2am start.


🏆 Former AFC Cup Champions
🔁 Back to back Lebanese Premier League Champions
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 In the Final thanks a former Leeds United player from Scotland

Ahead of the AFC Cup Final tonight at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex against Al Ahed, get to know a bit more about our Lebanese opponents! ⚔️

🗞: https://bit.ly/4b8IYrR

#CCMFC #TakeUsToTheTop

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/business-class-it-s-not-us-inside-the-mariners-100-000km-asian-odyssey-20240430-p5fno7.html

C'mon mariners 

https://10play.com.au/live/bold

Zero crowd almost. A shame the rotation was as such not to mention the Lebanon issue.

UAE would've been better for the infrastructure and potentially more expat community who may have fancied a night out. Time to win a trophy!

Still goalless with both teams probing.

Get in!!! Kuol scores on 83. 1:0

Winner! Awesome stuff

AFC Cup Champions in perpetuity!!!

Tulio with the golden boot announcement with his ex teammates applauded with a laugh.

Ah  Escape Fishing with ET on afterwards. The things you forget when living abroad. Beautiful country.

Was so good seeing the players go over to the fans whose view was actually blocked off by the ceremony hoarding.

The little club has done it.A real Cup Final performance-dour,top defending from both sides and physical.At half time Jack introduced Barcellos for Theoharous and the Brazilian tormented the Al-Ahed defence.He provided the assist for Kuol to nutmeg their keeper.Great night for the boys from Gosford but also for the A-League and Australian football.

Wonder what the money gets spent on

One extra sauce bottle at least. I'm sure the upkeep of their facilities and perhaps some marketing efforts. Just glad to get that far and get that cash too. Just reward.

Huge for the league even bigger for mariners 

The Mariners showing the way for the A-League, congrats, the treble still there.

Very well done CCM. Vukovic in great form. Sneaky goal from Kuol. What a football club 👏

Awesome to win

but watched the highlights - was the game as dire as they looked? 

Yeah.
So many Lebanese players appeared to be getting shot at random....even the keeper.
Ref did pretty well though and tried to keep the game going.

sorry I mean dire!

these middle Eastern teams are so pathetic. The reason that region will never be good at football

I watched the first half live then got tired as the Al Ahed players were starting to suffer critical injuries with and without contact from their opponents or their own team mates.

Was a good game for the first half. The ref was ignoring most of the fake injuries and telling players to get up and get on with it. Al Ahed thought they were in with a chance so they played football for most of the half in a very well balanced game. Mariners dominated possession in an effective manner - probing and constructing - while Al Ahed defended equally effectively and made some counter attacking raids that were dangerous.

Watched the second half just now, and as Al Ahed felt the time was running more and more against them they flopped and dropped in agony more and more. The mandatory 1 hour keepers cramp when the play was nowhere near gave their coach a chance to reorganise and for players to rehydrate - from watching the Lebanese national team and now these players I think it must be written into their code of football.

Al Ahed so dangerous on the counter and also very skilful in putting a ball through to their running forwards. Erwin was particularly agile with the ball at his feet and the Mariners defence cannot be applauded enough for their resilience.

Mariners the better side in both halves of a continuous battle.

I did not find the game dire at all. Mariners played excellent football to escape the attentions of high pressing and close marking. Doka has the gift of German feet - demonstrated perfectly in the lead up to the goal by Kuol when he beat 5 players running up the left wing and cutting inside. Every opponent was paying close attention to him and he made the ball dance between them beautifully. Kaltak and Nisbet both as good as ever, but Hall also had a really good game making some crucial interceptions and tackles. Plenty of good players on the field for Mariners - they lifted and maintained their standard yet again.

I thought the ref did a great job of ignoring just about all the bullshit Al Ahed tried. I wish refs would card more of the fakery with teams like that - it is hard watching the many moments where a player gets touched somewhere, runs a step or two, then throws themselves to the ground in agony clutching at some random body part. When the ref tells them to get up they get up and point at a different body part where they claim the foul was committed.

Good, hard game. Both teams had some real quality and strength. Congratulation to Mariners. That was a fully earned title and well deserved.

Well done Mariners.
I imagine that extra AU$2.3 million in bank probably goes a long way at a club like CCM.
Should definitely help fund good replacements for Ballard and Nisbet. 

Well done to the Mariners!

It's a good example that a money bag doesn't score a win a goal or trophy on its own.

Player utilisation and how to use your resources effectively can be so effective and puts the rest to shame if done right.

To think they have a chance to win a treble speaks volumes of how well they have done this season considering the players they lost last and this season too, a great story in Aus sport let alone just in Oz football and what you can do if you work very hard together and make the most of what you have got.

Mark Jackson is an interesting coach, i like the way he sets up the team and gets the best of our every player as well so the coaching staff have done a great job too.

It was a typical cup final.Both sets of defences very  well organised and resolute.Not a lot of spectacular football but both sides looking for weaknesses and intelligent play from both of them.Mariners controlled possession but with the hot weather and little rest played within themselves particularly in the first half.

Barcellos coming on changed the dynamics of the game.He attacked the defence and they looked less assured.They then started the old Middle Eastern rolling game to get a breather.The sniper must have been well concealed in that sparse crowd or was well camouflaged by the Mariners fans..Their keeper was particularly adept at the rolling game -even came down with a cramp.He got his just deserts when Kuol nutmegged him for the winner.

Kudos to the referee.He did not have much patience for the Al Ahed delaying tactics and tried to let the game flow.

Australia becomes the first nation to win all four of the AFC’s big four major competitions! 🇦🇺🙌

🏆 AFC Women’s Asian Cup: Matildas (2010)
🏆 AFC Champions League: Western Sydney Wanderers (2014)
🏆 AFC Asian Cup: Socceroos (2015)
🏆 AFC Cup: Central Coast Mariners (2024)

Also first nation to win All trophies available in two Confederations..

OFC Women's Nations Cup - Matildas' 1994 , 1998, 2003

OFC Nations Cup - Socceroos  1980, 1996 , 2000, 2004
OFC Club Championship 1987 Adelaide City, 1999 South Melbourne, 2001 Wollongong Wolves, 2005 Sydney Hakoa.

Bloody brilliant CCMariners... well done.