Isuzu UTE A-League Round 8 Talking Points: 20 brilliant forgotten minutes preceded Derby chaos

With a lot to dissect, here are the key talking points from Round 8 of the Isuzu UTE A-League Men season.

READ: THREE MEN CHARGED FOR DERBY PITCH INVASION AS VICTORY PREPARE SHOW CAUSE NOTICE RESPONSE

Twenty majestic minutes precede Derby chaos 

It had all the makings of a classic Christmas Derby. 

Melbourne Victory v Melbourne City at AAMI Park in December is a staple of the Isuzu UTE A-League calendar. It’s a fixture steeped in tradition.

The build-up to Saturday’s instalment of the fixture ensured it would be a Christmas Derby like no other, and the horrific scenes which unfolded beyond the 20-minute mark at AAMI Park wrote headlines around the world for all the wrong reasons.

A new week begins with the ramifications of the chaotic sequence of events yet to be clear as it dominates the news agenda; Victoria Police, the Australian Professional Leagues and Football Australia are working to bring those who rushed the pitch to assault both referee Alex King and City keeper Tom Glover to justice.

Prior to planned peaceful protests going awry, a Christmas cracker of a derby was unfolding at AAMI Park. It was 1-0 in City’s favour at the 20-minute mark, with Aiden O’Neill’s emphatic strike capping off a magnificent team move which put the premiers in the box seat.

Down the other end, Victory’s Nick D’Agostino was denied an all-time A-Leagues classic by Glover, who contained the Socceroos striker’s audacious bicycle kick off Luis Nani’s first-time flick into the danger zone. 

And when Mat Leckie struck the side netting with a lashing volley from a lofted pass which dropped over his shoulder, Paramount+ co-commentator Andy Harper described what he was witnessing as “champagne football”, waxing lyrical over the elite level of City’s performance.

It’s the ultimate shame that Harper, one of the iconic voices of Australian football, ended the night struggling to find the words, with the sound of held-back tears impacting his voice.

READ: ‘DON’T LET A MINORITY KILL OUR GAME’: ALOISI’S PASSIONATE, RALLYING CRY FOR AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL

MORE: FOOTBALL AUSTRALIA ISSUE MELBOURNE VICTORY WITH SHOW CAUSE NOTICE

Prijovic haunts Wanderers again

Aleksandar Prijovic is making quite the habit of scoring against Western Sydney Wanderers.

Western United’s towering striker made it three goals in three games against the Wanderers, when he quite literally chested home James Troisi’s cross at the back-post to give the reigning champions a second win of the season on Sunday.

Prijovic’s scoring form has been solid since returning this Isuzu UTE A-League season, scoring now two goals from three and contributing with key goals in his side’s two wins of the campaign.

But it wasn’t just Prijovic scoring against the Wanderers which made the 1-0 win felt like a blast to the past. United registered their first clean sheet of the season as Tomoki Imai returned from injury to help fortify a defence missing Leo Lacroix.

A sturdy defence was the cornerstone of Western’s championship campaign last season, and their showing in Round 8 was the first of the season to suggest they are capable of returning to the same level of rigidity in 2022-23.

Plus the fact they won by the aforementioned scoreline, which was built off solid defending, ceding possession to the opposition (40% to 60%), and playing off the counter – made it feel a lot like last season again. This sort of form may be the formula to turning their fortunes around and rising back up the table.

“This was also the first time we kept a clean sheet. We didn’t concede in the first half, we stayed focused from the first minute which was very important. Today is a sweet victory, 1-0 – I think we deserve it,” Prijovic told Paramount +.

“It’s getting better and better from game to game. We are just now starting to show our true game style and value, and I think in the next weeks we will be much better than even today.”

Is it time to take notice of ‘dark horse’ flying under the radar?

They’ve lost just one game this season, and leaked the least amount of goals of all 12 teams in the competition – and former A-League striker Daniel McBreen believes they’re one key signing away from becoming “one of the biggest underdogs to come from nowhere for a long time.”

Brisbane Roar are seventh on the table, but sit two points off third with a game in hand on four of the six teams above them after Round 8. They’ve leaked just six goals across seven games, keeping three clean sheets along the way.

Warren Moon’s side were buoyant after a Friday-night win over Newcastle Jets in the Hunter; winger Carlo Armiento said post-match: “I think people forget: we’ve only lost one game… we have a game in hand as well, so I think we’re on the right track.”

In the Paramount+ studios, former A-Leagues striker Daniel McBreen agreed. On the night when star recruit Charlie Austin bid an early farewell to the club, McBreen urged the Roar to target an experienced marksman in the January transfer window to enhance his side’s odds of upsetting the apple cart in 2022-23. 

“Charlie Austin is leaving now… (but) if they find a proven goalscorer in the January transfer window, they could be one of the biggest underdogs to come from nowhere for a long time,” McBreen said.

No one has rated them at all because they can’t score goals. If they can find that, all of a sudden they’re sitting in fourth at the moment, so a big dark horse maybe.

Garang’s first league start

It’s been a long time coming, but finally Nick Montgomery unleashed Garang Kuol from the first minute in an Isuzu UTE A-League fixture.

And Kuol didn’t disappoint, as one moment of quality from the 18-year-old helped turn the tide back into the favour of the Central Coast Mariners after going a goal behind in the early stages against Sydney FC.

Kuol’s delightful ball from the edge of the area found Marco Tulio inside the area to nod home the equaliser and thus spark a quick-fire comeback that saw the Mariners take home all three points at Industree Group Stadium.

“I had to protect him heading into the World Cup,” said Montgomery post-game.

“It was a big test for Garang to start a game, there are a few actions where you can tell he’s still a kid who’s growing.

“In certain moments he’s devastating, in others he’s frustrating but he put everything on the line today. 

“When he’s fully grown he’s going to be a seriously good player.”

Mariners fans have just three more chances to see Kuol in action before he jets off to Europe to sign for Newcastle United – with the next coming in the F3 Derby against Newcastle Jets on Wednesday evening.

Now, it’s just a matter of how many of those final appearances are as a starter or an impact sub.