THEY SAID IT: “We’ve been through a lot this year for various reasons … but we were strong as a club tonight. It was a very good night for football and a good night for Melbourne Victory” – coach Tony Popovic was thrilled after his side’s shock 3-2 derby win over Melbourne City, which was free of the fan violence that marred the previous encounter between the arch-rivals.
MAN OF THE WEEK: Wellington Phoenix had a host of stars in their 3-0 thumping of Western United in Launceston but Bozhidar Kraev was the chief architect of their dominance. The Bulgarian playmaker scored with a brilliant curling effort in the second half and had a hand in the two other goals, laying off an assist for Yan Sasse’s opener and winning the penalty that Ozkar Zawada scored to seal the points.
TALKING POINT: Should the Macarthur-Newcastle game have been called off after the second lightning delay? Players were first called off at the 14-minute mark when lightning struck close to Campbelltown Stadium. When play finally resumed 95 minutes later, it lasted just 12 minutes before more lightning forced players off again. At that stage, it looked as if the game would be called off. But the match restarted after another 32-minute delay, with the Jets going on to win 1-0. “It’s hard for the players to cool down, warm-up, then cool down and warm-up and again. That can be dangerous for them,” Bulls coach Mile Sterjovski said.
STAT ATTACK: Sydney FC star Joe Lolley’s tame effort in a 1-1 draw with Brisbane Roar was the fifth time the Sky Blues have missed from the penalty spot in six attempts this season. Wellington’s Zawada snapped his side’s run of misses from 12 yards, burying his penalty kick after four previous failures by Phoenix players throughout the campaign.
BEAT THAT: Ten-man Western Sydney looked just about shot in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Amor Layouni picked up the ball on the edge of the box and scored a dramatic equaliser in the remarkable 4-4 draw with Adelaide United. Tunisian forward Layouni made his Wanderers debut a memorable one when he skipped past two Reds defenders and found the bottom corner of the goal to ensure one of the games of the season finished all square. Adelaide had led three times and Western Sydney once in a see-sawing affair that will live long in the memory.
UNDER PRESSURE: It’s almost a weekly occurrence these days, but ALM officials are under the pump again. This time it was Perth Glory coach Ruben Zadkovich who had the whistleblowers – and VAR – in his sights after Central Coast were handed a penalty for an accidental handball from Glory defender John Koutroumbis. “Where is he supposed to put his arm? Has it gotten to the point where players actually have to remove their arms and hide them against their body?” Zadkovich moaned. The Mariners were trailing 2-0 at the time, but went on to snatch a 2-2 draw.
UP NEXT: A mouth-watering Central Coast vs Wellington match-up kicks off round 18 on Friday night, while Melbourne City will hope to bounce back from their second loss of the season when they host Sydney FC. Western Sydney host Macarthur in what shapes as an intriguing derby on Saturday night, with both sides looking to push their finals cases.
