Wellington Phoenix

edit
Melbourne Victory0–0Wellington Phoenix
Report
Attendance: 16,313
Referee: Adam Kersey
 
 
 
 
 
 
Melbourne
Victory
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wellington
Phoenix
GK 20   Paul Izzo
RB 2   Jason Geria
CB 5   Damien Da Silva
CB 21   Roderick Miranda
LB 3   Adama Traoré
DM 27   Jordi Valadon   61'
DM 25   Ryan Teague
RM 17   Nishan Velupillay   60'
CM 28   Roly Bonevacia   79'
LM 23   Salim Khelifi   60'
CF 10   Bruno Fornaroli   89'
Substitutes:
FW 19   Daniel Arzani   88'   60'
FW 11   Ben Folami   60'
MF 22   Jake Brimmer   61'
MF 7   Chris Ikonomidis   79'
DF 14   Connor Chapman   89'
FW 37   Kasey Bos
GK 40   Christian Siciliano
Manager:
  Tony Popovic
GK 40   Alex Paulsen
RB 6   Tim Payne
CB 3   Finn Surman
CB 4   Scott Wootton
LB 19   Sam Sutton
RM 15   Nicholas Pennington   52'   76'
CM 14   Alex Rufer   90+5'
LM 8   Ben Old   90+5'
AM 11   Bozhidar Kraev   77'
AM 10   David Ball   41'   65'
CF 7   Kosta Barbarouses
Substitutes:
FW 24   Oskar van Hattum   65'
FW 9   Oskar Zawada   76'
MF 17   Youstin Salas   77'
MF 12   Mohamed Al-Taay   90+5'
GK 25   Jack Duncan
DF 26   Isaac Hughes
DF 18   Lukas Kelly-Heald
Manager:
  Giancarlo Italiano

Assistant referees:[7]
Hugh Fenton-White
Joey Lee
Fourth official:[7]
Jonathan Barreiro
Video assistant referee:[7]
Alex King
Assistant video assistant referees:[7]
Casey Reibelt
Kearney Robinson

Wellington Phoenix vs Melbourne Victory

edit
Wellington Phoenix1–2 (a.e.t.)Melbourne Victory
Zawada   90+9' Report
Attendance: 33,297
Referee: Daniel Elder
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wellington
Phoenix
 
 
 
 
 
 
Melbourne
Victory
GK 40   Alex Paulsen
RB 6   Tim Payne   111'
CB 3   Finn Surman   111'
CB 4   Scott Wootton
LB 19   Sam Sutton   111'
RM 15   Nicholas Pennington   85'
CM 14   Alex Rufer
LM 8   Ben Old
AM 11   Bozhidar Kraev   73'
AM 10   David Ball   66'
CF 7   Kosta Barbarouses
Substitutes:
FW 24   Oskar van Hattum   66'
FW 9   Oskar Zawada   73'
MF 17   Youstin Salas   90+1'   85'
MF 12   Mohamed Al-Taay   111'
DF 26   Isaac Hughes   111'
DF 18   Lukas Kelly-Heald   111'
GK 25   Jack Duncan
Manager:
  Giancarlo Italiano
GK 20   Paul Izzo
RB 2   Jason Geria
CB 5   Damien Da Silva
CB 21   Roderick Miranda
LB 3   Adama Traoré   120'
DM 27   Jordi Valadon   65'
DM 25   Ryan Teague
RM 17   Nishan Velupillay   66'
CM 28   Roly Bonevacia   86'
LM 19   Daniel Arzani   30'   66'
CF 10   Bruno Fornaroli   90+5'
Substitutes:
MF 22   Jake Brimmer   65'
FW 11   Ben Folami   66'
MF 23   Salim Khelifi   66'
DF 14   Connor Chapman   97'   86'
MF 7   Chris Ikonomidis   90+5'
FW 37   Kasey Bos   120'
GK 40   Christian Siciliano
Manager:
  Tony Popovic

Assistant referees:[8]
Andrew Meimarakis
Andrew Lindsay
Fourth official:[8]
Ben Abraham
Video assistant referee:[8]
Shaun Evans
Assistant video assistant referees:[8]
Alex King
Richard Naumovski

Grand Final

edit
Central Coast Mariners3–1 (a.e.t.)Melbourne Victory
Report
Attendance: 21,379
Referee: Alex King


Notes

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "A-Leagues announce first ever Unite Round to take place this season". A-Leagues. 18 October 2023. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023.
  2. ^ "A-Leagues scrap controversial Grand Final decision in favour of Unite Round". ABC News. 18 October 2023. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023.
  3. ^ Lynch, Joey (18 October 2023). "A-Leagues scrap Grand Final deal in favour of 'Unite Round". ESPN. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023.
  4. ^ "A-League Competition rules". A-Leagues. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Explained: Why the A-Leagues ladder sorting rules have changed this season". A-Leagues. 2 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Match Official Appointments: Isuzu UTE A-League 2023/24 Elimination Finals". Football Australia. 1 May 2024. Archived from the original on 2 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h "Match Official Appointments: Isuzu UTE A-League 2023/24 Semi-Finals - First Leg". Football Australia. 9 May 2024. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h "Match Official Appointments: Isuzu UTE A-League 2023/24 Semi-Finals - Second Leg". Football Australia. 14 May 2024. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024.