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.
It was an action-packed weekend as a blockbuster New Zealand Derby saw more history made, Adelaide United stayed unbeaten against a faltering Newcastle Jets, Melbourne Victory won again and the reigning champions celebrated back-to-back victories – and there was so much more as season 2024-25 continued.
Read on for all the biggest talking points from Round 7, thanks to Mitre.
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Foreigners produce the goods on City’s record night
Step forward Andreas Kuen and Yonatan Cohen. The international duo combined to lead Melbourne City to a 4-1 rout of lowly Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
It was also City’s biggest Isuzu UTE A-League win away to the Roar after Kuen struck inside the opening 60 minutes before Cohen doubled the lead in the 18th minute.
MATCH REPORT: City duo send ‘scary’ message to league in statement win: ‘They’ve ripped Brisbane to shreds!’
“They’re getting better all the time. It’s taken them a little time to adjust, one the physical side here. I just expect them to get better as the weeks roll on,” City head coach Aurelio Vidmar told reporters.
“Great for Yonatan to get goals, great for Andreas to score a goal and assist.”
Since arriving in Melbourne, Kuen has scored two goals and supplied two assists while Cohen has three goals to his name for City.
Vidmar added: “I think all the foreigners are important. Most clubs sign foreigners because they should be better than your local players and make a point of difference.
“Andrea and Yonatan are absolutely no different to anyone else in the league. Pleased for them.”
Friday night’s showdown also saw Kai Trewin return to Brisbane as a Melbourne City player following his off-season switch.
Vidmar, who also revealed City and Socceroos star Mathew Leckie is a “week-by-week case” as he overcomes another injury, heaped praise on the 23-year-old Trewin post-game.
“Kai is an exceptional person and he’s going to be an exceptional footballer,” said Vidmar.
“I think we’ve seen him grown since he’s come here on a daily basis, on a weekly basis. He’s had a great pre-season. He’s going to be a really nice player.
“But he is 23, he is had over 100 games of A-Leagues. He’s not a kid, so he has a fair bit of experience. He has a lot of great attributes that help us, so looking forward to him having a really strong season.”
What history-making Auckland FC are eyeing next
Auckland FC claimed another slice of history over the weekend, but the high-flying league leaders have no plans to stop there after the club’s latest New Zealand Derby triumph.
In front of a record crowd on Saturday, history-making Auckland conquered rivals Wellington Phoenix 2-1 at Go Media Stadium to make it six wins from their first six Isuzu UTE A-League games of existence.
DERBY DELIGHT! Auckland create more history after trumping rivals Wellington on record day
While Auckland missed out on a sixth consecutive clean sheet after Kosta Barbarouses’ late goal, the newcomers still created more history.
“It’s a derby, it’s a great start for us,” head coach Steve Corica said. “We broke history with the clean sheets.
“There’s still other things we’re looking for. In the back of our minds, seven wins in a row is another thing we’re looking for to target. I think the most wins in 20 years in the A-League, we’re one game off.
“It means a lot obviously, but we don’t’ want to get carried away. It’s a fantastic start but we want to continue what we’re doing and stay humble.”
The second ever New Zealand Derby was not without drama on Saturday.
After an Isaac Hughes own goal and Nando Pijnaker’s header had given Auckland a 2-0 lead, tempers threatened to boil over following an incident involving Phoenix captain Alex Rufer.
Rufer stood over the top of Luis Toomey and kicked the Auckland man while he laid on the ground with the ball underneath him before the Wellington skipper received a red card.
In a press conference where Corica hit back at “disrespectful” pre-game comments made by Phoenix counterpart Giancarlo Italiano, the Auckland boss was asked for his thoughts on the Rufer moment.
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“I thought it was a red card. He had three cracks at him,” Corica said.
“He should’ve been probably sent off. He was the one who played the ball through to Kosta to score as well so he probably wouldn’t have been on the field if that was the case.
“They must’ve checked it but it was pretty for me it was a red card.”
Western United youngster’s ‘best performance’: ‘That’s a massive improvement
There were no goals as Western United and Macarthur Bulls shared the points on Saturday evening, but there was a standout performance from Abel Walatee.
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Walatee, who signed his first professional contract in the off-season, came close to scoring while he setup a couple of enticing chances for the home side in Tarneit.
