2023 A-League Men finals series
The 2023 A-League Men finals series was the 18th annual edition of A-League finals series, the playoffs tournament staged to determine the champion of the 2022–23 A-League Men season. The series was played over four weeks culminating in the 2023 A-League Men Grand Final, where the Central Coast Mariners won their second championship 6–1 against premiers Melbourne City.
| Season | 2022–23 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 5 May – 3 June 2023 |
| Champions | Central Coast Mariners |
| Matches played | 7 |
| Goals scored | 23 (3.29 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Jason Cummings (4 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Melbourne City 4–0 Sydney FC (Semi-finals, 19 May 2023) |
| Biggest away win | Western Sydney Wanderers 1–2 Sydney FC (Elimination-finals, 6 May 2023) Adelaide United 1–2 Central Coast Mariners (Semi-finals, 13 May 2023) |
| Highest scoring | Melbourne City 1–6 Central Coast Mariners (Grand Final, 3 June 2023) |
| Highest attendance | 27,288 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–2 Sydney FC (Elimination-finals, 6 May 2023) |
| Lowest attendance | 9,223 Melbourne City 4–0 Sydney FC (Semi-finals, 19 May 2023) |
| Total attendance | 124,417 |
| Average attendance | 17,774 |
← 2022 2024 → | |
It featured the first A-League Men Grand Final played at a fixed location (outside the 2020 Grand Final), which was played at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta, based on an Australian Professional Leagues decision in December 2022 for the 2023, 2024 and 2025 A-Leagues Grand Finals to be played in Sydney in a deal with Destination NSW,[1] which met fan backlash[2][3] and soonly scrapped in October 2023.
Qualification
Melbourne City was first to qualify for the 2023 finals series at Round 21, after a 1–1 draw with Macarthur FC and to claim the league premiership with two rounds left.[4] Central Coast Mariners finished second as the other team heading directly into the semi-finals with Melbourne City.[5] Elimination-finalists Adelaide United, Western Sydney Wanderers, Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix were the other four qualifying for the finals series.[6]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne City | 26 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 61 | 32 | +29 | 55 | Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series[lower-alpha 1] |
| 2 | Central Coast Mariners (C) | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 55 | 35 | +20 | 44 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage and Finals series |
| 3 | Adelaide United | 26 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 53 | 46 | +7 | 42 | Qualification for Finals series[lower-alpha 2] |
| 4 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 26 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 43 | 27 | +16 | 41 | |
| 5 | Sydney FC | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 40 | 39 | +1 | 38 | |
| 6 | Wellington Phoenix[lower-alpha 3] | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 39 | 45 | −6 | 35 | |
| 7 | Western United | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 34 | 47 | −13 | 32 | |
| 8 | Brisbane Roar | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 26 | 33 | −7 | 30 | |
| 9 | Perth Glory | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 36 | 46 | −10 | 29 | Qualification for 2023 Australia Cup play-offs |
| 10 | Newcastle Jets | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 30 | 45 | −15 | 29 | |
| 11 | Melbourne Victory | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 29 | 34 | −5 | 28 | |
| 12 | Macarthur FC | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 31 | 48 | −17 | 26 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage and 2023 Australia Cup play-offs[lower-alpha 4] |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Points per game; 5) Least red cards; 6) Least yellow cards; 7) Toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
(C) Champions
Notes:
- Determined by which of the Premiers for the 2021–22 or 2022–23 seasons accrued the most combined points over both seasons.[7]
- 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.
- Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is under the Oceania Football Confederation.
- Qualified to the AFC Cup as the 2022 Australia Cup winners.
Venues
| Sydney | Melbourne | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Allianz Stadium | CommBank Stadium | AAMI Park | |
| Capacity: 42,500 | Capacity: 30,000 | Capacity: 30,050 | |
| Gosford | Adelaide | ||
| Industree Group Stadium | Coopers Stadium | ||
| Capacity: 20,059 | Capacity: 16,500 | ||
Bracket
The system used for the 2023 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, except for the Grand Final in this series.
| Elimination-finals | Semi-finals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Sydney FC | 2 | 5 | Sydney FC | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||
| 1 | Melbourne City | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Melbourne City | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Adelaide United | 2 | 2 | Central Coast Mariners | 6 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Wellington Phoenix | 0 | 3 | Adelaide United | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||
| 2 | Central Coast Mariners | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||||||
Elimination-finals
Adelaide United vs Wellington Phoenix
The first elimination-finals match occurred between third-placed Adelaide United and sixth-placed Wellington Phoenix at Coopers Stadium. Adelaide won 2–0 thanks to a Craig Goodwin double into the two-legged semi-finals.[8]
Adelaide
United |
Wellington
Phoenix |
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Assistant referees:[9]
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Western Sydney Wanderers vs Sydney FC
The second elimination-finals match occurred between fourth-placed Western Sydney Wanderers and fifth-placed Sydney FC at Bankwest Stadium; the first time a Sydney Derby was played in the finals series of the A-League Men. Despite Wanderers scoring first through a Morgan Schneiderlin penalty, Sydney made the comeback 2–1 over Western Sydney sent them to the two-legged semi-finals via Róbert Mak and Adam Le Fondre.[10]
Western Sydney
Wanderers |
Sydney
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Assistant referees:[9]
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Semi-finals
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne City | 5–1 | Sydney FC | 1–1 | 4–0 |
| Central Coast Mariners | 4–1 | Adelaide United | 2–1 | 2–0 |
Sydney FC vs Melbourne City
Sydney FC qualified for the two-legged semi-finals against Melbourne City starting off at home at Allianz Stadium[11] which finished as a 1–1 draw with Mathew Leckie scoring first for City and Adam Le Fondre equalizing in a second-half penalty.[12] The following week at AAMI Park, saw City breeze 4–0 with goals by Curtis Good, Marco Tilio, Richard van der Venne and an own goal winning 5–1 on aggregate heading to the Grand Final.[13]
| Sydney FC | 1–1 | Melbourne City |
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| Report |
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Sydney
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Melbourne City
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Assistant referees:[14]
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Melbourne City vs Sydney FC
Melbourne City won 5–1 on aggregate.
