Bangers, incredible saves, red cards and a coaching change.
This past weekend in the Isuzu UTE A-League had a bit of everything.
With a lot to dissect, here are the talking points from Round 13 of the A-League Men season.
Lets talk about Adelaide’s ill-discipline
Adelaide United were 1-0 winners over Macarthur FC but it was another game and another red card for the Reds.
Entering Friday night’s showdown with Macarthur, the Reds had seen three players sent off and 37 yellow cards leading to suspensions through 12 rounds. Lachlan Barr also revealed there had been a team meeting to address the issue.
While Zach Clough’s sixth-minute goal downed Macarthur, Carl Veart’s Adelaide had to play the majority of the match with 10 men following Ben Warland’s early red card.
There were also four yellow cards for Adelaide at Coopers Stadium, where goalkeeper Joe Gauci produced a heroic performance with a number of terrific saves to spark further calls for his Socceroos inclusion.
READ MORE: ‘THE GREAT WALL OF GAUCI’
Adelaide’s red card tally for the season now stands at four (Hiroshi Ibusuki’s dismissal in October was rescinded), while the Reds also had a player sent off in the Australia Cup.
Phoenix love playing the top teams
Wellington Phoenix are flying high and in form after their 2-1 win at home to second-placed Central Coast Mariners on Sunday.
Goals from captain Alex Rufer and Oskar Zawada guided the Phoenix to a third consecutive win as they climbed up to fourth in the table.
It was Rufer’s first professional goal after 107 A-League Men appearances, and boy did he enjoy it.
The Phoenix now stand alone in one department.
Wellington have earned 13 points against teams from the top half of the ladder this season, more than any other side in the competition.
Wanderers’ stuttering form continues
Western Sydney Wanderers look a shadow of the team that impressed prior to the FIFA Men’s World Cup break in November.
Since the league resumed in December, the Wanderers have won just one of their past seven games following Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Newcastle Jets.
Western Sydney – third in the table – are now coming off back-to-back draws to be seven points behind leaders Melbourne City.
The problem for the Wanderers seems to be scoring goals, with Western Sydney managing eight goals from those seven fixtures.
Age is just a number… ask Dia!
He is almost 40 years of age, but there is no stopping Alessandro Diamanti.
The former Italy international is advancing in years and has overcome a knee injury. Yet, Western United’s veteran star continues to produce highlight moments.
On Saturday afternoon, Diamanti scored a Goal of the Season contender to help defending champions Western take down slumping Sydney FC 1-0 in Hobart.
His post-game interview wasn’t bad, either.
Will the real Victory and Sydney stand up?
It is safe to say the season is not going to plan for neither Melbourne Victory nor Sydney FC.
Victory are rooted to the bottom of the table following Saturday night’s 3-1 loss away to resurgent Perth Glory at Macedonia Park, where Chris Ikonomidis was sent off.
Tony Popovic’s Victory – semi-finalists last season – are in the midst of a five-match drought and if they want to arrest their form, they will have to do it without Nick D’Agostino after his move to Europe and Nani’s season-ending injury.
And it is all set up for a desperate ‘Big Blue’ showdown against fellow strugglers Sydney.
Sydney are 10th in the standings and only three points better off than their rivals, having succumbed to Western.
The Sky Blues are winless in three games as pressure mounts on head coach Steve Corica.
Taggart’s happy homecoming
Back in Perth and back scoring goals for Glory.
Adam Taggart capped his return with a memorable two-goal haul against Victory at Macedonia Park on Saturday night.
The Socceroos striker signed in December for his hometown club, committing to a third stint at the West Australian outfit following his Cerezo Osaka departure. A quad injury kept Taggart sidelined through the opening weeks of his Glory return, and despite being listed as “unavailable” by the club for Saturday night’s clash with Melbourne Victory at Macedonia Park, made his way onto head coach Ruben Zadkovich’s bench for Victory’s visit.
Taggart scored twice in seven minutes to seal the win.
Where to next for Dwight?
If Round 13 wasn’t eventful enough, there was a coaching change on Saturday night.
Macarthur announced the parting of ways with their coach and Manchester United great Dwight Yorke.
Having helped Sydney to their inaugural A-League Men Championship while marquee in 2006 and with Corica under pressure, Yorke has been linked with a Sky Blues return.
“I think highly of him [Corica]. I think he is a great coach. What he’s done for Sydney FC is awesome,” Tarek Elrich said on Network 10 on Sunday.
“But it just feels like it’s a bit stale. It’s not my decision to make but I just sense something’s going to happen.”
