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.
Read on for all the biggest talking points from Round 12, thanks to Mitre.
BUY TICKETS TO ROUND 13 OF THE ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE!
‘Back to the drawing board’ for Chiefy as Wellington continue to stutter
Wellington Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano admitted it’s time for him to have a re-think with regards to how his ‘Nix side approach the remainder of the season.
Friday’s 2-0 loss to Melbourne City was Wellington’s fourth defeat in their last five games, leaving the 2023-24 Semi-Finalists 10th in the standings, five points outside the top six.
“At the moment we’re having difficulties,” Italiano told reporters post-game. “Just getting the starting 11 and the players that we want to mould around and just having the time to work on the things that we want to.
MATCH REPORT: City youngster’s first A-Leagues goal inspires win over Phoenix as another star struck by injury
“I don’t make excuses, we had a long pre-season. I just haven’t had the time to get all those guys that we want gelling.
“We’ve had injuries and so on or players unavailable. I still want to evolve the team that way but sometimes I have to reassess as well.
“I’m firm in my beliefs, it is about evolving. But when you have three out of four losses and you’re not controlling the middle – it might be that we have to reassess, not the intention or the philosophy, but what our starting point is and what certain players can do.”
Whilst results are the main concern for Italiano, something that will be a huge cause for concern is the lack of clear-cut chances his side are creating.
MIDWEEK FOOTBALL! Game-by-game preview: What you need to know for midweek fixtures in the Isuzu UTE A-League
Against City, Wellington mustered just one shot during the 90 minutes and while striker Kosta Barbarouses leads the Golden Boot standings with six goals this season, statistically the sides’s attacking output ranks amongst the lowest in the league.
According to Opta data, the ‘Nix rank 11th for xG (Expected goals) and 12th for big chances created across this season whilst they’re also averaging the fewest shots on target of any side in the competition.
“It’s probably not the most attractive way to play,” remarked Italiano when asked about his side’s lack of cutting edge against Melbourne City.
“I found that it would be effective, we’ve done that before against other teams and so on. It’s more about staying in the game and as the game evolves we can open up and play out what we’ve planned.
“But once you concede after however long it is (seven minutes) it puts you on the back foot.
He went on to say: “For me it’s now just about going back to the drawing board, seeing what players I have available, finding a style that suits the players.
YOUNG GUN: Archie Goodwin earns December nomination for Boost Mobile Young Footballer of the Year
“I also have to be realistic, I have to adapt to what we have available and I’m still very optimistic that we can turn it around and that really comes down to the focus of the group.
“Look at Mariners, the way they started last season. It was four games (from the opening four) where they lost and they turned it around.
“I think we’re maybe one or two performances short of turning our season around.”
The good news for Wellington is the fact three of their next four fixtures are at home, beginning with a game against in-form Adelaide United at Sky Stadium on January 11.
Stanton confident young side will learn from latest setback
Newcastle Jets head coach Rob Stanton was disappointed to have thrown away a two-goal lead against Sydney FC but remains confident his side will soon learn their lesson.
An impressive display had seen the Jets lead 2-0 at McDonald Jones Stadium until the 78th minute before goals from Joe Lolley and Anthony Caceres saw Sydney FC snatch a point from the jaws of defeat.
And while it would be easy for Stanton to bemoan his side’s lack of experience having thrown away what would have been just their third win of the season, Stanton said it’s days like these that eventually stand his side in good stead.
MATCH REPORT: Socceroo’s late stunner rescues point after Sydney overturn two-goal deficit in Newcastle
“A lot of people would sit here and say you deserved three points,” said Stanton during his post-game press conference.
BUY TICKETS TO ROUND 13 OF THE ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE!
“At the end of the day there’s no luck in football. People say luck, I don’t believe in luck.
“I believe you have to take the opportunity. You have to manage that moment, You have to recognise danger and you have to recognise opportunity. That’s the difference.
“When you are able to recognise those things, that isn’t luck or being unlucky. You either recognise it or you don’t. I think we didn’t have the experience to recognise a couple of things and we paid the price.
“It’s something I’ll address with the players but you don’t like learning lessons like that at home. so it’s a bit disappointing.
The result leaves the Jets sat in 11th position on the ladder with just seven points to their names from nine games.
The good news though is that Stanton and Co. have ample opportunity to put into practice what they’ve learned, starting with an away clash against Brisbane Roar on Tuesday night at Suncorp Stadium.
Whilst the Jets are yet to win at home this season, their two wins so far have come away from McDonald Jones Stadium and Stanton said it’s a good sign at least that the group are able to pick up wins on the road.
“From the team’s perspective they travel really well together,” said Stanton. “They enjoy each other’s company and we seem to do quite well on the road.
“We’ve got work to do here at home, as a team, building this fortress but today was a really top performance.
“I even thought against Adelaide , bar 20 minus was really, realy good, Melbourne City was really good.
