Hopes of ‘good’ crowd at decider

A-LEAGUE officials concede a 30,000 AAMI Park full house is unlikely for Saturday night’s grand final due to the absence of Melbourne Victory.

However, hopes remain high of a “good turnout” for the all-Victorian decider between Melbourne City and a Western United club only in its third season of existence.

“It’s certainly a challenge but it’s a showpiece event and we expect it’ll be really good turnout,” Australian Professional Leagues CEO Danny Townsend said.

The “challenge” of attracting a big crowd to the final is largely due to United’s small supporter base.

Melbourne City also falls short of rivalling the Victory in the fan stakes, but its success in recent years has helped boost its supporter numbers.

“It would have been sold out in a day if the Victory and City would have been playing each other,” Townsend said. “But the benefit to us is that Western United are so early on in their cycle of trying to build a connection with the west of Melbourne and trying to build a brand. Playing in a grand final is a pretty good way to do it. ”

United CEO Chris Pehlivanis urged Victoria’s football fraternity to attend the final.

“There are two Victorian teams playing in a grand final, so anybody that loves football in this state has got to be there,” he said.