“I thought that was his best performance so far with us,” Western head coach John Aloisi said in his press conference after his side kept just their third clean sheet since March last year.
“Abel is a player, we know his ability. He has a lot of ability with the ball, in terms of taking players on. He’s strong, he can get into good positions, can setup chances and can score goals.
“But his overall understanding of the game is getting better and that’s what we’re pleased about. He was picking up good positions when we had the ball and getting the ball in good areas, and without the ball, he was still able to know when to press, when to sit in that block and block lines. That’s a massive improvement for Abel.
“We’re pleased with his progress and we know he will keep on developing because he wants to.”
‘I’ve put my neck on the line to give them a chance’
Rob Stanton did not hold back in his press conference after watching Newcastle Jets go down 1-0 to 10-man Adelaide United on Saturday night.
The Jets crashed to a fourth consecutive defeat having succumb to a 14th-minute Stefan Mauk goal at McDonald Jones Stadium, where Adelaide boss Carl Veart disputed a red card shown to Ben Folami past the hour mark.
MATCH REPORT: Adelaide enjoying best start in a decade after taking down Jets despite red card
After the game, Jets head coach Stanton delivered an extraordinary press conference.
Stanton pulled no punches in his dissection of the match and Newcastle’s season so far after also questioning the willingness of his squad to fight for the club in what he labelled a “generation problem”.
“For me, it’s opportunity,” a visibly frustrated Stanton told reporters, with the Jets languishing 11th in the standings. “Today, I think everyone thinks you get opportunities handed to you. You actually have to go and grab it, and they’ve actually been given one.
“I’ve backed them and put my neck on the line to give them a chance. You actually have to go and take it. I’ve seen bits and pieces from it, but you can’t take your time. You get your moment and you have to take it.
“This is different mate. This will be a ruthless industry for them at some stage, for me, for everyone so you have to take your chance. I think some of them think there will be more chances down the track. There won’t be them if you don’t take them now.
“They have the moment, they need to seize the moment, they need to go for it.”
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Stanton added: “Do you want to win? How badly do you want to play for this club?
“I get really frustrated because my expectations are high for the players. I believe in them and I’m willing to stick my neck out for them but at some stage, they have to start paying the price for these mistakes and also they have to pay the price to be here.
“You have to earn the right to be here and some of them aren’t doing it at the moment. This is their moment, their time – they need to grab it and grab it soon.”
Victory boss explains Arzani exchange: ‘He just needs to trust himself’
Melbourne Victory head coach Patrick Kisnorbo had some advice for star Daniel Arzani after Sunday’s 2-0 win over struggling Perth Glory.
It was a routine evening for last season’s Grand Finalists Victory, who stayed second in the standings thanks to goals from Zinedine Machach and Adama Traore at AAMI Park.
Socceroo Arzani was in the thick of the action throughout before he was substituted in the 77th minute. After his withdrawal, the 25-year-old was involved in a colourful exchange with boss Kisnorbo.
Asked about the moment, Kisnorbo told reporters: “One of our main things with Daniel is he gets into some great positions.
“Sometimes I think he just needs to trust himself. Sometimes he does too much.
“We know he is very technically good but he needs to trust himself in areas of the pitch where he can maybe pass quicker or get a shot off.”
Work ‘behind the scenes’ helps end a Mariner’s drought
Alou Kuol went 16 games without a goal before scoring twice to lead two-time reigning champions Central Coast Mariners to a 2-1 win over 10-man Sydney FC in Gosford on Sunday.
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The 23-year-old forward was at the centre of all the big talking points against Sydney – he was the player fouled by Sydney FC goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares just before half-time – an indiscretion that earned the Sky Blues debutant a straight red card in the first Isuzu UTE A-League game of his career.
After the game, Mariners head coach Mark Jackson praised the talented Australian, who was previously on the books of German side Stuttgart.
“He is a player who works immensely hard for the team. It’s always difficult when strikers are going through a lean spell,” said Jackson.
“But we’ve been working behind the scenes with him. We’ve been talking about his positions in the box, his commitment and belief – one of them things, that belief he is going to score.
“I thought the two goals were fantastic today. Fully deserved from a very good performance from although it’s an individual but it’s never about any individual for us.
“It’s about the team and the collective. I was delighted with the effort tonight.”
The Mariners have now won back-to-back games to sit seventh in the standings, only adrift of sixth-placed Sydney on goal difference.
