Welcome to Made With Mitre Moments, where aleagues.com.au brings you all the biggest talking points from each round of the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
There was lots of action in Round 3 as Auckland FC claimed bragging rights in the first ever New Zealand Derby, Adelaide United won a seven-goal thriller and Melbourne Victory stayed unbeaten, while there was so much more as season 2024-25 continued.
Read on for all the biggest talking points from Round 3, thanks to Mitre.
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Bulls boss reacts to penalty that sparked Victory’s comeback
After 51 minutes of their clash with Melbourne Victory, it appeared as though the Macarthur Bulls could be on course for another 1-0 win over Patrick Kisnorbo’s side.
Taking the lead through Valere Germain, the Bulls rode their luck at times against Victory but certainly had their fair share of opportunities on the counter attack, much like their recent 1-0 victory in the Australia Cup Final.
However, the course of the match was altered just after the hour mark at AAMI Park when Macarthur’s Walter Scott was penalised for a handball inside the box after Jason Geria’s header from a corner crashed into his hand.
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Biding his time before blowing the whistle, referee Jack Morgan pointed to the spot. A brief VAR check ensued but the decision stood and former Macarthur man Daniel Arzani tucked home the subsequent spot kick.
The home side then went on to secure Victory against the Bulls courtesy of a stunning long-range strike from Reno Piscopo, leaving Macarthur boss Mile Sterjovski immensely frustrated after what is now the club’s second loss of the season.
MATCH REPORT: Piscopo’s wondergoal fires Victory to comeback win over Macarthur
“If I’m being honest, if you were to ask me a few years ago I’d say it was definitely a pen, but we get given different messages,” said Sterjovski when asked for his take on the penalty decision.
“We had a meeting with the Head of the Referees (Jon Moss) last week – if you were to ask me after that meeting, it’s definitely not a pen, according to what he told us.
“I’m sick and tired of inconsistencies, to be honest.
“I think last night there was a penalty that wasn’t given for the same thing. So for that, it’s very frustrating.”
Asked if there was now too much ambiguity when it comes to deciding what is a handball offence inside the box, Sterjovski said he believes the issue stems from the focus on what it and what isn’t an ‘unnatural’ position of the arm.
“You can’t tell… if they’re saying the hand is not in an un-natural position, his hand was already up and if anyone who knows Walter, he defends that way.
“Whether it’s in the box, whether it’s out, that’s him. That’s his natural position. So if you rule on that then it’s definitely not a penalty.
“We’ve been going over it year after year after year and I think every coach get’s frustrated with it all. We’re just hoping that it evens out during the season.”
Talay’s praise for a surprising Sydney speedster
There were goals and plenty of drama on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium.
After a goalless opening 45 minutes, the match exploded to life as Sydney FC scored a 90th-minute winner to sink Brisbane Roar 3-2.
Jaiden Kucharski was the game-winning hero for the Sky Blues, who won for the second time this season in the absence of Douglas Costa and Joe Lolley as Leo Sena scored his first club goal since 2016.
MATCH REPORT: Super-sub’s 90th-minute ‘rocket’ lifts Sydney FC in dramatic 5-goal thriller in Brisbane
The matchup also saw talented full-back Jordan Courtney-Perkins deployed in a more advanced role by head coach Ufuk Talay.
“He was okay. Jordy works hard,” Talay told reporters. “We scored a goal because of his press initially, then the ball falls to Joel and Joel plays to first time I think.
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“Full-backs play up high anyway so it’s no different to him in the setup.
“Jordy for me is a fantastic kid and a 100%er. He will always do the work and always surprise you as well.”
Don’t expect Chiefy’s Phoenix to change their ways: ‘Common trend worldwide’
Bragging rights in the inaugural New Zealand Derby went the way of newcomers Auckland FC on Saturday.
In front of Wellington’s regular-season record crowd of more than 26,000 supporters, the Phoenix conceded two late goals to succumb to a 2-0 defeat.
It was an error from Phoenix goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi that allowed Jake Brimmer and Auckland to break the deadlock in the 89th minute, before the latter added another goal at the death to seal the deal.
‘THIS WILL BE THE BIGGEST DERBY IN THE LEAGUE’: Auckland hero blown away by first-ever NZ Derby
Wellington head coach Giancarlo ‘Chiefy’ Italiano addressed the error and his style of play, which sees the Phoenix play out from the back.
“The funny thing is with that goal kick as well, it’s probably the first time ever I’ve ever told them to turn and go long,” Italiano said in his post-match press conference.
“Because I had a feeling, because I had made so many change and so many missing pieces in terms of our training setup or players not practicing in that formation with those players, it could breakdown and they scored.
“I said a long time ago, the group is very far from where I want them to be. We’re going to need games and revisit how we do things. Even though we’ve lost, there’s a lot of positives from the games.
