As two mouth-watering Hyundai A-League semi finals approach on Saturday and Sunday, we crunch Opta’s stats to discover the trends on goals scored and conceded.
Our aim?
To find out which of the four remaining sides starts best and who can best close out games as the final whistle approaches.
Unlikely heroes XI: Finals special
OUT OF THE BLOCKS
Perth Glory are the Hyundai A-League’s fastest starters.
They’ve scored ten goals in the first 15 minutes this season, more than any other side.
It’s also twice as many as the next best remaining team in the Finals Series, which is Sydney FC with five.
The two teams meet at Allianz Stadium in Sydney this Saturday night.
By contrast, Melbourne Victory have scored only once in the opening quarter-hour this season.
However, that was against this weekend’s opponents, with James Troisi opening the scoring in the 12th minute of their Round 14 clash with Brisbane.
Roar themselves have also been slowish starters on the scoreboard, with just two goals in the first 15 minutes.
TIGHT FROM THE START
Sydney FC rule the roost here.
They haven’t conceded a goal in the first 15 minutes all season.
In fact, the Sky Blues haven’t let a goal in, in the first 15 minutes of either half!
Victory are also hard to break down early, conceding just two goals in the opening quarter hour.
Both Glory and Roar have allowed five goals in the opening fifteen minutes.
DEADLY AT THE DEATH
When it comes to scoring late goals to change the face of games, it’s Melbourne Victory who top those charts.
They’ve scored 13 times in the last 15 minutes this season.
That represents 27% of their total goals.
Sydney FC are almost as prolific with a dozen goals in the last quarter hour.
But you can’t relax against Perth or Brisbane either as the final whistle approaches.
They’ve both found the net nine times in the last 15 minutes.
And the ability to score late goals has been a decisive factor this season, with the four remaining sides better than all the others by this metric.
LEAKING LATE
They might be a potent attacking side late in the piece, but that also leaves Victory vulnerable.
They’ve conceded ten goals in the last 15 minutes this season, more than any other side in the semi finals.
That’s almost a third of all the goals Victory have let in this season.
Again, Sydney FC are the masters of shutting up shop.
The injury time goal they conceded against Phoenix in Round 26 was just the second they’d leaked in the last 15 minutes this entire campaign.
Roar (six) and Glory (eight) have conceded around one-sixth of their goals this season in the last 15 minutes.
