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Melbourne Victory took the most initiative in the first leg of the A-League semi-final, with Jake Bremer’s goal proving to be the only successful strike of the weekend and one that Western United now claims will bring everything back to the table in the return match. Saturday night.
Melbourne City and Adelaide United Church ended in a stalemate in the city and now return to Melbourne for a clash on Sunday afternoon to decide who will advance to the final game of the season just six days later.
It is bright for the competition that despite both semifinals being the competitive title of the second leg and 2022 presenting a nightmare for all of us, the excitement surrounding the last week of the game is clear.
This week, the panel is choosing the teams they believe will advance to the grand final after the second leg. This is a fairly straight-forward idea considering the title of the 0-0 score line of the City vs Reds match.
Yet a tip for Western United indicates a belief that the green and black men will advance to the big dance and not just the second round of the game. Extra time and fines were considered and the panel looked deep into their crystal ball to determine the winner of another exciting Melbourne Derby.
Good luck with your tips and don’t forget to write them down in the form below, as Crowd’s voice took a two-point lead in the last three matches of the 2021/22 season. The panel looked at the way all the action of the second leg unfolded and the teams they could face in the grand final next weekend.
Mike Tuckerman
Victory, city
All speed with the Melbourne victory after their thrilling 1-0 win over Western United in the first leg of this semifinal. It takes a moment of true quality from Jake Bremer to get to the top of their line, but after registering a hard-fought clean sheet, they will feel confident about getting the job done in front of a biased house crowd in AAMI Park.
Western United really miss the magic of Alessandro Diamond to unlock a tight defense. They will fight hard in the second leg, but I doubt the victory could snatch the second drawn win and make it to the grand final.
Despite the scoreless first leg of the semi-final at Coopers Stadium, Melbourne City were a reasonably good team and they would expect Jamie McLaren to be in a bit more clinical form ahead of the goal in the second leg.
Home benefits should count for City here, and they will feel confident about knocking out a stubborn Adelaide United team that shows a lot of determination and determination but they are not always the clinical finisher. Just like the first leg, it can be a tense and exciting affair at AAMI Park. I doubt it could have been a goal, but I think it would be a decision for City.
Victory, city
Stuart Thomas
Victory, Adelaide
After supporting Western United in the first leg and watching eagerly to halt their in-form victory, Jake Bremer ruined the team with a stunning strike from the edge of the box. John Aloisy’s men were a better team at first, yet something seemed inevitable in the post-victory attack, once they had overcome the storm and prepared themselves for a challenging encounter with the best defense ever. In the league, however, that Bremer goal will make a difference and with United on the verge of reaching a stunning grand final, Tony Popovic will be ready to defend a lead for his troops where the West can fight for any influence.
The City v Adelaide rivalry continues on Sunday afternoon and the Reds think they can do it at home, only a brave spirit will support them at AAMI Park in front of City fans. Well, I’m a brave soul. There needs to be a crash for the finals and it is going to be one that throws the proverbial spanner into the work. Wednesday night Adelaide showed enough to beat City and CTO showed enough to win. Thus, the match will come down to a moment, perhaps even a penalty moment, where the Reds are on their way to a great final and another chance in A-League history.
(Photo by Daniel Pocket / Getty Images)
Western United, Melbourne City
Western United looked impressive on their ‘home’ legs and it seemed a matter of time before they scored. With ninety more minutes left and a big crowd to start early in the evening, AAMI Park will have a scary atmosphere and that single goal by Jake Bremer on Tuesday could prove important. Victory will be ahead very early in the night, with Nick D’Agostino finding Josh Brillant’s cross and the faintest touch at the North End.
For Alexander Prizovich, Neil Kilkenny’s precise ball would be a penalty that the guy would convert himself and an expensive yellow card would take a second for Jason Jeria as the game changed color just before half time.
A wild second half of Western United pressing and a Victory counter-attack would give Dylan Pirius a chance to shine and he would deliver a great run and give a right shot before gliding before Ben Garuccio’s great cross was finished. The pressure will be on in the wake of the victory and Western United will advance to the grand final against all odds.
Melbourne City have done everything to score in Adelaide and they are due to a game where their chances will transform.
An unusual early kick off AAMI would create a terrifying atmosphere at the park and City would go ahead with two early goals from Jamie McLaren and Andrew Nabout.
Given no space or time for Craig Goodwin Shackled and Lachlan Brook, Adelaide will try the first route, with George Blackwood bowing his head to slam Hiroshi Ibusuki back into the game at break. The second half will balance until the hour mark, when Marco will dance to set up a tap-in for Tilloe McLaren and open the floodgates; Two more goals made it a disastrous victory for Melbourne City and rewarded them with a berth in the grand final the following week.
| Semi-finals (team advance) | Mike | Simon | Stuart | Taxi | The crowd |
| WUN vs. MVC | MVC | MVC | MVC | WUN | ? |
| ADL vs. MCY | MCY | MCY | ADL | MCY | ? |
| Previous total | 70 | 68 | 75 | 75 | 77 |
| Last week | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| New total | 70 | 70 | 75 | 76 | 78 |