These are the key talking points from Round 23 in the Isuzu UTE A-League as Western United enjoyed a memorable homecoming and Melbourne Victory claimed bragging rights in the Derby.
Glory sensation compared to Socceroo as another young gun earns more plaudits
Nestory Irankunda was not the scoresheet but the Bayern Munich-bound star was in the thick of the action as resurgent Adelaide United made it three straight wins with a wild 4-2 victory at Perth Glory on Sunday.
Irankunda backed up a history-making hat-trick with a pair of assists for Adelaide, who are eighth in the standings after overturning a two-goal deficit but could move within three points of the top six should they win their game in hand.
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The Reds will be without Irankunda in 2024-25 as the 18-year-old young gun prepares to link up with German giants Bayern at the end of the campaign.
Adelaide head coach Carl Veart was asked if he was worried about Irankunda’s departure and how it will impact the squad and he told reporters: “He is a quality young player.
“He’s developed a lot over this season. He still has a lot more developing to go. That’s all we can do. We ask him to work hard and keep improving his game.
“The last few weeks a lot of people have seen a big difference. We know what he can do and have a lot of belief in him. We have to make the most of what we have left with him.
“It will be a long time before we witness another player like him coming through. But we have some good young boys at the club too who are waiting to take that step.”
Meanwhile, Perth Glory counterpart Alen Stajcic heaped praise on exciting prospect Daniel Bennie.
Stajcic cut a dejected figure post-match after watching Perth cough up a two-goal advantage to slip to the bottom of the table with three rounds remaining.
“Our defence was not good today, poor,” he said. “Really poor, probably the poorest it’s been other than the Mariners game away. Not just execution but some efforts as well.
“Execution is one thing but poor effort is another thing. It’s unacceptable and not something we want to build this team on.”
But Stajcic did heap praise on Bennie after the 17-year-old provided a pair of assists for captain and Socceroos forward Adam Taggart.
“He is just learning and improving,” said Stajcic. “Physically he is supreme. He reminds me a little bit of Brett Emerton in his physicality, his engines and his speed.
“There’s lots of things in his game to improve for sure but he certainly has some good materials to work with. His effort is 10/10. He is such a top kid. He is always willing to work and always working hard. He is always staying back after training and doing extras.
“He really is a 10/10 model young player for an Australian kid. I’m really happy (he) is part of our team. Really happy he is improving. I’m sure he will have ups and downs week to week… he really is such a top kid to have in the team. We’re blessed to have him.”
Rudan’s shot across the city ahead of Sydney Derby
“Perception is an interesting thing”, according to Western Sydney Wanderers boss Marko Rudan.
Rudan was fronting the media after Western Sydney crashed to a 2-1 win at home to Brisbane Roar on Friday night.
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Marcus Antonsson saw his 91st-minute penalty saved by Macklin Freke as the sixth-placed Wanderers winless run at CommBank Stadium stretched to five matches.
Western Sydney have 34 points from 24 games, one point less than Sydney FC.
The subject of star pair Lachlan Brook and Nicolas Milanovic departing to link up with the Olyroos for the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup was put to Rudan and he used it to stoke the fire ahead of Saturday’s Derby away to Sydney.
“Its been the story of our season,” he said of Brook and Milanovic leaving for international duty. “We’ve had a lot of mishaps and a lot of chopping and changing.
“It’s been that kind of a season yet we still have 34 points. We still have the same amount of points as our rivals who we play next week, yet apparently they’re the best team in the competition. Perception is an interesting thing.
“You have a team four points below us. I watched the game on Tuesday (Central Coast Mariners against Melbourne City) and they (City) had about 300 Socceroos caps on the bench.
“That’s not us, we’re a different team this season yet we have 34 points and a lot to play for.”
Jets coach’s reaction to contentious red card
In the words of Newcastle Jets head coach Robert Stanton, Philip Cancar was “smart”.
Smart for being “crafty” as Sydney FC star Robert Mak was controversially sent off in Newcastle’s shock 3-1 win on Sunday.
The Jets climbed off the foot of the table with a result that snapped their nine-game winless streak but it was a drought-ending triumph overshadowed by the moment involving Newcastle defender Cancar and Slovakia international Mak eight minutes before half-time.
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Mak caught Cancar with a stray arm that led to a red card and while Stanton insisted he did not feel it was a dismissal offence, the Jets boss said the incident highlighted how his side have grown this season.
“It was good. It was smart,” Stanton said of Cancar’s behaviour after the former Livingston defender fell to the floor. “He provoked him.
“I’m not going to say anything different mate. Our boys have been provoked a lot this year and they’re learning quick.
“What you’re seeing now is a reflection on what they have learnt and copped this season. They have responded and used their brain a little bit. That’s the game – sometimes you have to be crafty. He got smart, mate. Rob should’ve known better.
“Is it a red? No. But that’s the referees call and VAR’s call. That’s nothing to do with the players.
