City manager John van’t Schip has called last night’s Westfield FFA Cup Final win over Sydney FC “very special”.

Tim Cahill scored the decisive goal thanks to a perfectly executed header in the 53rd minute in front of a record FFA Cup Final crowd of 18,751.

The match began in ferocious fashion. Luke Brattan’s late tackle on Michael Zullo directly in front of the Sydney FC bench sparked an all-in melee that left the away side’s coach Graham Arnold seething.

Van’t Schip knew it was going to be a tightly contested encounter, expecting nothing less.

“From the first minute, you could see that the tension was there” he said post-match.

“We wanted it so bad.

“It was a battle, it was a fight.”

The FFA Cup win gives Melbourne City their first ever men’s silverware, a win that, van’t Schip says, was “very important for the players”.

The quality of football was not at its highest but City were very strong defensively, thanks to a solid performance from Nicolas Colazo in particular.

“He played a strong game, he was defensively spot on,” van’t Schip said.

However, the City manager explained the importance of staying level-headed.

“Life doesn’t stop. We have to celebrate, but we have to remain focused.”

Van’t Schip explained the importance of having someone of Cahill’s ability in his side.

“Tim is very experienced. He was battling, he was fighting. The quality of the goal was a very high level.

”

Post-game, Cahill himself expressed the importance of last night’s iconic win, saying he imagined it only in his wildest dreams.

“This is nice, this in Australia, this is where I’m from.”

Since Cahill signed for Melbourne City, there have been big changes at the club.

“It’s run like an English Premier League club,” Cahill explained.

“We’re very professional.

“[There’s been] a change of culture in the club.”

Winning games is nothing new to Cahill, but doing it trademark fashion and on home soil to help City bring home their first trophy is up there with the proudest moments of his career.

“I’ve scored a few of them in my time, but tonight was just special.

”

The importance of winning the club’s first piece of silverware was something Cahill wanted desperately.

“I said to the boys, you’ve got to understand … you don’t get many chances like this as a footballer.

“Neither will our kit men, our physios, the workers, the people who work behind the scenes [will] never get a chance to see a trophy or get into a grand final.

“I said to them, ‘For one night only, we’ll play our heart and souls out to give everything and when you’re cooked, put your hand up and walk off’.

“I guarantee you the guy who comes on will do the same job.

“I wanted to get the fire out of their bellies.”

Cahill did just that. Although not at their scintillating best, City played the aggressive brand of football Australia are now familiar with.

The men in light blue won overall possession, had more shots on target, and looked the more threatening of the two teams.

It was the first time the FFA Cup Final had been played between the top two Hyundai A-League sides, and it was the newest team from Melbourne who were victorious.

“Silverware is silverware whether people like it or not,” Cahill said.

“We take this momentum, we regroup, we stay humble.

“This is history.”