758 clubs started the journey back in February, and this Sunday the Australia Cup 2024 Winners will be decided, as two A-League Men's teams aim to start their respective seasons with a trophy.
Melbourne Victory will aim to equal their arch-rivals Adelaide United by winning their third Australia Cup, while Macarthur FC will look for their second triumph in three years.
Australia Cup 2024 Final Details
Melbourne Victory FC vs Macarthur FC
Date: Sunday, 29 September 2024
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Kick-off: 7.10pm AEST
Gates Open: 5.45pm AEST
Broadcast: 10 Bold and 10 Play
Melbourne Victory have looked like a well-oiled machine under new coach Patrick Kisnorbo scoring 13 goals and conceding just one on route to the big dance.
They started the campaign with a 4-1 win over Lambton Jaffas in the Round of 32. Then, they stacked on another eight goals over the next two rounds, with 4-0 victories over NWS Spirit and Moreton City Excelsior.
The side edged past Original Rivals and three-time Cup winners Adelaide United 1-0 last Saturday, with Jordi Valadon’s goal in the final minutes of regular time proving decisive.
The Semi Finals were Victory’s first A-Leagues test of the tournament, having previously faced National Premier Leagues opposition in the tournament.
Key to Victory’s run has been the exploits of winger Nishan Velupillay, who has taken to life under Kisnorbo with aplomb, topping the scoring charts with five. Velupillay managed five goals total over his last two seasons before 2024/25.
Velupillay has been able to combine effectively with winger Daniel Arzani and recently signed striker Nikolaos Vergos as part of a high-scoring front three.
Vergos’ three goals in his first three Victory games since joining from Greek Super League side Atromitos have seen him stake his claim as the preferred striking option heading into Sunday.
Returning defender Brendan Hamill has slotted into the Victory backline where he left off and has been part of a defence responsible for a +12 goal difference. Hamill was a part of the team that lifted the Cup in the belated 2021 competition, along with Velupillay and Jason Geria - Victory’s last Australia Cup triumph.
No player has scored more goals in the Australia Cup than Melbourne Victory’s Nishan Velupillay’s five, which have come from just nine shots, seven of which were on target. Velupillay is also the only player to have scored more than one goal from outside the box (3).
In midfield, Zinedine Machach has been at his creative best in this tournament, making the second-most successful dribbles (9) meaning Melbourne Victory are dangerous in all areas of the pitch.
Macarthur reached their second Cup Final with a set of dogged one-goal victories.
They came from behind to beat the ACT’s O’Connor Knights and then knocked off Newcastle Jets in a high-scoring 4-3 battle.
Two backs-to-the-wall 1-0 wins over NPL Men’s Victoria’s Oakleigh Cannons and South Melbourne in the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals respectively saw them through.
If the Bulls are to claim the trophy, they will have to do it without their star striker Valere Germain. The former Ligue 1 regular was brandished a second yellow card in the dying embers of Macarthur’s win against South Melbourne.
Germain bagged four goals in four matches, including decisive goals in the wins over Oakleigh Cannons and South Melbourne. No player has scored more goals inside the box than Germain (4), who has netted every single one with his right foot.
While Mile Sterjovski’s team will be missing some firepower, they will feature a defence that has withstood barrages through the tournament.
Filip Kurto has been arguably the shot-stopper of the tournament, producing the second-most saves and was a big reason why Macarthur kept a clean sheet in the Semi-Finals. Kurto was called into action to pull off several important saves, including denying South Melbourne’s Maximilian Mikkola twice in the first half.
Further, Matthew Jurman and Tomislav Uskok have been ever-present at centre-back for the Bulls, contributing to two clean sheets in four matches.
They rank in the top two for clearances in the 2024 competition with Jurman first (38) and Uskok second (29) while simultaneously occupying the top two for aerial duels won, with 19 and 16 respectively.
New signing Luke Brattan has also been key to the Bulls’ progression through midfield, making the most passes in the opposition’s half in the competition (152).
The teams provided close encounters in the 2023/24 A-League Men’s season, winning one game each and drawing the other.
Victory snatched all three points in stoppage time of their first clash before a similarly late goal earned them a point later in 2023.
However, in Macarthur's 1-0 win against their opponents in February of this year, Kurto was the star of the show. He produced nine saves, and similar heroics would go a long way to helping the Bulls secure their second Australia Cup on Sunday.
Melbourne Victory
Patrick Kisnorbo on the importance of preparing right...
"I really hope that the fans do come down for us it's focusing on our processes and doing the right things that we need to do into the game, regardless if it's a final or a normal game."
Roderick Miranda
"We now have a chance to start the season with the best way possible with the trophy in our hands. But we still have 90 minutes plus, to try to show on the pitch that we are the better team. So exciting game ahead of us. Everybody's really excited about the game.
"So far the signs are (Macarthur FC) they're a really good team, creative players, experienced players. I think the offseason the recruitment side was really good. So we are expecting a really tough team to play against, but I think will be amazing game to watch.
Macarthur FC
Sterjovski on their preparation and replacing the suspended Valere Germain...
"The Australia Cup run has been good for us and playing every match away from home has kind of got us ready for this... we have quality players who can play a few different positions. So we'll see this week at training, who does the best job there, and we'll go from there."
Sterjovski on what a triumph would mean for the club...
"The club's been through a bit in the last few years and for a club of our size coming up against a big club like Victory, it'll mean a lot to us. And we know that it (a win) qualifies us for Asia, so there's a lot riding on it and we're looking forward to it and the boys are really pumped for the match."
Brattan on chance to win silverware and enjoying the build-up..
"Starting at a new club, you're ambitious and want to win trophies, so it's a fantastic opportunity... You don't get in this position often, so when you do, you got to leave everything on the pitch and give it your all. And yeah, that's what we'll do on the weekend.
"You've got to enjoy the week. Obviously, there's a little bit more media around and a bit more hype. Obviously, it's a special game and a big week, so you got to enjoy it. Try and stay as grounded as possible, and do what you usually do and prepare as a normal game."
