South Melbourne made Australian football history on Saturday night, beating Melbourne Victory 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in extra time to become the first non-A-League club to win the Australia Cup. The final at a sold-out AAMI Park delivered a grandstand finish and a shootout that will linger for decades. For South Melbourne, known as Hellas, the victory was more than a trophy: it was a breakthrough for a club that had spent 22 years on the outside of the closed-shop top flight.
South Melbourne were standard bearers of the NSL and the club of Ange Postecoglou, Ferenc Puskás, John Margaritis, Paul Trimboli and more. They were discarded and left behind alongside the rest of Old Soccer, but they never forgot it. For many years, simply surviving was the sum of their resistance. Yet 22 years on from their banishment, they were still there, refusing to go away. Against Melbourne Victory, one of the most potent symbols of the New Football era in Melbourne, they made history again.
Victory had the chances to win it. Denis Genreau’s remarkable 95th-minute goal put them ahead, and Santos sent what should have been a wide-open 78th-minute winner straight at South goalkeeper Javier Lopez. Victory also hit the post twice: Lopez turned a Santos shot onto the woodwork in the 25th minute, and deep into extra time substitute Michael Ghossaini headed against it. As much as a 2-0 or 3-0 scoreline would have flattered Victory, they had opportunities to put the game beyond South.
With fewer than five minutes of extra time remaining, South found the equalizer. Substitute Jordi Swibel burst down the right and whipped a ball in. Bul Juach turned it back centrally, and it fell to another substitute, Max Mikkola, who bundled it goalward and, despite Jason Davidson’s best efforts, found the net. Hysteria and bewilderment gripped the stadium in equal measure. Forlorn resignation among South fans gave way to the rapturous realisation that penalties were afoot, while Victory supporters saw their celebrations of a third Cup and the chance to gloat turn to ash.
In the shootout, South converted four perfect penalties through Marco Jankovic, Swibel, James Lackay and Andrew Mesourouni. Victory had conversions from Guillermo May, Michael Ghossaini and Genreau. But the decisive failures came from two players with close ties to South. Harrison Sawyer, a former favourite son who has bled for their shirt, was denied twice by Mark Viduka medallist Lopez, given a retake after the Spaniard came off his line only to be foiled again. Jason Davidson, the son of South hall-of-famer Alan, skied his attempt with the game on the line. That handed Hellas the Cup at 4-3.
The atmosphere had crackled for hours before a ball was kicked, as decades of narratives, animosity, emotions and dreams converged on Swan St. By kick-off, almost every seat at AAMI Park was full. The 29,911 fans represented the largest ever crowd for a venue that has hosted A-League grand finals, Lions tours, Asian Cup clashes and Women’s World Cup fixtures. The only blemish was an outbreak of boos at the start of the Welcome to Country ceremony pre-game, which sparked scrambles from terrace leaders trying to hush them.
What the win means moving forward is anybody’s guess, but it should provide the impetus for Australian football to grow. South Melbourne have made no secret of their desire to take up a place in the A-League, and the night raised the question of how the powers that be could look at this achievement over the last 12 months and tell them they are not worthy. 777 clubs started this year’s Cup, and this was the outcome. History was made at AAMI Park on Saturday evening, but maybe the future was too.