There is plenty to play for in the Isuzu UTE A-League on Wednesday.
There are three A-League Men fixtures midweek as Melbourne Victory look to close in on the top three, while defending champions Melbourne City can move level on points with table-topping Western United.
Wellington Phoenix also have the opportunity to climb into the top six.
Read on for individual match previews of the three A-Leagues fixtures:
- Central Coast Mariners v Melbourne Victory
Isuzu UTE A-League, Central Coast Stadium. Kick-off 5.05pm AEDT
- Melbourne City v Macarthur FC
Isuzu UTE A-League, AAMI Park. Kick-off 7.05pm AEDT
- Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets
Isuzu UTE A-League, Central Coast Stadium. Kick-off 7.45pm AEDT
Victory’s confidence rising, warns D’Agostino
Steve Larkin, AAP
Melbourne Victory forward Nick D’Agostino says he’s much like his A-League Men’s club: rising in confidence.
Victory enter Wednesday night’s away fixture against Central Coast Mariners buoyed by a two-game winning streak in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
And D’Agostino’s stocks are rising after scoring a last-start brace against Macarthur FC.
“I came here to work hard and put myself in that starting contention every week and I think I am slowly doing that now,” the former Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar attacker said.
“I have had some good performances but I want to keep the consistency.
“That is the main part, just being consistent, scoring week-in, week-out and playing well and helping the team as much as possible.
D’Agostino has scored six times in his first season with Victory, who are now perched in fifth spot with 21 points from 13 games.
And the 24-year-old believed his club’s 3-1 win against the Bulls was a pointer of things to come.
“It was a top performance with and without the ball,” he said.
“With the ball, we were so dangerous and created many chances.
“And without the ball, we were just so solid.
“It was really disappointing to concede right at the end but it gives us a chance to always keep improving and keep learning and that is what we’re aiming to do.”
Victory downed the Mariners 1-0 on February 19, a fortnight after beating Central Coast 2-1 in the FFA Cup (now known as the Australia Cup) final.
But D’Agostino was under no illusions about the threat posed by the Mariners, despite them being in 10th spot with 14 points from 13 games.
“We have had a couple of tough battles,” he said.
“They come out and fight for every ball and opportunity and we have got to match that – and if we can match that, then our quality can definitely show in the end.
“They’re very, very tough to try and break down and they have got some quality players in attack, they have got a lot of firepower up front … and obviously good young defenders as well.
“We know we’re up for a battle.”
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS V MELBOURNE VICTORY
Isuzu UTE A-League
Wednesday, March 9 2022
CENTRAL COAST STADIUM
Kick-off: 5.05pm AEDT
MATCH CENTRE | HOW TO WATCH
City star Leckie sidelined again in ALM
Steve Larkin, AAP
Injured Melbourne City linchpin Mathew Leckie will miss the match against Macarthur FC.
The City dynamo suffered a groin injury in a 2-2 draw against Perth Glory last Wednesday.
But the Socceroos stalwart is tracking to soon be available, easing concern ahead of Australia’s crunch World Cup qualifier against Japan in Sydney on March 24.
“He won’t be ready for tomorrow’s game,” City head coach Patrick Kisnorbo told reporters on Tuesday.
“It’s day-by-day. He is improving which is great news.
“We need to see how he progresses.”
Leckie has been crucial to City’s rise to second on the ladder – Kisbnorbo’s outfit have 29 points from 16 games.
But they’re only seven points ahead of the fourth-placed Macarthur, who have played two games less than City in their topsy-turvy season.
The Bulls, after opening their season with a five-game unbeaten streak, then went winless for five games from December to February and suffered a 2-1 loss to Victory last-start.
And despite City’s climb to second spot, Kisnorbo is again considering replacing goalkeeping stalwart Thomas Glover with Matthew Sutton for the game at AAMI Park, where City have lost just two of nine games this campaign.
Sutton was to have replaced Glover last weekend against Wellington Phoenix but the game was postponed.
“Obviously that changed but he (Sutton) is definitely in contention for tomorrow,” Kisnorbo said, saying he was keen “to have a look” at the 22-year-old.
“I felt at the time that Sutton deserved the opportunity, again it has changed because we had no game.
“Time will tell.”
MELBOURNE CITY V MACARTHUR FC
Wednesday, March 9 2022
AAMI PARK
Kick-off: 7.05pm AEDT
MATCH CENTRE | HOW TO WATCH
Phoenix boss Talay ponders extension
Steve Larkin, AAP
Wellington Phoenix head coach Ufuk Talay says common sense should dictate an extension to the Isuzu UTE A-League season if there are further fixture disruptions.
Talay’s Phoenix are yet to hit the halfway point of their season – they’ve played 12 of 26 games ahead of their encounter against Newcastle Jets.
The Phoenix face potentially cramming half a season into a seven-week span – their last game before finals is currently slated for April 29.
Wellington have approached A-League bosses with scheduling suggestions, with Talay stopping short of openly lobbying for the season to be extended.
“I’m not really pushing for (it),” Talay told reporters.
“But I think just using common sense, there’s a backlog of games … it’s very difficult to get through those games – playing seven to nine games in a month would be very difficult.
“It’s going to be challenging and we might have use all the players that we currently have here to get through those games.
“The APL will have a look at it and if it needs to be extended, they may extend it for a week or so to make sure these fixtures are played.”
Weather-permitting, seventh-placed Wellington (18 points from 12 games) will meet the eighth-placed Jets (15 points from 13 games) at Central Coast Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Phoenix have been forced to train on synthetic turf, futsal pitches and a local park during the eastern seaboard’s big wet.
And Talay admitted having their past two fixtures postponed after a five-match undefeated stretch was frustrating.
“We had a short turnaround of five games in 14 days and (now) we had two weeks of no games,” he said.
“Obviously you can’t control Mother Nature.”
WELLINGTON PHOENIX V NEWCASTLE JETS
Wednesday, March 9 2022
CENTRAL COAST STADIUM
Kick-off: 7.45pm AEDT
MATCH CENTRE | HOW TO WATCH
