Five defenders feature in the A-League Team of the Week for Matchweek 19, presented by Bunnings Warehouse.
Melbourne City defeated Newcastle Jets 3-1 in the first game of the Matchweek before three consecutive 0-0 draws took place between Friday and Saturday night.
The Sydney Derby was then to follow, with five goals finding the back of the net in a 3-2 Western Sydney Wanderers win over Sydney FC.
Melbourne Victory and Central Coast Mariners drew 1-1 on Sunday afternoon before the drama continued on Wednesday night. Brisbane Roar struck late to defeat Western United 2-1 before City extended their gap at the top of the table to six points with a 3-1 win over Perth Glory.
Read on to find out which players feature in a 3-5-2 formation for the Team of the Week, presented by Bunnings Warehouse.
MW19 REPORT: Victory continue to steady the ship with 1-1 draw against Mariners
MW19 REPORT: Wanderers paint the town Red and Black as McDonald scores decider on club debut
Goalkeeper
Adam Federici – Macarthur FC
Macarthur’s brilliant goalkeeper rescued his side a point in a 0-0 draw with Perth Glory on Saturday afternoon.
Bruno Fornaroli failed on multiple occasions to pierce Federici’s guard as the Macarthur shot-stopper saved all six of his shots faced in a tight battle at HBF Park.
MW19 REPORT: Honours split as Glory and Bulls play draw out 0-0 in Perth
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6251388081001
Defenders
Ryan Strain – Adelaide United
Adelaide United’s right back had a night to remember at Coopers Stadium as the Reds drew 0-0 with Western United.
Strain took 121 touches throughout the match, playing 96 passes at a superb accuracy of 97.9%. The 24-year-old made eight recoveries to go with six of 11 duels won, two interceptions and a clearance in the clean sheet display.
Scott Galloway – Melbourne City
Galloway is proving a more than capable replacement for the injured Nathaniel Atkinson on the right side of City’s defence.
The City man began the Matchweek against Newcastle Jets by winning six of nine duels, both of his attempted tackles and passing 67 times at 91% accuracy – the highest of all City starters.
Galloway backed that performance up by assisting Jamie Maclaren twice against Perth Glory on Wednesday night.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6252683008001
Tomoki Imai – Western United
Imai’s pair of performances in a 0-0 draw with Adelaide and 2-1 loss to Brisbane kept Western United well and truly in both of their Matchweek 19 contests.
Imai won four of five duels, made seven clearances, three interceptions and had a 100% tackle success rate against the Reds, and backed that up with seven more clearances against the Roar.
MW19 REPORT: Western United draw 0-0 with Adelaide in hostile clash at Coopers Stadium
Kai Trewin – Brisbane Roar
Trewin helped a Roar defence stay resolute throughout Matchweek 19, conceding just once from two games with Trewin operating in the heart of Warren Moon’s backline.
Trewin passed 69 times at 94.2% accuracy in a 0-0 draw against Wellington Phoenix, making six clearances and denying Jaushua Sotirio a goal with a dedicated sliding block in the second half, which helped keep his side’s sheet clean until the final whistle.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6251414243001
Corey Brown – Brisbane Roar
Riku Danzaki stole the headlines by scoring a last-gasp winning goal against Western United in Matchweek 19, but it was his Roar teammate Brown who set up the decisive goal – not long after denying the opposition one down the other end.
Brown made a crucial goal-line clearance off Andrew Durante’s shot from close range in the second half of Brisbane’s clash with United. with the scores locked at 1-1 it was a crucial moment which Brown emphasised by getting down the other end in stoppage time to tee up Danzaki to net the winner.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6252666199001
Midfielders
Alessandro Diamanti – Western United
Diamanti put his creativity on display throughout Matchweek 19, crafting three chances, taking three shots and laying four dangerous crosses into the mix against Adelaide United before assisting Lachlan Wales’ finish in his side’s 2-1 defeat to Brisbane on Wednesday night.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6252662508001
Jay O’Shea – Brisbane Roar
Brisbane’s busy midfielder created four chances and passed 95 times at an accuracy of 90.5% in his side’s first game of the Matchweek against Wellington.
O’Shea went on to add another strong Roar showing in a win against Western United, creating a further three chances from 88 touches in the 2-1 victory.
MW19 REPORT: Last-minute Danzaki strike seals comeback Roar win over Western United
Ulises Dávila – Wellington Phoenix
At a rainswept Moreton Daily Stadium, Dávila played as if the pitch and ball were bone-dry as he excelled against the Roar.
The Mexican midfielder came to the fore in the second half, producing a pair of chances for Sotirio to net a winner for the Phoenix. Dávila led his side’s strong push to find a winner, taking five shots throughout the game but ultimately could not find the winning goal against a stringent Roar defence.
MW19 REPORT: Phoenix surge late but can’t break the deadlock in soaking stalemate with Roar
Forwards
Mitchell Duke -Western Sydney Wanderers
The Duke of Wanderland loves a Sydney Derby goal, and his recent form against the Sky Blues continued in Matchweek 19 when he scored the second of his side’s three in a memorable win over Sydney FC.
Duke put his side two goals ahead early in the first half, and then helped the Wanderers remain in the lead until the final whistle, winning 12 of his 19 duels and making four clearances, showing particularly impressive desperation in defence to repel a number of Sky Blue corners away from danger.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6251419497001
Jamie Maclaren – Melbourne City
The City striker enjoyed a record-breaking night out against Perth Glory in Matchweek 19, becoming the quickest player to 100 goals in Australian national league history with the first of his two strikes at HBF Park.
Maclaren’s brace against Perth came after he netted his 99th A-League goal in a 3-1 win over Newcastle Jets early in Matchweek 19.
MW19 REPORT: City outclass Glory on Maclaren’s historic night in Perth
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6252680970001
