Melbourne Knights FC kicked off their 60th anniversary celebrations with a massive day at Knights stadium on Sunday the 3rd of March.The day consisted of several special events and announcements starting with the launch of the newly constructed sports gym behind the Mark Viduka stand, the announcement of the major corporate and apparel sponsors followed by the annual Friendship Cup against Sydney United.
The gym opening attracted over 150 distinguished guests including sponsors, the playing group, friends and media. During the launch Knights president Ange Cimera was pleased to announce the major sponsor for the 2013 season – I&D Constructions, who are also the major sponsor of the sports gym.It was also confirmed that AHD Melbourne and Cedevita are proud sponsors of the Melbourne Knights this season with representatives from both organisations attending the event.
Next was the unveiling of our new apparel sponsor Macron, an Italian company with an internationally recognized brand, renowned for their quality and service, who now counts SS Lazio, Aston Villa and Real Betis among professional clubs that it sponsors.
The feature event of the day was the annual Friendship Cup, played between Melbourne Knights and Sydney United.A crowd of over 800 people gathered at the stadium to watch the match in perfect conditions. As the two teams took to the park the Australian anthem was played as the atmosphere around the ground grew in anticipation.
The game didn’t disappoint the strong crowd but it was the away team that was smiling in the end.Sydney United retained the Friendship Cup, prevailing on penalties. Melbourne Knights were leading on two occasions but Sydney United pulled them back both times during the first two halves. Jacob Colosimo (17′) and Abu Konteh (50′) scored for Melbourne Knights while Yuichi Yamaguchi (25′) and Matthew Bilic (75′) kept United in the game.
No extra time was played so the penalties were the decider. Knights only scored one of their five spot kicks, missing the first two and the last two. The penalty shootout ended with Melbourne Knights 1 – Sydney United 3.