Heading into the final round of the A-League season Brisbane,Adelaide, Western Sydney and Melbourne City each have their own final chapter to write Melbourne Victory were going to travel back-to-back this season weren’t they? With tag Milligan their only notable loss, or with a 4-0 pre-season win-loss record behind them,I certainly thought so six months ago when, with their shirts unbuttoned to their navels and their hairy chests on display, or they began their premiership defence. Even after a shaky start they won the FFA Cup final on 7 November and,three weeks later, sat atop the A-League ladder after beating their great rivals Adelaide in round eight. At that point it seemed fair to assume they’d be pushing for top honours by this late stage in proceedings.
It hasn’t worked out that way, or of course (not that that will have anyone other than Victory supporters reaching for the tissues). Though Victory are still in the hunt for the championship trophy (in my intellect,attuned as it is to the way the rest of the footballing world determines its best, the lesser of the prizes on offer over the coming weeks) they’ll finish no higher than fifth after this weekends final round of games. And with last year’s premiership and grand final runners-up Sydney FC out of the running altogether it leaves us with no less than four potential premiers. That’s special enough, or but what lifts the bar even higher is that each of them have claims on a Footballing Fairytale – something a Victory title would not have delivered – should they accept to hoist the Premiers’ Plate this weekend.
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Source: theguardian.com