| Melbourne City | 4–0 | Sydney FC |
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Report |
Melbourne City
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Sydney
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Assistant referees:[15]
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Adelaide United vs Central Coast Mariners
Adelaide United qualified for the two-legged semi-finals against Central Coast Mariners starting off at back home at Coopers Stadium[11] which despite Adelaide scoring first, had Central Coast comeback 2–1.[16] The following week at Industree Group Stadium fully attended, Central Coast extended their advantage by winning 2–0 thanks to goals by Samuel Silvera and Marco Túlio; winning 4–1 on aggregate to qualify for the Grand Final against Melbourne City.[17]
Adelaide
United |
Central Coast
Mariners |
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Assistant referees:[14]
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Central Coast Mariners vs Adelaide United
Central Coast Mariners won 4–1 on aggregate.
Central Coast
Mariners |
Adelaide
United |
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Assistant referees:[15]
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Grand Final
The Grand Final featured Melbourne City in their fourth consecutive Grand Final, against the Central Coast Mariners appearing in their first Grand Final in a decade and fifth overall.[18] Central Coast scored the first and second goals through Jason Cummings and Samuel Silvera, with City getting one back by substitute Richard van der Venne, with Mariners leading 2–1 at half time. Since, they scored through two penalties by Cummings completing his hat-trick and further goals by Béni Nkololo and Moresche in stoppage time. Central Coast Mariners became champions of the A-League Men after defeating Melbourne City 6–1 in the Grand Final.[19]
Melbourne
City |
Central Coast
Mariners |
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Man of the Match (Joe Marston Medal):
Assistant referees:[20]
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Match rules
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Notes
- Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.
References
- "Lock it in: Sydney to host A-Leagues Grand Finals for next three seasons". A-Leagues. 12 December 2022.
- Hytner, Mike (12 December 2022). "'Terrible decision': A-Leagues' move to sell off grand final rights to Sydney sparks fan anger". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 December 2022.
- Rugari, Vince (12 December 2022). "'Absolute disgrace': A-League grand final move slammed by fans, owners and a Socceroo". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022.
- Pisani, Sacha (19 March 2023). "A lot has changed for stuttering City and their latest result has left them craving one thing". A-Leagues.
- "Mariners have earned semi-finals berth". coastcommunitynews.com.au. 11 May 2023.
- Comito, Matt (4 May 2023). "Six Finals Series storylines to excite every A-Leagues fan". A-Leagues.
- "A big AFC change has sparked a new A-Leagues table scramble: How it works". Australian Professional Leagues. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- Comito, Matt (5 May 2023). "Adelaide set up epic Semi Final showdown after Goodwin double & Irankunda late show". A-League.
- "Match Official Appointments: Isuzu UTE A-League 2022/23 Elimination Finals - May 5-6". Football Australia. 3 May 2023. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023.
- Smithies, Tom (6 May 2023). "THE ULTIMATE HEIST: Sydney FC knock off Wanderers in epic Derby Final". A-Leagues.
- Comito, Matt (May 2023). "Semi Final Ins and Outs: Lolley named, Berisha back, Reds reinforced for Mariners clash". A-Leagues.
- D'Urbano, Nick (12 May 2023). "'Perfect' three-word tip-off that saw Leckie end 12-year Finals wait". A-Leagues.
- D'Urbano, Nick (19 May 2023). "City dismantle Sky Blues to book place in historic fourth straight Grand Final". A-Leagues.
- "Match Official Appointments - Isuzu Ute A-League Semi Finals - First Leg - 12-13 May". Football Australia. 9 May 2023. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023.
- "Match Official Appointments - Isuzu Ute A-League Semi Finals - Second Leg - 19-20 May". Football Australia. 9 May 2023. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023.
- Larkin, Steve (13 May 2023). "Advantage Mariners! Monty's men come from behind to beat Adelaide in thrilling Semi Final first leg". A-Leagues.
- Smithies, Tom (20 May 2023). "MAGIC MARINERS! Historic night sees Central Coast reach first Grand Final in 10 years". A-Leagues.
- "2023 Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final Ultimate Guide: Everything you need to know". A-Leagues. May 2023.
- Clarke, George (3 June 2023). "Mariners smash Melbourne City 6-1 in ALM grand final". A-Leagues.
- "Chris Beath appointed referee for 2022/23 A-League Men's Grand Final". Football Australia. 30 May 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2024.