Yorke: Australia Cup win was for Ulises Dávila

Five games into his first professional coaching role, Dwight Yorke has lifted his first piece of silverware.

Macarthur FC defeated Sydney United 58 2-0 in the Australia Cup Final 2022 thanks to a penalty in each half.

The Bulls, entering just their third season, added their first trophy to their cabinet after an impressive tournament which included scoring 19 goals on route to clinching the decider.

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Yorke reflected on the adjustment to life as a Head Coach.

“It’s been a good transition into management,” Yorke told reporters.

“Coming to Macarthur I came with an open mind, knowing that the club is relatively new.

“… They laid our their ambitions of the club wanted to make history, wanted to win things and I felt like it was in line with my ambition as a coach.

“But obviously the opportunity was a good one and here we’re two months into management and here we’re from a historical point of view that we won the cup.”

It was an emotionally charged match for Macarthur with the players determined to get the win for its captain, Ulises Dávila following the sudden death of his wife four months ago.

The Mexican maestro collected the Mark Viduka Medal for the best player on the park, and converted a late second-half penalty to seal the victory after Al Hassan Toure’s successful spot-kick.

“I’ve only got to know the players in three months and he wasn’t here for the first month or so,” he said.

“He’s gone through a very difficult time, we understand the emotion that went through was hard for him.

“And here we’re in a final and he was magnificent tonight, he’s not just a great leader, a great person, but he’s our captain.

“And this club means a lot to him and this particular game was for Uli in terms of what he’s had to go through.”

With the A-League Men 2022/23 season commencing this weekend, Yorke believes its Australia Cup run can be a real impetus for its league campaign.

“When you play football matches in any competition at any level, you talk about momentum,” the former Manchester United striker explained.

“What we have seen here is we’ve been unbeaten, we’ve scored 19 goals in the competition and conceded two.

“So that’s a hell of a return, anybody who’s looking at that and you’re talking to the team, you can build on that.

“Of course coming out victorious tonight obviously will give us a platform to go forward.

“I hope that the players will embrace it, embrace the challenge ahead, it’s going to be tough, but that’s what we’re in the business for.

“We don’t expect it to be easy and we become a target now.”