I like that line of thought, would clear up some issues too.

Doesn't hockey though have different awards for it too ... i.e. short or long corner. Suppose football could have similar, with either a penalty (direct freekick) or indirect freekick. Perhaps only indirect if the handball is when the ball is blasted at the player and hits the arm (i.e. ball to hall, or if the player is defending their face ... the rules do allow for personal protection ATM).

THE second edition of the FFA Cup is nearing to end, but the biggest game of the competition remains.

Perth Glory will get another shot at lifting the trophy when they take on Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park on Saturday 7 November from 7.30pm AEDT on Fox Sports 505.

With only the decider, we thought we’d take a look back at how both teams made it to the FFA Cup Final.

THE FIRST HURDLE: ROUND OF 32


It was the fairy-tale David v Goliath first up clash for Melbourne Victory when they took on third tier NSW side Balmain Tigers.

Balmain were the lowliest side in the FFA Cup, only drawing double-winning powerhouses Victory! Kevin Muscat set the tone for a serious title challenge, naming the likes of Besart Berisha, Kosta Barbarouses and Gui Finkler, with Berisha beginning a 6-0 rout just after the 10 minute mark.

Victory were dominant in front of a crowd boosted by the presence members of the Cove, showing they were taking the competition seriously.

Perth Glory had a somewhat less romantic opening tie, progressing past Newcastle Jets via some late heroics and a penalty shootout.

This game would set the gritty trend that followed, as Glory rallied late after going behind to a first half David Carney strike. It wasn’t until the 88th minute when Sidnei grabbed the equaliser, setting up a dramatic period of extra time where Perth took the lead only to themselves concede a late equaliser.

New goalkeeper Jerrad Tyson made himself the hero as Newcastle missed three spot kicks to crash out and allowed the 2014 finalists to keep their good FFA Cup form alive.


SLIP UPS AVOIDED: ROUND OF 16

While Victory cruised through their first round, they were nearly the victims of an incredible comeback from NSW NPL side Rockdale City Suns.

After nabbing a goal right on half-time, Jesse Makarounas the goalscorer, Victory then were brought level before Berisha and Makarounas struck to make progression seem comfortable.

But an 86th minute Broxham own goal brought about renewed attacking verve from their state league opponents and some nervy moments late in the game. In the end, debutant Danny Vukovic was called upon to pull off some late saves as Victory breathed a huge sigh of relief.

The week prior, Glory had their own Round of 16 scare, getting taken all the way to extra time by Brisbane Premier League side Lions FC.

Shootout hero Tyson turned villain, seeing a straight red card after six minutes with third choice goalkeeper Nicholas Feely coming off the bench to save the spot kick. The A-League side then hung tough with 10-men, forcing the game to extra time.

Glory had their chances after the 90 minutes, with Chris Harold sprinting in behind only to see his lobbed effort crash against the crossbar. But he wouldn’t be denied with less than five minutes remaining — smashing Glory into the final eight where they would have to face another tense test.

MIXED RESULTS: QUARTER-FINAL

Having put down a marker before looking somewhat nervy against Rockdale, Victory were back to their best to thump Adelaide United in the quarter-final.

The Reds, the defending FFA Cup champions, struggled as Victory pressed intensely. The 3-1 scoreline could have been more convincing had the referee decided to send off Osama Malik when he fouled Fahid Ben Khalfallah.

Instead, Finkler stepped up to curl the resulting free kick into the top corner, with Victory’s pressure rewarded late in the second half as Barbarouses made it 2-0. Adelaide then woke from their attacking slumber to grab a goal back via the penalty spot before Berisha put the win beyond doubt with eight minutes remaining.

Another Perth game, another match which went all the way. With their previous two fixtures going to penalties and extra-time, Glory again needed penalties to scrape past Western Sydney Wanderers.

Wanderers grabbed the upper hand just before the half-time break via new import Dimas Delgado, which forced Perth to come out in search of an equaliser.

And where else did that goal come from but Nebojsa Markinovic — a man who has shown his love for the competition. With his low drive initially ruled out for offside, the referee overturned his assistant to allow the goal, which saw the game end 1-1.

Penalties followed, which included Scott Jamieson skying his shot and Federico Piovaccari’s bizarre outside of the boot shot, before Richard Garcia fired Glory into the final four.

PROGRESSION SEALED: SEMI-FINAL

While Victory were denied an early decision in their previous FFA Cup game, this time they were grateful when an early Hume City penalty shout was turned away. That allowed the favourites to settle into a dominant display, where they would eventually take the lead via the penalty spot themselves and who else but Besart Berisha.

As their Victorian NPL opponents held strong, Victory eventually saw the scoreline blow out when Barbarouses and Jason Geria scored two late goals to make it four wins and 15 goals.

This was Perth’s most convincing display in the FFA Cup, ending a back run in the A-League to get past Melbourne City 3-1.

Gyorgy Sandor fired the home side ahead from a set piece before they were pegged back just before half-time. It looked as if the half would conclude with scores level but Perth were the recipients of a comical City own goal — with Ben Garrucio stretching for a long ball on 48 minutes, only to lob goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.

Harold then added another goal to his name, wrapping up the game with 20 minutes to go to send Glory into a second FFA Cup final.

Tick under 20,000 sold as of this afternoon.

Perth feel hard done by last year and this year, but remember if they had beat AUFC for the cup they would have done it while far exceeding the salary cap that AUFC were working under.

Hard to feel sympathy in that sense.

But wish them well this weekend. Biggest match-up for them as far as quality goes as well. Be a good indicator of where they fit into the table.

Did the A-League cap apply to the FFA Cup?

Price gouge has worked a treat, bay allocation is getting changed all over the place and more than half the ground looks free

Fucking shitcunts

Excuses already is it?

Melbourne is a membership town, they don;t like paying for anything outside of the membership.
Even last grand final they bought the tickets mainly to scalp them and then found they couldn;t.

This is a fair assessment. We are fucking lazy.

says it all really.

Big difference in prices there, i wonder if it is because of the different stadiums or is just FFA making a cash grab.

Considering the ticket prices although the FFA has dropped them today

absolutely disgraceful tbh, no presale reduced price but they panic and do it at the last minute
they better be handing out a free beer or free chicken and chips to everyone to make up the difference