aleagues.com.au is your one-stop shop for the best of the pre-weekend media activity ahead of what’s set to be an enthralling Round 25 in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
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Rudan won’t change approach despite previous heavy derby defeat to Sky Blues
Western Sydney Wanderers boss Marko Rudan says his side are ready for whatever Sydney FC throw their way in Saturday night’s Sydney Derby.
The Wanderers secured a well-earned 1-0 win over their rivals earlier in the season but suffered a bruising 4-1 loss in the return fixture at CommBank Stadium just over a month ago, but despite that loss Rudan says it’d be even more damaging to abandon their principles and style of play.
“Nothing really changes for us we still want to play out through their press,” said Rudan. “We’ve been working on that all week, that’s the kind of team we are. They don’t play out from goal kicks, we do. That’s our style.
“We want to play football, we want to play out from pressure and I’m not going to change that just because of our opponent.”
The Wanderers head into the clash against their Sky Blues sat in sixth spot on the ladder, four points clear of Melbourne City with three games left to play in the season.
A win at the home of their bitter rivals though will see them leapfrog their neighbours on the table and give their finals hopes a huge boost in the process, but Rudan says that isn’t something that they’re focusing on.
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“We don’t look at finals as being, you know, the end result for us,” said the Western Sydney head coach. “If you think that then you may not get there. So we’re thinking bigger picture here.
He added: “The players understand what this game is about. We don’t talk about finals, we’re talking about winning every game and we started that process before the Perth game. We hit a roadblock last week but if our performances can improve from last week, we go in there with no pressure.
“Everyones talking about the opposition and rightly so, they’ve been playing some good football as well. We go out there knowing the pressure is not really on us.”
Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers have alternated wins across their last eight meetings in the Isuzu UTE A-League with Sydney FC winning 4-1 in their most recent encounter.
However, the Wanderers have enjoyed a much better time when playing at Allianz Stadium given they’ve won all three of the Sydney Derbies held at the new venue by an aggregate scoreline of 6-0!
Vidmar returns for ‘must win’ City clash; weighs in on Irankunda debate
Melbourne City head coach Aurelio Vidmar has labelled Sunday’s clash with Perth Glory as a ‘must win’ as they attempt to secure their spot in the Finals Series.
City currently sit seventh on the ladder and four points behind sixth placed Western Sydney Wanderers – a gap that could be increased to SEVEN points by the time City take to the field on Sunday.
“We’ve got to the point now where it can’t keep going against us,” said Vidmar, who returns to the sidelines this weekend following a three week absence due to illness. “We’ve done a hell of a lot in the last six or seven weeks in terms of the way we’re playing now.
“Our ambition is to go and get the three points, it’s been extremely strong. But at the end of the day, if you don’t get the points, at the end of 90 minutes, it’s worth absolutely zero.
“So for us now we’re all aware, everyone knows it’s a must win game. We’ve got to out there, give our very best.
Vidmar revealed on-loan Celtic winger Marco Tilio is now likely to be out for another two to three weeks due to injury, a setback which has prevented him from joining up with the Olyroos.
However Tilio’s injury itself has sparked some controversy away from City following reports Adelaide’s Nestory Irankunda turned down the chance to join the Olyroos as his replacement, a subject that was put to Vidmar at his pre-match press conference.
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“I’m not aware of anything with Nestor,” said Vidmar, who’s brother Tony Vidmar is the head coach of the Olyroos side competing for a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“But in saying that, I’m from the view if your national team calls you go, simple as that. You can’t say no. That’s just me personally.”
Several Isuzu UTE A-League clubs have released players for the U23 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar including City who will be without defender Callum Talbot and goalkeeper Patrick Beach for up to a month.
Vidmar went on to add: “The ruling that the elite clubs must release their players, it’s an absolute must. So I don’t have any issue with that at all. We had Beachy (Patrick Beach) and Callum (Talbot) going and if we had Tils (Marco Tilio) going, that’s how it is. I think it’s extremely important that the FA stick stick strong with that ruling.”