“I’m happy these things are happening now so we can address them, so when we fix them it’s going to be very hard to beat us.”
Italiano added: “Last season goal kicks were 30 or 40% of our chances. Once you start baiting the full-backs and centre backs to pull out, it becomes a transitional moment.
“I have to double down and show the benefit of doing that. We proved last year that it works quite well.
“It’s a common trend worldwide in football. I’m not going to change it. There were enough chances today to show that.
“I need to speak to Josh, knuckle it down to some basics and get his process right. I’m sure it won’t happen again.”
‘WE WANTED TO WIN FOR HIM’: Coach dedicates NZ Derby win to hero-turned-villain in Wellington
Zdrila’s Glory ‘want to take the next step’
On Saturday, Perth Glory claimed their first point of the season after holding two-time reigning champions Central Coast Mariners to a 0-0 draw in Gosford.
New-look Glory boasting a new head coach, owners and players, started 2024-25 with a 6-1 defeat at Macarthur Bulls followed by a 2-0 loss against Wellington Phoenix.
But over the weekend, Perth stifled the Mariners to end a run of back-to-back defeats.
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It is far away from the style of football David Zdrilic is looking to implement as he looks to bring his RB Leipzig learnings to Perth, but the former Australia international is encouraged by the growth.
“The funny thing was in the cup games early on, we were really high pressing,” Zdrilic reflected post-game. “But I think our level was in front of the teams were playing at the time.
“What’s happened over pre-season is the bulk of our players haven’t completed the whole pre-season. You can see with some of the changes, the legs are not there to take the next step and get away from some. With the Mariners, they were able to skip past us. We had to really fight to get away.
“To take the sting out of the game, to manage the game. Also to have a couple of chances – I was very happy with it. When you look at game one to game two, and now game three, there’s been good improvement.
“But obviously we want to take the next step and really start playing that style of football where we’re much more aggressive, much more on the front foot and at the same time, if we have to have the balance, we can do both.
“The steps are there but obviously I want it to happen a bit quicker.”
‘Tremendous’ Adelaide recruit earns praise
In a wild seven-goal thriller, Dylan Pierias made himself a hero at CommBank Stadium on Saturday night.
Facing his former side Western Sydney Wanderers, the Adelaide United recruit scored twice to lead the Reds to a thrilling 4-3 victory.
After beginning the season with a 1-1 draw against Central Coast, Adelaide opened their account thanks to Pierias – who scored the club’s final two goals in Western Sydney.
MATCH REPORT: Seven-goal thriller! Carnage in Wanderland as 27 mad minutes set up epic Adelaide win
“Dylan has been tremendous since he came to the club,” Adelaide head coach Carl Veart said.
“We’ve brought him in to play more as an attacking player, but with circumstances, he’s had to play back at right-back, where he played a lot of his junior football. And again, tonight, he was excellent.
“He’s a new father, so that’s maybe settled him a little bit more and focused him as well. I’m glad for him. He’s done a lot of work and got some good reward tonight.”
“We play with that right-back very high, and they cause a lot of threat because they have that explosive speed,” Veart added. “It suits Dylan playing that way, and he’s shown tonight that maybe this is the best role for him.”
“Dylan is still a young player. He’s had some good experiences, and sometimes it just takes a little bit more time. But I think tonight he showed what he’s capable of.”
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Young gun makes A-Leagues bow on sombre night for City
Melbourne City were left licking their wounds following a 1-0 win over Western United on Monday night.
Tilio was visibly emotional after hurting his hamstring in the first half, while there are fears Nabbout suffered a potential anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
MATCH REPORT: City suffer double injury blow as two Socceroos sidelined in win over Western
Both players were in visible pain on a bittersweet night for City, who bounced back from their Melbourne Derby disappointment.
There was a memorable moment for a young gun, however. Medin Memeti made his A-Leagues debut after replacing Tilio prior to half-time. There was also an Isuzu UTE A-League bow for 18-year-old Ben Dunbar.
Memeti joined City’s academy in 2022 and he has progressed rapidly through the ranks, making his senior debut as a substitute in the Australia Cup last year, while he was also in the matchday squad for two AFC Champions League fixtures.
The teenager, who arrived from Dandenong Thunder in 2022 as one of the first South East based talents to join City, scored a hat-trick on his NPL debut as a 15-year-old in May last year.
Memeti came off the bench 10 minutes into the second half with City trailing Brunswick City 2-0 last season and scored in the 70th, 86th and 89th minutes to inspire a wild comeback.
In September, Memeti made his senior debut as a late substitute in City’s Australia Cup clash against MetroStars while he was on the bench in two AFC Champions League matches in 2023-24.
This year, he scored nine goals in 15 appearances for City in VPL1 – the second tier of Victorian football – including a memorable double against Western United recently.
