2018 FFA Cup final
| Company type | Soccer match |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Headquarters | Adelaide , Australia |
| Products | Soccer tournament final |
The 2018 FFA Cup Final represented the fifth iteration of Australia's foremost knockout soccer tournament, featuring a showdown between Adelaide United and Sydney FC. This encounter was a repeat of the 2017 final, which had been claimed by Sydney FC. The event was held at Coopers Stadium in Adelaide and was broadcast live on Fox Sports.
Road to the final
| Adelaide United | Round | Sydney FC | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Opponent | Result | |
| Central Coast Mariners | 3–0 (H) | Round of 32 | Rockdale City Suns | 4–2 (A) |
| Queensland Lions FC | 1–0 (A) | Round of 16 | Cairns FC | 2–1 (A) |
| APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC | 2–0 (A) | Quarter-finals | Avondale FC (a.e.t) | 4–2 (A) |
| Bentleigh Greens SC | 2–0 (A) | Semi-finals | Western Sydney Wanderers FC | 3–0 (A) |
Adelaide United kicked off their tournament journey with a commanding 3–0 home victory over fellow A-League side Central Coast Mariners FC, with goals contributed by Jordan Elsey, debutant Mirko Boland, and Craig Goodwin. Their following three wins came against National Premier Leagues clubs, all played away as per competition regulations. Goodwin netted once more during a narrow 1–0 triumph against Queensland Lions FC. In the quarterfinal round, Adelaide secured a 2–0 win over APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC, courtesy of strikes from Goodwin and Boland. The semifinal match concluded with a 2–0 victory against Bentleigh Greens SC, thanks to goals from Elsey and Ben Halloran. Throughout the tournament, Adelaide maintained an unblemished record, not conceding any goals.
Sydney FC began their campaign by overcoming three National Premier Leagues teams. They rallied from an early deficit to defeat Rockdale City Suns FC 4–2, with captain Alex Brosque scoring twice. In the round of sixteen, Sydney edged past Cairns FC 2–1, with Brosque converting a penalty and Trent Buhagiar adding a second-half goal. The quarterfinal clash with Avondale FC extended into extra time, where Sydney completed a 4–2 comeback, highlighted by pivotal goals from Milos Ninkovic and Adam Le Fondre. The semifinals featured a Sydney Derby against A-League rivals Western Sydney Wanderers FC at Penrith Stadium, where Sydney triumphed 3–0 through efforts from Buhagiar, a free kick by Siem de Jong, and a penalty converted by Le Fondre, securing their place in the final.
Venue selection
For the first time this season, the host for the Final was determined by a random draw rather than selection by Football Federation Australia. Adelaide was selected to stage the match at their home venue, Coopers Stadium.
Analysis
As defending champions, Sydney FC entered the contest having defeated Adelaide 2–1 after extra time in the previous year's Final. This marked Sydney’s third straight appearance in an FFA Cup Final following their runner-up finish to Melbourne City in 2016. A victory would establish Sydney as the first club to win the Cup entirely through away fixtures. The tournament also introduced new Sydney head coach Steve Corica, who took over from Graham Arnold, recently appointed national team manager.
Adelaide had previously claimed the inaugural FFA Cup title in 2014 by defeating Perth Glory and were finalists again in 2017. The two sides had recently played out a 1–1 draw in their A-League meeting just eleven days prior to this final.
Details
| Template:Football kit | Template:Football kit |
| GK | 1 | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Andrew Redmayne | ||
| RB | 23 | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Rhyan Grant | ||
| CB | 4 | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Alex Wilkinson | ||
| CB | 5 | Template:Country data NEDTemplate:Namespace detect showall Jop van der Linden | ||
| LB | 7 | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Michael Zullo | Template:Yel | |
| CM | 6 | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Joshua Brillante | Template:Suboff | |
| CM | 13 | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Brandon O'Neill | Template:Yel | |
| RW | 8 | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Paulo Retre | Template:Suboff | |
| LW | 10 | Template:Country data SRBTemplate:Namespace detect showall Miloš Ninković |
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Man of the Match (Mark Viduka Medal):
Assistant referees:
Fourth official:
Additional assistant referees:
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Match regulations:
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Statistics
| Match Statistics | Adelaide United | Sydney FC |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 2 | 1 |
| Total shots attempted | 7 | 8 |
| Possession percentage | 49% | 51% |
| Corners earned | 10 | 6 |
| Fouls committed | 15 | 26 |
| Offside calls | 3 | 1 |
| Yellow cards received | 4 | 3 |
| Red cards issued | 0 | 0 |