Sydney FC marked Patrick Kisnorbo’s return to AAMI Park by snatching a 1-0 elimination final win over Melbourne Victory and reaching the A-League Men’s semi-finals against Newcastle.
Victory dominated most of the night and controversially were denied one penalty, then had another overturned before Patrick Wood pounced on a horror error from young defender Franco Lino to score the winner in the 80th minute.
Lino was jostling for an aerial duel but instead of heading the ball forwards, turned it backwards looking for goalkeeper Jack Warshawsky, but Wood nipped in and scored the sucker-punch goal.
Interim boss Kisnorbo was facing the Victory for the first time after leaving the club just seven ALM games into a three-year deal to join Yokohama F. Marinos in December 2024.
He’ll lead Sydney into a home semi-final first leg against Newcastle next Saturday, then play the premiers away in the second leg.
It was a crushing defeat for Arthur Diles’s Victory, who’ll hope the loss doesn’t mark Juan Mata’s final game.
The 38-year-old Spaniard is out of contract at season’s end.
With Al Hassan Toure out injured, Kisnorbo turned to 16-year-old Akol Akon to start, while Victory superstar Mata started for the first time after his fractured elbow.
Nishan Velupillay forced a save from Harrison Devenish-Meares in the second minute, then the Sydney goalkeeper brilliantly denied Charles Nduka in the 18th minute.
In the 23rd, Mata was arguably lucky to escape a booking after he caught Paul Okon Jnr with a high boot.
Warshawsky blocked Rhyan Grant’s close-range header in the 33rd and turned an Akon header over the bar eight minutes later.
Devenish-Meares again denied Nduka in the 52nd.
Victory demanded a penalty in the 57th when Apostolos Stamatelopoulos pulled Jason Davidson back by his jersey at a corner, but their pleas went unheard.
Five minutes later, Victory was awarded a penalty when referee Lachlan Keevers ruled Okon had bowled over Santos, but he overturned the call after a VAR review.
The small pocket of Sydney supporters went into ecstasy when Wood seized his moment, just three minutes after entering the fray, and Victory could not find an equaliser.
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