A-League Women grand final: Melbourne City v Sydney FC – live

67 mins: That will be the final action of the day for Princess Ibini, who is replaced by Shea Connors. Juric hoping the extra pace might capitalise on his side’s rare counterattacks.

66 mins: A rare stoppage in play as Ibini and Otto dust themselves down following a collision in midfield.

65 mins: Sydney demonstrate their inability to clear their lines once more. Ibini was briefly in possession but she was immediately closed down, allowing City fullbacks Grosso and Henry to exchange passes in midfield. Grosso charged towards the box and expected a free-kick when she went to ground, but Reibelt was unmoved.

64 mins: Otto’s turn to drive forward from the back, carrying the ball to the edge of the box and unleashing a low drive that is always curling wide of Whyman’s far post. City are turning the screw.

63 mins: Now Galic slides Pollicina in behind in the left channel, but the ball just skids over the dead ball line before the cross is delivered.

62 mins: The momentum remains with City. A beautiful long ball finds Ekic on the left. She cuts inside, rides her luck, and drifts the width of the penalty box before she’s eventually closed down. So much probing, so little end product for the hosts.

60 mins: Sydney cannot escape, and City keep the ball alive so long there’s barely a break in play for the visitors to catch their breath. Ante Juric senses the danger and goes to his bench, brining on Taylor Ray for Margaux Chauvet to freshen things up in midfield.

58 mins: Stott beats one, then another, and reaches the edge of the box before she’s closed down. City’s defence is camped 30m out from Sydney’s goal. This is a proper squeeze from the hosts.

56 mins: Sydney are so focussed on defending they have nobody to receive the ball when it’s cleared downfield. City come again with Hughes, Davidson and Galic busy in midfield. They look the most likely right now, but can they find the moment of brilliance?

55 mins: It’s all City at the moment, with 21 players in Sydney’s half and the hosts probing around the edges looking for an opening. Ekic almost fashions one with Grosso but the latter’s square ball doesn’t find Pollicina.

54 mins: Henry and Grosso, City’s fullbacks are much more prominent this half, stretching the field from touchline to touchline, creating room to play through Sydney’s midfield. Davidson does just that, but Wilkinson – who has looked way off the pace so far – fails again to make anything of the growing opportunity.

52 mins: City look much more purposeful in possession this half with individuals running at their opposite number, looking to get in behind instead of constantly checking back. The result is to squeeze Sydney deeper and deeper towards their own box.

50 mins: Galic does well down the right, not for the first time tonight, but her cross is not attacked at the near post and Whyman dives low to intercept.

48 mins: Dario Vidosic appears to have given his defenders license to carry the ball forward in a bid to break the first line of Sydney’s press. It has worked twice down the right – the first leading to Ekic’s opening. The flipside of course is it leaves the door open for Sydney and the visitors almost fashion a couple of chances of their own picking City’s pocket.

47 mins: City are back in possession straight after the break, and they have an early sight of goal through Ekic on the left edge of the penalty area, but Sydney close doen the shooting opportunity with a pair of committed blocks.

46 mins: Can either side find a breakthrough, or are we destined for penalties?

The teams are back out for the second half.

It might take a belter like this to break the deadlock today.

The A-League have been announcing some of their end-of-season awards today, and the big one – The Julie Dolan Medal – has just ben revealed at AAMI Park during the interval. And the winner is Sophie Harding of the Western Sydney Wanderers. She finished comfortably ahead of Chloe Logarzo, Cortnee Vine, and Michelle Heyman.

Half-time: Melbourne City 0-0 Sydney FC

44 mins: City’s obsession with retaining possession is becoming maddening. So often a player in possession around halfway looks forward only to check back and begin another rebuild. Sydney are happy with that state of affairs, knowing that they will be given opportunities to capitalise on errors, such as one by Stott looking to play out from the back but Hawkesby and Ibini are on different wavelengths.

42 mins: Another scrappy passage for both sides, with each demonstrating their own shortcomings; City failing to work hard enough off the ball to offer the player in possession a forward option, and Sydney not committing enough bodies forward on the counter.

40 mins: Sydney, despite seeing far less of the ball, have much likelier options for goal, either on a conventional counter attack utilising the pace of Vine, or by robbing City in possession in a dangerous area. Hollman does just that to Hughes but her teammates cannot make any more of the opportunity.

38 mins: City are back in their groove through defence and midfield, pushing Sydney deeper, but as soon as the ball reaches their forward line it comes straight back, either via an interception, or the limited options available to their strikers. Against such a hardworking, well-organised opponent, it’s hard to see how City make a breakthrough.

36 mins: City make a rare incursion with Galic exchanging passes with Hughes on the right, but she can’t find a target with her cross.

34 mins: Plenty of endeavour, commitment, and discipline from both sides, but a distinct lack of inspiration going forward.

32 mins: That tenacious Sydney midfield again does its job, allowing Vine to burst through the middle of the park. She tries to slide in Tumeth but the ball runs towards the corner flag and City clear.

