Sydney FC’s feuding supporter base a reminder A-League’s D-Day is near

It’s never perfect in the A-League.

A date at Sydney’s CommBank Stadium on June 3 awaits this fortnight’s semi-final winners.

It’s a guess who will be there. On the pitch, and in the stands.

D-day is approaching for the grand final sell off, and despite all the financial reasoning presented, it remains an uneasy thought.

*****

Saturday night was nearly all about the football. Sydney FC knocked over Western Sydney on their turf in front of 27,000.

The win carried consequences – coach Steve Corica’s job is safe – and a stack of drama.

Sydney played brilliant football in a belligerent mood – an emotion carried by Corica well after full-time when he threw former star player turned nemesis Milos Ninkovic out of the Sydney rooms. Ninkovic, a Wanderer after a bitter falling out with Sydney, stopped by to wish his former teammates well. Corica told him to go to hell, and hell broke loose.

A win against all odds was what put Corica in such an indestructible mood.

Sydney did it without their “12th man”, the Cove.

Sure, there were around 4000 Sydney fans in the building, and they were loud by the end, but the noisiest stayed away, still seething over the decision to sell the grand final hosting rights to, erm, Sydney.

Two hours before kick-off, some Cove members gave the team bus a send-off at Sydney’s training base. Flares, fireworks, the whole lot, despite overhanging eucalyptus trees.

The Cove, though, held firm on their no-show at the game, still nursing the outrage of last December’s grand final decision. A decision the Cove says remains a stinker because it doesn’t think of fans.

Not all Sydney fans agreed with the boycott and the Cove’s Facebook announcement last week morphed into a drunken family reunion.

Everyone ended up yelling at everyone, chiming in with the modern day societal scourge: people telling other people how to be people.

The end result? Saturday night’s game started to a soundtrack of fervent Wanderers fans, with the RBB, who elected not to boycott, in full voice. Sydney fans stayed politely seated.

The opposite played out on the pitch.

Wanderers players were strangely subdued, even when 1-0 up.

Sydney’s 11 fought with maniacal intent and deservedly won the right for their fans to not show up next week.

*****

Corica hopes the Cove return next Friday night for the home first leg against all-conquering Melbourne City.

“I know why they are doing it,” Corica said of the Cove’s boycott, “but I’m disappointed they weren’t here today.”

“We need them (next week). We’re at home. We want our supporters there, our Cove, they are our 12th man.”

The APL, led by former Sydney FC CEO Danny Townsend, aren’t telling the fans they are wrong or right in boycotting or not. They did show a hint of compassion in covering up the front five rows behind one goal where the heart of the Cove would normally stand.

Instead, the APL are trying to wave olive branches at fans across the league. It will take time – Middle East peace process time.

Executives across 12 clubs have begrudgingly come to the realisation the decision sticks for now, though some are dreaming of contingencies.

One idea that has been floated in club land is to make the grand final a two-legged affair.

The highest place finisher hosts the first leg. The second leg, and trophy lift, is in Sydney.

Confusing the matter is the new state government in NSW, led by Chris Minns, who not only likes, but gets football. It’s an important point, given some local politicians carry as much knowledge about the world game as a Latvian councillor does about AFL footy.

Minns, who was at the Central Coast Mariners base on Friday to announce a $3.5 million funding package for facilities and community programs, will be attuned to what unfolds on June 3 at CommBank Stadium in the A-League Men’s grand final.

Last week’s women’s decider didn’t flop, with nearly 10,000 in attendance for the biggest ALW grand final crowd ever, no doubt helped by Sydney FC’s involvement.

For the men’s, premiers Melbourne City have to fall out of form over the next fortnight for Sydney to make the grand final.

For Central Coast, the paupers of the competition, making the grand final will hold romantic significance, and their fans will make the short hour trip to the big smoke should they make it.

More Coverage

How Marko Rudan revived the Western Sydney Wanderers

Robbie Slater

But if they don’t, and Adelaide makes it, there is a large issue either way.

Should the Reds play Sydney, they, as the higher finisher in the regular season, would be hosting a grand final in any other year.

Another alternative is Melbourne City get through and play Adelaide. In Sydney. Gulp.