Yonatan Cohen celebrates in front of the North Terrace. (Marcus Robertson / Round Ball Australia)

Yonatan Cohen celebrates in front of the North Terrace. (Marcus Robertson / Round Ball Australia)

Melbourne City has clinched their second-ever championship thanks largely to a resolute defensive masterclass, overcoming a toothless Melbourne Victory 1-0 in front of a record AAMI Park attendance of 29,909.

A pulsating atmosphere leading into kick-off served the occasion justice, with choreography from both active support ends adding colour and flair for the biggest Melbourne Derby in A-League Men history.

Coming into the clash, City had conceded 25 goals in the regular season, even eclipsing Auckland FC to own the best defensive record.

A dominant opening 10 minutes from Victory’s end counted for zero when Yonatan Cohen converted the opening goal in front of a stunned Northern Terrace, as the 28-year-old benefited from a slice of good fortune after the ball rattled the crossbar.

Aside from a golden chance to double the lead late in the second half, a heroic back four comprising Aziz Behich, Kai Trewin, Germán Ferrera, Nathaniel Atkinson, along with shot stopper Patrick Beach, refused to gift their opponents much of a sniff.

Aurelio Vidmar’s squad resembled the fight, heart, and determination that had helped them overcome extreme lengths of adversity, mostly due to injuries taking their toll.

“Through all the setbacks, what they did was look straight ahead. They never wavered. Not one single person wavered,” Vidmar said post-match.

“That meant everyone was on the same page, everyone was headed in the same direction. And that’s important.”

Vidmar, who was out for redemption after falling agonisingly short whilst coaching Adelaide United in the 2009 Grand Final against the Victory, added: “Then we had all those setbacks, all the injuries… and we weren’t really sure what was going to happen. All the young kids that came in had to step up to the plate. They did, every single one.

But the biggest contributor to their clean sheet was Joe Marsten medalist Mathew Leckie, who was asked to play in an unfamiliar role in front of the back four.

Instead of questioning the decision or complaining, he took the responsibility in his stride and led by example.

“We just thought that if they get the ball past that first line, guys like Machach were a bit more physical, and so we thought [Leckie] would be the only one who could match up with him in a one-on-one,” Vidmar explained when asked about the thinking process behind the move.

“In a defensive phase, he gives us a lot of balance. He’s such a competitor, he wants to win, he wants to win every ball.”

For Victory, in an unprecedented season where Patrick Kisnorbo departed after the first seven games of the domestic season, there were doubts as to whether the side would have the mantle to qualify for finals.

The club tapped Arthur Diles on the shoulder, a coach with no experience as a senior men’s coach at this level, and gave him the keys without hesitation. And after a start of six winless matches, Victory were 90 minutes away from becoming the first club in A-League history to win the championship from outside the top-four.

“It’s a result of one match that didn’t go our way, and it doesn’t cut short the success of our season,” Diles said in the post-match press conference.

“We’ve had a fantastic season to get here. I can’t thank my playing group enough, my coaching staff and everyone involved. It’s not easy to get to a Grand Final. Everyone’s aware of that. It’s definitely not easy at all. People have worked tirelessly in terms of staff, the players have worked really hard to get in.”

In the end, it was City who had the last laugh…

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