Sydney FC stepped up to the big occasion to secure their first football A-League Premier's Plate and an Asian Champions League berth with a stunning 2-nil win over Melbourne Victory at the Sydney Football Stadium.
In the biggest match of the season, wonder goals to midfielder Karol Kisel and John Aloisi saw Sydney leap above Melbourne to finish the home-and-away season a point clear atop the ladder.
It was the first time Sydney had claimed the minor premiership, giving them a huge mental boost heading into their opening match of the finals series, the major semi-final first leg against the Victory at Etihad Stadium on Thursday night.
The win also gave Sydney's Czech coach Vitezslav Lavicka a piece of silverware in his first season in the A-League.
However the win came at a cost for both sides, with Sydney captain Steve Corica in doubt for Thursday's match with a hamstring injury while the Victory have lost striker Robbie Kruse to a suspected broken leg.
Kruse was brought down late in the match by an ugly challenge from Terry McFlynn that only brought a yellow card.
Melbourne will still be missing Archie Thompson (ankle) for game one of the two-legged contest for a spot in the grand final but will welcome back Kevin Muscat from suspension.
The Victory finished three points clear of third-placed Gold Coast, who blew the chance to put the pressure on Sydney by going down 2-1 to North Queensland in Townsville on Saturday night.
Miron Bleiberg's Gold Coast United will now host the Newcastle Jets in a sudden death semi-final on Saturday, the Jets badly out of form after suffering their fourth straight loss against Adelaide.
Sunday's semi-final will see Wellington host Perth Glory after their 3-nil win over Central Coast on Friday secured an historic first finals berth and home semi.
Perth head into the match in decent form after a 2-nil win over Brisbane on Saturday night.
Adelaide's win over the Jets was not enough to save them from this season's wooden spoon but they still have an Asian Champions League campaign to seek redemption.
Melbourne and Sydney will play a return leg of the major semi final in three weeks time, with the finals scheduled for a week off due to Australia's Asian Cup qualifier against Indonesia.
