Tim Cahill says his FFA Cup glory with Melbourne City ranked high in his career – simply because it was won in Australia.
Cahill’s 53rd minute goal was enough to claim City’s first piece of silverware in its history against Sydney FC at AAMI Park.
The Socceroo legend acknowledged the club’s humble beginnings as Melbourne Heart before it was taken over by the City Football Group.
He said it was just the start.
“That’s what I said to the boys - ‘this is history’, the transition to when it was Heart from what everyone laid the foundations for this football club,” Cahill said.
“The transition into the City group and what the boys have done in the past.
“It’s no disrespect for them, for us we’re here now to make a difference, this football club, we have to win things, I couldn’t say before we were going to but we’re going to try.
“Now we’ve won something… Now we take this momentum we regroup, stay humble and just keep doing what we’re doing.
“Every time we make a mistake and lose a game, everyone says we’re a flash in the pan, that’s fine, no problems.
“That means we have to change formation or do something with the tactics and we’ve got solutions for the fans and everyone who’s involved in this club and what’s created in Melbourne, there’s two big teams but the shift is starting to turn now a little.”
Cahill also admitted the negative chants towards him by the Sydney FC fans also spurred him on to score the header.
It was Ivan Franjic’s cross which found Cahill as he tussled with Matt Jurman in the box, a typical trademark header.
“Just beforehand the fans singing for no reason about me, it plays in your head when the fans are singing negative ‘this is my chance’ and when it hit my head,” he said.
“Story of my life, it’s just one moment and people will say ‘he’s done it again’, but that’s why I play, I play for moments like that.
“It’s a big moment for soccer in Australia because we’re the team that gets so close yet so far away – Melbourne City, we’re supposed to turn up and do photoshoots and they’ll blow up in the end we’re sitting pretty on the table.
“We didn’t say yesterday ‘we will win’, we said we’d try and give it everything, it’s not just another game and this was everything.
“For our group and the bigger onus of what we want to do as a group this club is run like a premier league club in the A-league, I’m there from 8am until 3pm some afternoons and it’s a professional setup that I’m so impressed with what we do in the community.”
Cahill was substituted off in 60th minute for Anthony Caceres with a knee injury, however he said he felt confident he could partake in Saturday's match against Brisbane Roar.
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