Wellington Phoenix will play Melbourne Victory in a two-legged semi-final to decide who goes through to the men’s A-League grand final.
Victory won Sunday’s second elimination final in dramatic circumstances, beating arch rivals Melbourne City in a penalty shootout after the sides were locked 1-1 after extra time.
Both sides had players sent off at AAMI Park, with Victory forced to play more than 80 minutes of normal and extra time with 10 men after the sending off of Zinédine Machach in the 37th minute.
Melbourne City lost Curtis Good to a red card with two minutes of extra time to go.
Victory’s hero was goalkeeper Paul Izzo who kept his side’s hopes alive with a string of saves in normal time, including a penalty save.
He then made vital stops during the penalty shootout, and scored from the penalty spot himself, to help Victory win the shootout 3-2.
Main photo: Goalkeeper Paul Izzo … Victory’s saviour at AAMI Park.
As the highest-ranked elimination final winner — Melbourne Victory finished third on the regular season table — they qualified to face the Phoenix in the semi-finals.
The other semi-final will see Premiers Plate winners Central Coast Mariners meet the Ufuk Talay-coached Sydney.
Sydney face a potential injury crisis ahead of the semi-finals with key players Luke Brattan and Joe Lolley suffering injuries in their 4-0 elimination final win against Macarthur on Saturday.
Lolley suffered a hamstring injury while scoring in the second half against 10-man Macarthur, forcing him to be substituted before half-time.
Sydney captain Brattan limped off the pitch with the help of his team doctor and a teammate after he was heavily tackled.
After the match, head coach Ufuk Talay said it would take a day or two to determine how serious the injuries were.
“Joe felt his hammy on that extraordinary goal he scored,” Talay said.
“It was his standing foot that he felt. Again, can’t say anything until we get it looked at.
“Bratts is probably one (who) goes down, gets a lot of knocks and continues but he must be hurt, that’s why he come off. His ankle, his doctor was looking at him but we won’t know until the next 24-48 hours where they stand.”
Lolley told a sideline interviewer: “Frustrating personally, I know it’s not the best. Fingers crossed the scan comes back good.”
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Watch the highlights from Victory’s win
Result
Elimination final 2
Game played on Sunday May 5, 2024
Melbourne Victory 1 (Nishan Velupillay 88′)
Melbourne City 1 (Samuel Souprayen 29′)
*Victory win 3-2 on penalties after extra time
Semi-final fixtures
Semi-final 1, first leg
Game to be played on Friday May 10, 2024
Sydney v Central Coast Mariners
Allianz Stadium, Sydney, 9.45pm (NZT)
Semi-final 2, first leg
Game to be played on Sunday May 12, 2024
Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix
AAMI Park, Melbourne, 6pm (NZT)
Semi-final 1, second leg
Game to be played on Saturday May 18, 2024
Central Coast Mariners v Sydney
Industree Group Stadium, Gosford, 9.45pm (NZT)
Semi-final 2, second leg
Game to be played on Saturday May 18, 2024
Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory
Sky Stadium, Wellington, 6.30pm (NZT)
Grand final
Game to be played on Saturday May 25, 2024
Winner semi-final 1 v winner semi-final 2
Highest-ranked semi-final winner to host game
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