Perth stars playing for pride as Glory look to climb off the canvass
Perth Glory head coach Alen Stajcic believes his side should be treating this this weekend’s fixture with Melbourne City as if it were a Grand Final as they bid to move off the foot of the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder.
With both Western United and Newcastle Jets picking up victories in Round 24, Glory found themselves bottom of the ladder before their clash with Adelaide United and ultimately stayed there following a 4-2 home loss.
“I think you’re playing for your future every time you walk out there, aren’t you?” said Stajcic when asked whether not some of his players were playing for their futures this weekend.
“So I don’t think this game is any different in that respect, you should be playing for your life, coaching for your life and whatever part of this team you know, every game is the same for me.
“Personally I can’t change motivation regardless of whether it’s a Grand Final or Round One – it’s the same and I think if you have a different mentality then you’ve got a weak mentality.
He added: “The best athletes in the world and the best teams in the world treat every game the same and it’s at their peak every time so you know, we’ve got to get that and we’ve got to have that mentality.”
While they may be level on points with Western United (22), Glory head into their clash with Melbourne City sat bottom of the ladder by virtue of having one less win than Western.
However, while they may not have won any of their previous five visits to AAMI Park (D2, L3) the good news is they actually boast the best record of any team outside Victoria when visiting the venue having won 12 matches there.
Furthermore, Stajcic’s team will receive a big boost from the stands this weekend as the Perth Glory fans continue their fantastic ‘Tour of Duty’ tradition, which will see upwards of 100 supporters travel from Perth to attend the away game,
“It’s amazing that people have that much care and love for the club,” said Stajcic when discussing the annual Tour of Duty event.
“I know it’s a good weekend away for them but just to have attached football as their meaning and to get away, it’s what football is all about really. All around the world people who attach their lives to their football club.
“Whether it’s home or away, just to have that many who are travelling and using all their extra time and resources, holiday pay and all that stuff just to follow the club around and make a weekend of it is amazing.
He added: “It just shows what kind of support we do have in the A-League and we want the support to be bigger and better but it’s amazing that we have that amount coming to support us this weekend.”
Never say die attitude propelling Mariners forward but Jackson wary of in-form Western
They may well be at opposite ends of the table heading in to this weekend’s clash in Tarneit but Central Coast head coach Mark Jackson is approaching the fixture by viewing a different sort of table.
“If people look at the league table as it is then they might be at the bottom end,” said Jackson. “But if you look at the league table over the last five games I think they (Western) are sitting third or fourth.
“That goes to show that it is a top of the table clash and that’s the message we’ve portrayed to the players. They’re in a fantastic vein of form, they’re a dangerous team, we’ve analysed them and looked at them and yeah, they’re in some fantastic form.
“We’re approaching this game like it’s a top of the table clash because that’s what the form table suggests.”
Back-to-back 2-1 wins over Melbourne City and Wellington Phoenix in the space of four days fired Jackson’s side to the top of the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder last weekend with both wins coming courtesy of late goals from Max Balard and Mikael Doka respectively.
“I think it’s the character of the team and the fight of the team to never say die. We always want to try and win games and we never want to sit back and we always know the importance of getting the three points is vital, particularly at this stage of the season.”
Following their match in Victoria this weekend the Mariners then face a gruelling trip to Kyrgyzstan to play the first leg of their AFC Cup Inter Zonal Final against FK Abdish-Ata Kant, a team also currently sat on top of their domestic league.
With the travel time expected to be upwards of more than 24 hours Jackson and his staff are well aware of just how taxing the next few weeks are likely to be, especially given his side are now competing for a treble.
“I’m pleased that we’re in the position that we’re in but we need to get it over the line now. We’ve got some massive, massive games.
“People always say you can get yourself within striking distance of success but it’s how you follow through with that and how you execute the finish. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
