The 2008 A-League Grand Final took place at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia on 24 February 2008. It was the first A-League Grand Final played at a neutral home ground, due to Bluetongue Stadium being deemed by FFA to not have a sufficient capacity to hold the centrepiece of the A-League season. This move created a stir of controversy and was protested by the Central Coast Mariners, who won the right to host the match, but to no avail.
The first half of the game ended in a draw with neither side scoring a goal, though each had good scoring opportunities. Gary van Egmond made a risky change to his side's starting formation, playing with a back three. In the 64th minute Mark Bridge scored the only goal after Tony Vidmar slipped.
The game ended in controversy after Central Coast earned a corner late into extra time in the second half. As the ball was crossed into Newcastle's penalty area, it appeared to hit Newcastle player James Holland on the right arm, before it was cleared away. Mariners players immediately demanded a penalty, yet referee Mark Shield decided not to award one. The Mariners players, enraged, continued to scream at Shield, pressuring him for a penalty. Mariners keeper Danny Vukovic as a result of this frustration, hit Shields' arm away when the referee was penalizing one of Vukovic's teammates with a yellowcard. Shield then immediately awarded Vukovic with a red card. Vukovic would later be charged with striking a match official by the FFA, and was subsequently banned for 9 months, 3 of those months suspended. Due to this, Vukovic missed a significant portion of the next A-League season as well as the Olympic Games.
2008, league, grand, final, took, place, sydney, football, stadium, sydney, australia, february, 2008, first, league, grand, final, played, neutral, home, ground, bluetongue, stadium, being, deemed, have, sufficient, capacity, hold, centrepiece, league, season. The 2008 A League Grand Final took place at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney Australia on 24 February 2008 It was the first A League Grand Final played at a neutral home ground due to Bluetongue Stadium being deemed by FFA to not have a sufficient capacity to hold the centrepiece of the A League season This move created a stir of controversy and was protested by the Central Coast Mariners who won the right to host the match but to no avail 2008 A League Grand FinalEvent2007 08 A LeagueCentral Coast Mariners Newcastle Jets0 1Date24 February 2008VenueSydney Football Stadium Sydney New South Wales AustraliaMan of the MatchAndrew Durante Newcastle JetsRefereeMark ShieldAttendance36 354 20072009 Newcastle Jets celebrating after their Grand Final victory Contents 1 Route to the finals 2 Match 2 1 Summary 2 2 Details 2 3 Statistics 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksRoute to the finals EditSee also 2007 08 A League SemifinalsPreliminary finalFinal1Central Coast Mariners03Central Coast Mariners02Newcastle Jets20Newcastle Jets1Newcastle Jets aet 3Queensland Roar23Sydney FC004Queensland Roar02Match EditSummary Edit The first half of the game ended in a draw with neither side scoring a goal though each had good scoring opportunities Gary van Egmond made a risky change to his side s starting formation playing with a back three In the 64th minute Mark Bridge scored the only goal after Tony Vidmar slipped The game ended in controversy after Central Coast earned a corner late into extra time in the second half As the ball was crossed into Newcastle s penalty area it appeared to hit Newcastle player James Holland on the right arm before it was cleared away Mariners players immediately demanded a penalty yet referee Mark Shield decided not to award one The Mariners players enraged continued to scream at Shield pressuring him for a penalty Mariners keeper Danny Vukovic as a result of this frustration hit Shields arm away when the referee was penalizing one of Vukovic s teammates with a yellowcard Shield then immediately awarded Vukovic with a red card Vukovic would later be charged with striking a match official by the FFA and was subsequently banned for 9 months 3 of those months suspended Due to this Vukovic missed a significant portion of the next A League season as well as the Olympic Games Details Edit 24 February 200817 00 AEDTCentral Coast Mariners0 1Newcastle JetsReports 1 Bridge 64 Sydney Football Stadium SydneyAttendance 36 354Referee Mark Shield Central Coast Mariners Newcastle JetsGK 20 Danny Vukovic 90 4 MF 7 John HutchinsonMF 12 Greg Owens 69 DF 13 Tony Vidmar 75 DF 16 Nigel Boogaard 90 DF 18 Alex Wilkinson c MF 19 Adam Kwasnik 69 FW 22 Sasho PetrovskiMF 23 Mile Jedinak 12 FW 25 John Aloisi 90 5 DF 26 Alvin CeccoliSubstitutes GK 1 Matthew TrottFW 2 Matt Simon 75 MF 6 Andre Gumprecht 69 MF 10 Tom Pondeljak 69 DF 15 Andrew ClarkManager Lawrie McKinna GK 1 Ante CovicDF 2 Adam Griffiths 11 DF 3 Jade North c MF 5 Stuart MusialikDF 6 Andrew DuranteMF 8 Matt Thompson 76 FW 9 Joel Griffiths 37 DF 11 Tarek ElrichDF 13 Adam D ApuzzoFW 19 Mark Bridge 73 MF 28 Song Jin Hyung 90 3 Substitutes GK 20 Ben KennedyMF 10 Denni 90 3 MF 18 Noel SpencerMF 22 Jason Hoffman 76 MF 25 James Holland 73 Manager Gary van EgmondJoe Marston Medal Andrew Durante Newcastle Jets Assistant referees Ben Wilson Nathan Gibson Fourth official Matthew Breeze Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Penalty shoot out if scores still level A League2008 Champions Newcastle JetsFirst TitleStatistics Edit Central Coast NewcastleAttempts at goal 13 6Attempts on target 1 3Attempts off target 12 3Attempts Woodwork 0 0Keeper saves 1 1Ball possession 42 58 Corners 1 6Fouls committed 18 15Offsides 1 4Yellow cards 3 2Red cards 1 0See also Edit2007 08 A League List of A League honoursReferences Edit 2008 A League Grand Final KEEPUP Retrieved 30 December 2022 External links EditFull Match highlights on YouTube Official A League Website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2008 A League Grand Final amp oldid 1130862178, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