30 mins: City may be dominating possession but they are increasingly struggling to break through Sydney’s midfield. Even when they do the ball is inevitably fed back with neither of the strikers able to turn and face goal such is the pressure on them from behind.

28 mins: After two Sydney players seemed certain to receive yellow cards, it’s actually City’s Grosso that’s first into the book for a late lunge after miscontroling the ball. You can imagine how the home bench feel about that. Barbieri deals with the resulting free-kick with ease.

26 mins: The frantic opening 10 minutes or so have given way to a tactical battle played out between the two penalty areas.

24 mins: City continue to dominate possession, always happy to play the ball backward to retain control, backing their defenders to keep the flow. The killer ball forward remains absent with Sydney continuing to look to pick them off on the counter. Twice in quick succession the ball reaches Ibini in promising situations but on both occasions there’s no end product.

22 mins: City, by contrast, are all about the structure and patterns of play, continuing to invite risk in their own penalty area. They almost execute this strategy to perfection but after a series of one-touch passes progresses them into Sydney’s half down the left there’s no final ball.

20 mins: Dos Santos thumps a volley high and wide from the edge of the box after Ibini’s excellent work in the left corner to rob Otto. Sydney are playing in bursts, but they have looked dangerous on their quick breaks.

18 mins: A scrappy couple of minutes for both sides ends with Hughes keeping things simple in midfield for City. The 22-year-old is growing into the key figure in this match, proving her defence with a screen when Sydney drive forward and offering the vision when City take possession.

15 mins: City’s control of the ball in defence and midfield is starting to grow, forcing Sydney to defend deeper. In classic CFG fashion this means any hurried clearance falls straight to another City player as they squeeze the available space. So far, Wilkinson has failed to find her footing further forward with a series of vertical passes rebounding off the Kiwi.

13 mins: The match has yet to settle into a rhythm, which suits Sydney, who are pressing aggressively in midfield to deny City room to play out from the back. The home side are not allowing that to put them off, drawing the blue shirts onto them in their own box in a bid to expose space downfield. It is high-risk high-reward stuff.

11 mins: Lovely long diagonal ball from Stott to release Galic on the right. She exchanges passes with Ekic and has a clear view of goal just eight yards out, only to tamely sidefoot straight at Whyman.

9 mins: Sydney again find the dangerous Vine on the counter with space to run into. She reaches the box, jinks inside, but City have enough bodies around the ball to clear. An eventful start at AAMI Park.

8 mins: Excellent driving run from Pollicina earns City a corner on the right. It should have also earned Chauvet a yellow card for repeatedly trying to pull her opponent down, but the advantage was played and Sydney survive. The corner isn’t dealt with initially but again City fail to take command of broken play in Sydney’s box.

6 mins: From an innocuous position the ball is allowed to travel a long way into the box and reach Wilkinson at the back post but the angle is narrow and Whyman gets her angles right to repel the chance. The ball rebounds into the danger area but nobody in light blue shirt grasps the opportunity and Sydney survive. Both keepers in the action early.

5 mins: Hughes does well in midfield to buy City a free-kick and give them chance to settle things down.

3 mins: City are struggling to retain possession as they regroup from Sydney’s bright start.

1 min: Barbieri with a brilliant save! The free-kick from wide is swung in, City deal with the initial header but after the second ball is lobbed in it finds Jordan Thompson unmarked in point-blank range but her clean strike is tipped around the post by the diving veteran. Barbieri then dominates her box to claim the resulting corner.

1 min: Sydney immediately on the front foot from the kick-off, freeing the speedy Vine down the right. She jinks inside and quickly earns a dangerous free-kick.

Kick-off!

Expect City to line up in something resembling a 4-4-2 with the powerful Hannah Wilkinson the target up front. Sydney are more likely to adopt a 4-3-3 shape with Cortnee Vine, Princess Ibini-Isei, and 16-year-old Indiana Shae dos Santos forming a dynamic forward line.

Casey Reibelt is today’s referee, taking charge for her third grand final. The Queenslander was recently named the A-League Women Referee of the Year.

The teams are out in the middle of AAMI Park for the pregame formalities. City are in their home strip of light blue, Sydney are in their change uniform of dark blue.

It is a perfect autumnal afternoon in Melbourne. The sun is shining brightly, there’s a chill in the air, and neither wind nor rain are anywhere to be seen.

Sydney FC XI

Melbourne City XI

Jack Snape explores the perennial challenge of Australian football – transferring the popularity of national teams to the club sides that supply the players.

“If it was up to me, I’d let everyone in for free,” Dario Vidosic said on Sunday night at Aami Park after just 2,000 fans had watched his team secure their place in, and hosting rights to, the showpiece of domestic women’s football.

Joey Lynch sets the scene from AAMI Park.

One of these two sides will become the first in Australian women’s football to win a fifth title on Saturday. Both are worthy of the honour, having forever changed women’s football in the country. Perhaps that’s what makes it mean something more. Saturday is not just about being great, it’s about being the best.

Preamble

Jonathan Howcroft