Soccer: Melbourne win controversial decider

Melbourne goal-scorer Tomislav Pondeljak (L) and captain Kevin Muscat celebrate with the A-League trophy after beating Adelaide in the grand final. Photo / Getty Images

MELBOURNE - A long-range Tom Pondeljak goal delivered Melbourne Victory their second A-League championship in a controversy-laden grand final against Adelaide United at Telstra Dome on Saturday night.

Adelaide played all but the first 10 minutes with 10 men, after Brazilian striker Cristiano was unlucky to be sent off for elbowing Victory defender Rody Vargas.

Melbourne also finished the game a man down, with striker Danny Allsopp ejected 20 minutes into an extremely spiteful second half, which delivered a constant stream of yellow cards.

Fortunately for Melbourne, Allsopp's send-off came minutes after they took the lead.

Pondeljak, finally on a winning A-League grand final side after two times as runner-up with Central Coast, threaded his right-footer through a crowded penalty area from about 20m in the 60th minute.

"I'm lost for words really, it's an unbelievable feeling," said Pondeljak, who was also awarded the Joe Marston Medal for player of the match.

"Adelaide came here to play tonight, they worked us hard and it just took a moment of something different I suppose."

The Reds, who came into the match as rank underdogs, had done superbly well to hold on as long as they did and had some good chances earlier in the half to position themselves for an incredible upset.

Already at the longest odds of any grand final side in the league's short history, they lengthened further with Cristiano's ejection.

The Brazilian drew blood from the side of Vargas' face, but appeared to have eyes for the ball as they contested a header, referee Matthew Breeze consulting with his sideline assistant before ordering him off.

Adelaide were forced to spend most of the rest of the half camped in their defensive area as they adjusted to the setback.

Even so, the normally potent Melbourne attack failed to cause the Reds' defence too many nervous moments.

The closest shave was when Victory striker Danny Allsopp forced a brilliant save from Adelaide goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic in the 27th minute.

Apart from that, the former Adelaide stopper had little to do as Adelaide's tightly-packed defence was able to ward off Melbourne's numerous attacking thrusts.

But the game changed complexion after the interval, as Adelaide went on the attack and went close to moving ahead several times in the early minutes.

Skipper Travis Dodd had a golden chance two minutes into the half, when he gained control of a Scott Jamieson long ball in plenty of space in the box, but delayed his shot too long and was dispossessed.

Jamieson, who had a fine game, went desperately close to scoring himself six minutes later, Melbourne keeper Michael Theoklitos pulling off an incredible save with his feet from the quickfire close-range shot.

Theoklitos was called on again a minute later, with Dodd firing a shot straight at him, which the keeper fumbled, Dodd almost latching onto the rebound before the Victory custodian smothered it.

After Melbourne survived that onslaught, Pondeljak's goal was something of a surprise, his shot well-placed but not particularly fast and Galekovic perhaps should have been able to make the ground necessary.

While that was the end of the scoring, it was far from the end of the drama, with Allsopp's send-off coming soon after for an off-the-ball tangle with Robert Cornthwaite.

The game stalled for several minutes afterwards as players pushed and shoved.

When it resumed, Adelaide managed to force some half-chances, a Jamieson free kick which forced a save from Theoklitos the best of them, before time ran out.

Victory's win made them the first team to win two A-League championships, with six members of Saturday night's victorious team also having taken part in the 6-0 grand final win over the same club two years earlier.

"It was by no means an easy game tonight but I can't speak highly enough of the boys because, with all the talk during the week, we've actually stood up and walked the walk," Victory captain Kevin Muscat said.

"It was a great performance. Adelaide were great, they pushed us right to the death, but I think we deserved it."

- AAP