A-League Grand Final 2008
history
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2007-08 A-League Grand Final
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| Stadium | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
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TV in Australia
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The 2008 A-League Grand Final took place at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia on February 24, 2008.
The first half of the game ended in a draw with neither sides scoring a goal, though each had good scoring opportunities. Gary van Egmond made a risky change to his sides starting formation, playing a with a back three. In the 64th minute Mark Bridge scored the only goal after Tony Vidmar slipped, gifting the ball to Bridge in the last quarter.
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. Video replays show that the ball hit Holland on the forearm, although there is some conjecture over whether it hit the outstretched arm of Mariners player Mile Jedinak before that. 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 penalising 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. This means Vukovic will miss a significant portion of the next A-League season as well as the Olympic Games (most likely).
Match Details
,| score = 0 – 1
,| report= »Report
,| team2 =
,| goals1 =
,| goals2 = Bridge
,| stadium = Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
,| attendance = 36,354
,| referee = Mark Shield}}
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|colspan="4"|CENTRAL COAST MARINERS:
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!width="25"| !!width="25"|
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|GK
20 | Danny Vukovic |
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|MF | 7 | John Hutchinson
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|MF | 12 | Greg Owens | |
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|DF | 13 | Tony Vidmar | |
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|DF | 16 | Nigel Boogaard |
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|DF | 18 | Alex Wilkinson (c)
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|MF | 19 | Adam Kwasnik | |
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|FW | 22 | Sasho Petrovski
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|MF | 23 | Mile Jedinak | |
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|FW
25 | John Aloisi |
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|DF | 26 | Alvin Ceccoli
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|colspan=3|Substitutes:
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|GK | 1 | Matthew Trott
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|FW | 2 | Matt Simon | |
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|MF | 6 | André Gumprecht | |
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|MF | 10 | Tom Pondeljak | |
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|DF | 15 | Andrew Clark
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|colspan=3|Manager:
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|colspan=4| Lawrie McKinna
Joe Marston Medal: Andrew Durante
Assistant Referees:
Ben Wilson
Nathan Gibson
Fourth Official:
Matthew Breeze
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|colspan="4"|NEWCASTLE JETS:
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|GK | 1 | Ante Čović
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|DF | 2 | Adam Griffiths |
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|DF | 3 | Jade North (c)
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|MF | 5 | Stuart Musialik
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|DF | 6 | Andrew Durante
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|MF | 8 | Matt Thompson | |
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|FW | 9 | Joel Griffiths |
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|DF | 11 | Tarek Elrich
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|DF | 13 | Adam D'Apuzzo
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|FW | 19 | Mark Bridge | |
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|MF | 28 | Song Jin-Hyung | |
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|colspan=3|Substitutes:
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|GK | 20 | Ben Kennedy
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|MF | 10 | Denni | |
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|MF | 18 | Noel Spencer
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|MF | 17 | Jason Hoffman | |
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|MF | 25 | James Holland | |
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|colspan=3|Manager:
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|colspan=4| Gary van Egmond
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Match Statistics
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!width=85 | Central Coast
!width=85 | Newcastle
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See also
External links
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