Archie vs Adelaide

ALG GF Melb-Adel CorScr (NT) Correct Score - WINNER

16328

W. Scores Not Quoted

21.00

Paying

Right there, my friends, is the payout one would receive had they placed a single dollar on the Melbourne Victory to win 6-0 this evening. The actual odds for a 6-0 victory would've been much higher, as $21 is for "score not quoted" encompassing many scores. 5-0 would've been up around $101.

Very few would have done so. The only people who could claim such a profit are the folk who, while getting out of the car to go to the TAB, found a gold coin that had slipped down the side of the seat. The thought process would then move to the brainwave: "Hey, what the hell. If Archie can score 5 and someone else, maybe Sarkies, chips in with a goal of their own, it might actually happen".

Their own serious bet, maybe a close 1-0 Victory win or a few quid on form striker Allsopp to open the game, would have certainly seemed more likely, a safer option, and the bet they would have pondered over all week.

After all the previews, expert tips and arguments with mates over the match, it would've been the single dollar shining amongst the material that lines their car that ultimately would have brought a $20 profit, enough for celebratory drinks for a double Victory.

Tonights game was unbelievable. No one would have predicted a 6-0 whitewash, especially given Adelaide's defensive mentality. Let me recap from the beginning.

Andy and I hopped on a 3pm train to the city, hoping to enjoy a few drinks at the Great Western Hotel before walking down to the Dome. Minutes from Southern Cross Station we get a call from our pal Maz, who has just arrived at the Great Western: "Looks packed. 100 or so people outside". Two minutes later, a message: "LOL 100, more like 500".



The place was packed. Little Bourke St had people everywhere, a sea of blue and white shirts. Streamers thrown were all over the road, catching on people as they made their way through the crowd. Chanting from three different places, out of time but it didn't matter. Flares were being let off in the middle of small crowds and surprisingly there were few Police at the scene. Soon the crowd moved on to King Street and quickly the traffic built up. Finally a cop turned up, and had no option but to instruct motorists to do a u-turn over the embankment and back up King Street.

Working a Sunday night shift for work has only allowed me to go to one game this season and so I'm largely ignorant to the words of the chants sung so passionately by the Blue and White Brigade. However it was impossible not to comprehend their most blunt one, certainly fitting for the occasion: FUCK OFF UNITED

The crowd then moved down Bourke St, taking ownership of the footpaths, road and tram tracks. We followed some folk with banner featuring Muscat and the most comedic character in the A-League, Adelaide coach John Kosmina, and reading "One knows how to choke, the other knows how to win".



The crowd then stopped at the bottom of the Southern Cross Station steps at the intersection of Bourke St and Spencer St. There I saw one of the most amazing scenes in the history of sporting fans. The image can only describe the atmosphere:



It was phenomenal. Endless chanting, a wall of blue and white, abuse being hurled at anyone - anything - wearing red. Flags flying above the crowd's heads. A tram had to be escorted through the intersection by Police. No other sport in Australia would get this kind of street partying before the grand final. It was seriously incredible.

We then met Andy's brother Leigh a few blocks from the crowd and proceeded to our seats - unfortunately threerows from the back of tier three, at the other end of the stadium to the BWB. Alas, it was all set up for a massive game.

The game started with aggression, both sides trying to impose themselves. Adelaide captain Aloisi the instigator, but he was booked early. The battle of aggression between him and Victory skip Muscat would be pivotal to the result of the match.

Adelaide settled better and had the first real chance, forcing a top save from Theo with his legs. But the Victory were soon one up, and then two up and soon enough facing 10 men after Aloisi needlessly decked Brebner after the ball had gone.

For the Victory, Pantelidis had settled well in defence, Leijer was winning the air battles and the Victory were operating with 4 attacking options. After the early Adelaide shot, Melbourne dominated. Caceres (what a gun!) went on several daring runs forcing Adelaide's defence to retreat. Fred was putting balls through holes and Brebner and Muscat were forever the first pass out of defence.

30 minutes in, Archie was on a hattrick. The first a deft chip over the rushing Beltrame hitting the post and just rolling over the line, the second a clinical display of football with Allsopp feeding Fred on the overlap who delivered a perfect low cross for Archie at the goal mouth.

3-0 after 39 minutes and Archie had his "predicted" hattrick, shaping to shoot on his right, dragging it to his left and slotting it home after a brilliant where-did-that-come-from pass by Muscat.

3-0 against 10 men at half time. Surely we couldn't lose from here.

The second half started slowly but soon all three strikers found the ball, and unfortunately the woodwork. It wasn't long until Thompson broke through for his fourth. Despite being offside he received the ball deep and was able to round the keeper and fire from a tight angle.

5-0 13 minutes later. Fred once again the assistant crossing a ball to the centre for an unmarked Archie to casually stick out his foot to score from close range, as he has done so many times for the Victory in the past two seasons. It was becoming a procession.

3 substitutions later and Sarkies rounded off the game with a brilliant solo goal from the edge of the box. He is quickly becoming a star and soon will be playing full games, hopefully in Australia but more likely in Europe.

It was a thrashing. In every sense of the word. And it was deserved. Adelaide's outspoken and hated-by-the-rest-of-the-league coach John Kosmina would've been turning in the coaching box at the ease in which his defence was torn apart. The coffee sipping character has become Victory nemesis number 1 after a stoush at Telstra Dome that saw him smacked with a 5 game touchline ban (see above). He is serving another touchline ban currently for an outburst at referee Matthew Breeze last weekend. The colourful character deserves every bit of misfortune that comes his way, and was boo-ed louder than John Howard on the stage post-game.

For the Victory, it was satisfying. To destroy an arch rival in a grand final in front of a record 55,436 crowd, it honestly can not get much better than this. The Victory are now crowned champions and premiers in the same year, the first time (albeit in two seasons) that that has been achieved.

FUCK OFF UNITED