AUCKLAND ACCOLADE: Auckland coach Corica goes back-to-back with second Coach of the Month award of the season
“But in saying that, it’s really important that we build an identity here, that the fans come, the style is good. But also we build a winning mentality and a winning culture as well.
“There’s going to be times where we do it really well and it happens and we’re still going through that process but you want to put smiles on the fan’s (faces) because they’re backing up every week to come so I’m grateful for them to be here.”
Diles tips ‘work in progress’ Victory to soon blow teams away
He is yet to secure a win since taking charge of Melbourne Victory on a caretaker basis but head coach Arthur Diles believes it won’t be long before his side find their clinical edge.
Diles stepped into the top job at AAMI Park following the departure of Patrick Kisnorbo and has so far drawn three and lost one of his opening four games.
The most recent result – a 2-2 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers – saw Victory snatch a point thanks to a late Ryan Teague penalty however they almost paid the price for not taking their chances, something Diles believes will soon change.
MATCH REPORT: Victory and Wanderers play out four-goal thriller in front of returning Socceroo
“It’s very close,” said Diles when asked if he thinks his side will soon begin to fire in front of goal. “Unfortunately with football, stats don’t win you games.
“You can look pretty in the stats but in the end it’s about getting the job done and putting the ball in the back of the net.
“It’s very pleasing that we get there very often and we create some good chances but in the end you’ve got to score.
“We’ll keep working on that, it’s not easy to do that, especially when team’s defend their box for dear life but we’ll keep working on that, it’s a work in progress.
“We’ve got good players in the front third that can break teams down and put us in good scoring positions and I’m sure, not too far away, there’s going to be a team that’s probably going to be on the end of a a few more than tonight.”
Whilst they may yet to have tasted Victory under their new boss the positives are that, defensively Victory still look as sound as they did under Kisnorbo.
Possessing the second best defence in the competition having conceded just 10 goals, Victory currently sit four points off league-leaders Auckland FC.
Up next for Diles and his charges is a Friday night clash against local rivals Western United at AAMI Park.
A win for Victory coupled with results elsewhere could see them finish the round sat in outright second place however they’ll certainly be made to work for a win at AAMI Park given Western United are the league’s form side.
‘He’s the future of this club’ – Zdrilic praises young attacker following impressive debut
They may have succumbed to a heart-breaking 3-2 loss to Western United in Round 12 but Perth Glory boss David Zdrilic remains upbeat in his assessment of where the side is at.
Beaten by a world-class bicycle kick from Western youngster Jordan Lauton in the dying stages, Glory find themselves sat second-last on the ladder after suffering their eighth loss of the campaign.
However, while it would be easy to criticise his side following another loss, Zdrilic instead took time out during his post-game press conference to praise some of the young players within his squad who are now cutting their teeth in the Isuzu UTE A-League – most notably 18-year-old attacker Jaylan Pearman.
MATCH REPORT: Bicycle kick STUNNER seals epic comeback as Western break Perth hearts in stoppage-time madness
BUY TICKETS TO ROUND 13 OF THE ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE!
Handed his debut by Zdrilic, Pearman took to professional football like a duck to water, impressing throughout his 60 minutes on the pitch with the highlight being his assist for Adam Taggart in the 29th minute of the contest.
“Jaylan is the future of this club and there’s other guys along with him.
“They probably would have played more time if it wasn’t for the results and just trying to find the right time to not put them under too much pressure.
“He’s been unbelievable in training. When I first came in he was in NPL (but) he’s gained strength. I think because he’s gained that strength I felt comfortable that he was able to come in and the players feel comfortable with him.
“He can link up, he’s got good technique, he’s got a great shot – you saw that with the shot that he had in the first half.
“I was just really happy that he just didn’t show any nerves really, he just went straight into it. He hasn’t played a game so he hasn’t had game practice or anything like that.
He went on to say: “The young boys… in a year or two you’re going to be talking about all these young ones but at the moment we’re just looking at results.
“We’ve got a very young team and young is fine, but they’re young players that haven’t played A-League games.
“It’s not like they’ve played a season or two of A-League, you know they started at 16 or 17 and now they’re 18 or 19 – they’re starting now.
“So they just have to ride this wave and it’s a tough situation. I think they’re going to learn a lot out of this…”
WORLD CLASS: ‘Man, this is a bit crazy!’ Western youngster’s wholesome reaction to incredible match-winner
Whilst they may be tasked with responding to another Isuzu UTE A-League defeat the good news is Zdrilic and his side don’t have long before they take to the field once again in an attempt to put things right.
Up next for Glory is a midweek trip to face Sydney FC, a side Zdrilic knows well given he spent the 2023-24 campaign working as Ufuk Talay’s assistant coach.
Elsewhere in the league, two-time reigning champions Central Coast Mariners defeated Brisbane Roar 3-1 as A-Leagues debutant Arthur De Lima earned big praise from his coach after a memorable bow. Read it here.
Meanwhile, Luka Jovanovic scored an 92nd-minute winner to lead Adelaide United past Macarthur Bulls 2-1 on Monday. This was Carl Veart’s reaction.
