Melbourne Victory have secured a place in the Australia Cup final after an 88th-minute strike from Jordi Valadon lifted them to a 1-0 win over Original Rivalry foes Adelaide United in their semifinal at AAMI Park.
Both sides are still in their A-League Men pre-seasons and lacked the sharpness associated with a regular run of fixtures in the semi-final on Saturday night.
That was until a clever backheel from Reno Piscopo teed Valadon to send a first-time effort beyond Reds keeper James Delianov – the ball taking an awkward bounce just as it reached the custodian – and inside the far post.
It secured the 21-year-old his first goal in a Victory shirt and his side a place in the final against the winner of Sunday’s semifinal between Macarthur and South Melbourne, with the date and location of that game to be announced.
It also means that one-time Melbourne City boss Patrick Kisnorbo will be able to start his coaching tenure at Victory with silverware after taking over from Tony Popovic in the off-season.
Having beaten A-League side Western Sydney in the quarterfinals, Adelaide pressed their opponents early, mostly restricting Victory – who played semi-professional NPL opposition in previous Cup fixtures – inside their own half.
But Adelaide couldn’t take advantage of their early pressure and Victory would create the game’s first proper chance in the 30th minute through Adama Traore.
"It was a good hitout, very happy with 95 per cent of it," said Adelaide boss Carl Veart.
"It was just the finishing touches that we just didn't have tonight."
Both sides would have their chances to score across the subsequent hour – second-half substitute Yaya Dukuly hitting the post for Adelaide – but none would find a way through their opponent until Valadon’s late strike.
"I used the phrase, 'cleaning the pipes.' It was one of those ones," said Kisnorbo.
"But I'll give credit where credit's due, we hung in there… and in the end, we finished with a great shot from Jordi."
