SNAPSHOT OF THE A-LEAGUE MEN GRAND FINAL
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* RESULT: Central Coast Mariners beat Melbourne Victory 3-1 at Industree Group Stadium.
* THE STORY: After claiming the premiers' plate and the AFC Cup, Central Coast were pushing to become the first Australian team to pull off a treble, while Victory were eyeing their first championship since 2018. A Jason Geria screamer in the 50th minute looked to have dashed the Mariners' hopes but the hosts equalised via Ryan Edmondson in added time. Miguel Di Pizio put Central Coast ahead in the first half of extra time before Edmondson added another to clinch the tie in the dying minutes.
* THE MOMENT: Just when Victory looked certain to walk away with the championship, supersub Edmondson found the back of the net in the 91st minute to keep the Mariners alive. After releasing Ronald Barcello, the Englishman kept moving, received a return pass from Josh Nisbet and launched the ball home.
* THE STAR: Edmondson tightened his grip on the Joe Marston Medal - awarded to the man of the match in the grand final - when he fired home his second of the night to send the 21,379-strong crowd wild. The 23-year-old had come off the bench at halftime.
* THE QUOTE: "This whole season we've had a never-say-die attitude, we never stopped believing." - Edmondson at full-time, after fans invaded the pitch in celebration.
* THE STAT: Central Coast are the third team to win back-to-back championships in the competition's history, after defeating Melbourne City 6-1 to win the title last season. Sydney FC (2019, 2020) and Brisbane Roar (2011, 2012) are the other teams to have achieved the feat.
* TALKING POINT: When will Tony Popovic's grand-final drought end? The Victory coach has now been denied championship success across five attempts, having previously falling short of a title with Western Sydney Wanderers (2013, 2014, 2016) and Perth Glory (2019).
Australian Associated Press
