Brisbane Roar have once again been crowned the A-League winners* following a second grand final in as many years; becoming the first team ever to go back-to-back.
The Roar have a real taste for the dramatic, and this 2-1 victory over Perth Glory was no different. Last year the Roar came back from 2-0 down with 118' on the clock, scoring twice to force a penalty shoot-out.
The little white spot 12 yards out was once more the source of their triumph, except this time they managed to do it before extra time. Mind you, with 7 minutes to play they were once again staring down the barrel of defeat. Shane Smeltz had been in red-hot form in the post season and although Perth's opener was in fact an own goal, it was one of those 'too busy worrying about the presence of a lethal striker to react when the ball hits you' type of oggies. Albanian striker Besart Berisha knows where the goal is himself though, and displayed good movement to meet a cross and steer it home for the Roar to set up the grandstand finish.
The drama of last year was perhaps even surpassed by the finale of this one though. Berisha again latched onto a ball on the edge of the box, and slalomed through a crowd of defenders. He went down with a huge air swipe, and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot...only for replays to suggest that in fact he was not touched at all and just lost his footing. Now cast as a villain on the West Coast, Berisha did not dive as such so I don't think can be blamed. It would have taken an almost unprecedented act of sportsmanship to ask the referee to overturn the decision, so fair enough to the Albanian striker for slotting the ball home. The time on the clock was 90+7, Perth Glory had no time to come back, and once again it's Brisbane who get the end of season plaudits.
*So, why the asterisk? Well, the match we've just discussed was the grand final. To explain for the uninitiated, here in Australia they play the league campaign just like everybody else. For some reason however, this does not do the job for Aussies, and they insist on having a ridiculously convoluted post season. The top two play each other over two legs, meanwhile 3-6 have straight knock out games. The loser in the top two match gets another go, the winner goes to the final, it all gets very muddled and confusing and leads up to a Grand Final which potentially could be played between the teams who finish in 2nd and 6th.
The Central Coast Mariners finished top of the league and leave with the not even consolation prize of being "Minor Premiers". No-one seems to give a toss about that award though and it certainly does not get the recognition it deserves. If you win the league, you've proven yourself to be the best over the full 6 months of the season - have one off day and the glory goes elsewhere. I feel sorry for Central Coast, they deserved better, and for me that is one of the big failings of this system.
The second is the mockery it makes of the league season. Sure, the structure gives you an advantage based on where you finish - it's theoretically easier if you come second than, say 5th, but it still boils down to one off games. Also, in a league of only ten teams, the top 6 qualify. 60% of the competition makes it to the finals. Apply that to the Premier League and there would be little between the achievement of Man City and Sunderland. Tosh, clearly. They love the format over here however, it is deeply ingrained in the system for the Super Rugby, the AFL and the NRL - so the A-League follows suit.
I've written recently about the shambles that the A-League threatens to become with the meddling of the FFA, and the constant chopping and changing of clubs. I don't think this format helps the 'product' either. If they went for a regular league format but threw in a cup competition they could still get their big final, without undermining and devaluing the entire league in the process. Next season has many unanswered questions to be addressed before it commences in October.
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