“He did something, don’t react. That’s it. I don’t have a problem with it to be honest. I don’t encourage that but I did say to him ‘start something’ because we had a player who needed to change his shoes. But I didn’t know he’d start that when I turned my back. It wasn’t a red card so for me there was nothing in it. I don’t know why it got to that point.”
Sydney missed the chance to cement their spot in the top four ahead of the Derby against Western Sydney Wanderers.
On the incident involving Mak and Cancar, Sky Blues boss Ufuk Talay told reporters: “Whether it’s a red card or not that’s a different story at the end of the day. The disappointing part is the opposition player (Cancar) doesn’t even get booked.
“He’s the one that initiated the head-to-head at first, he’s the one that pushes him and baits him into that.
“I think Robbie (Mak) isn’t even looking at him when he waves his arm to tell him to go away.”
How Western United overpowered the Bulls: ‘You can’t stop us’
It was like a tsunami in Tarneit on Saturday afternoon. A sea of green and black shirts attacked Macarthur FC’s penalty area in a second-half comeback.
Trailing 2-0 in their first Isuzu UTE A-League fixture at the Regional Football Facility, Western scored four goals in 17 minutes to stun the Bulls and cap an historic afternoon in Melbourne’s west despite losing Brazilian star Daniel Penha to injury at half-time.
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Western head coach John Aloisi was not surprised by the four-goal performance as the Socceroos legend explained how his side dismantled Macarthur to catapult themselves off the foot of the table with four games to play.
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“(It) didn’t surprise me,” Aloisi said of his team scoring four goals in 17 minutes. “I said at the beginning of the season, we’re creating chances and there’s going to be a time when we score goals and we’re going to score a lot of goals.
“Because I played the game and have been involved in the game for so long, I know how important (it is) having (the) crowd with you and having a rectangular stadium that is yours, how much of a lift it can give players. We were finding energy from other places.
“The reason we scored four because we scored one, crowd lifts, scored another one and the crowd lifts again. Then all of a sudden, you can’t stop us because the players then start to believe. We were relentless after.
“I’m so happy for the club because I know how much work has gone into this.”
When it was put to Aloisi if it was simplistic to say Western would be further up the ladder if they had been playing out of their Tarneit home for the entire season, he replied: “It’s not simplistic, it’s guaranteed we would.
“I can’t change it now. We can only look at the present and the future, and enjoy. We’re here.
“I have played in stadiums with teams that have been 2-0 at home and then come back… one that was clear with me which I was on the wrong side of the Wanderers at Parramatta Stadium in a major Semi-Final. We were 3-0 up Brisbane Roar and the crowd pushed them home to win 5-4.
“That’s what we have to create here. I think it was a good step today because you saw everyone really got behind the team.”
What does the future hold for Tony Popovic?
Melbourne Victory claimed bragging rights with a late 2-1 win over rivals Melbourne City in Saturday night’s Melbourne Derby at AAMI Park, where attention soon turned to head coach Tony Popovic.
Damien Da Silva was the hero with his 86th-minute winner as third-placed Victory stayed in the hunt for the Premiers Plate.
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After the match, Popovic was asked about his future in Melbourne, where the Socceroos great is out of contract at the end of the season and yet to re-sign.
Pressed on his future in a post-match press conference, he said: “This result or last week doesn’t change anything for me.
“Maybe it changes it from your perspective or how it looks if we didn’t have the results. Nothing changes for me.
“We’re more delighted that we’ve won the games recently but my personal situation, which is a lot more complex – not in terms of the football but in terms of personally where my family is situated all over the world at the moment.
“There’s many things to consider. “
Popovic continued: “The results don’t change anything in terms of the process and plan we have moving forward. We just want to keep winning… keep pushing for that title.”
Pre-game moment that helped inspire the Mariners
Defending champions Central Coast Mariners are in the box seat for their first Premiership since 2012 thanks to Saturday’s thrilling 2-1 win over rivals Wellington Phoenix.
A moment of brilliance from Mikael Doka in the first minute of stoppage time helped the Mariners leapfrog the Phoenix atop the table on games won in 2023-24.
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Reflecting on Central Coast’s 14th win of the season, head coach Mark Jackson provided an insight into how the team strayed from their usual pre-game methods to prepare for the top-of-the-table showdown.
“Just to paint you a story before the game,” he said after the match. “Normally we do a lot of work tactically pre-match but all we did as a group of staff, we discussed it and we showed an array of goals that we have produced this season.
“All about our principles, our behaviours and things like that. Sometimes when you don’t look back on things and the goals, you forget how good that group of players have been this season and what they’ve created and how they’ve scored the goals.
“Mikael Doka was in that with a couple of goals as well.
“… we want to achieve much, much more. we know we can push on and strive to improve.”
There was a lot of love and respect between Jackson and Phoenix boss Giancarlo Italiano following the battle in Gosford.
Italiano also added: “I was just reading some of their value statements like won’t back down and you can tell there’s a real good spirit in the team, similar to us.”
