Matt Dorman

7 years ago

‘Cracking start’: E-League Round 1 wrap

The inaugural E-League season launched in style on Thursday night as Australia’s finest FIFA 18 exponents showcased their skills in an entertaining opening round.

Streamed live on Twitch and Fox Sports, each Hyundai A-League club was represented by one player on Xbox and another on PlayStation 4.

The two-legged format saw Western Sydney Wanderers climb to the summit after the first of nine competition weeks.

Read on for how the first taste of E-League action played out and view the ladder at the bottom of the page.

E-League Jamie ODoherty

Melbourne Victory 3-4 Brisbane Roar

  • Brisbane Roar registered the E-League’s first three points as a two-goal Xbox margin proved enough to prevail 4-3 on aggregate against Melbourne Victory.

Xbox: Mitch ‘ALCATRAZZ_2025’ Austin 1-3 James ‘iCripsy’ Williams

James Williams handled the nerves to see off Victory’s own Mitch Austin and secure a first-up 3-1 win for Brisbane.

Williams grabbed an early slice of E-League history when Lionel Messi picked out the bottom corner in the 15th minute to give Roar a 1-0 lead, only for Austin to quickly equalise through Brazilian legend Ronaldo.

But that man Messi was on hand to restore Williams’ lead just prior to the break, before Matt McKay became the competition’s first Hyundai A-League scorer to cap off the result.

PS4: Mouad ‘MuadZwed’ Zwed 2-1 Dino ‘ol_Mate_’ Flocco

A spirited Mouad Zwed came from behind to secure a 2-1 win over Roar’s Dino Flocco, but it wasn’t enough to earn a point for Victory.

Following his real-life captain’s lead, Eric Bautheac was on target early to open the scoring for Flocco.

The tie was then turned on its head in the space of 12 second-half minutes as Zwed struck twice through Ronaldo, with the impressive comeback falling only marginally short of squaring the ledger on aggregate.

Melbourne City 4-5 Sydney FC 

  • Mark Brijeski came up big for Sydney FC as his heart-stopping PS4 success made the difference in a 5-4 aggregate victory against Melbourne City.

Xbox: Marcus ‘SoccerStar07777’ Gomes 1-1 Samer ‘Samer96_’ Elbadar

Billed as the tournament’s standout star, City’s Marcus Gomes was forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with Sydney FC representative Samer Elbadar.

Gomes appeared on track when he broke the deadlock at the end of a cagey first half, Ronaldo firing home from the edge of the area for City.

Elbadar proved he was up to the contest, though, with Cristiano Ronaldo earning Sydney FC a surprise draw by finding space in the area and levelling matters soon after the restart.

E-League Marcus Gomes

PS4: Josh ‘joshingwood’ Wood 3-4 Mark ‘xMarkoHD’ Brijeski

Sydney FC’s Mark Brijeski survived a stunning fightback from Josh Wood to hold on for a nail-biting 4-3 triumph.

After the first tie left the clubs level, Brijeski fired the Sky Blues into the ascendancy with a dominant three-goal first half.

He looked to be cruising to victory until Wood launched an incredible Messi-inspired comeback, levelling the score out of nowhere.

But the City man was left heartbroken in his efforts to secure a share of the points as Brijeski recovered to grab a decisive 86th-minute winner.

Western Sydney Wanderers 5-1 Newcastle Jets

  • Western Sydney Wanderers did the double over Newcastle Jets as their pair started the season in ominous fashion.

Xbox: Joseph ‘OhNoAGoat’ Nassar 1-0 Dane ‘Bossierhickory8’ Crow

Western Sydney fan Joseph Nassar lived the supporter’s dream as he guided his club to a 1-0 win over Newcastle’s Dane Crow.

After an end-to-end opening, Crow came unstuck when Carles Puyol was shown a straight red card for a rash challenge in the area.

Cristiano Ronaldo stuck away a panenka from the resultant spot-kick and that proved enough for Nassar to open Wanderers’ account.

PS4: Rick ‘RDOUBLETTT’ Tran 4-1 Dane ‘Bossierhickory8’ Crow

Rick Tran put an emphatic seal on Western Sydney’s win by overcoming Crow and the Jets 4-1 in one of the most impressive results of the night.

Netherlands icon Ruud Gullit was the go-to player for Tran, hitting a hat-trick to go with Cristiano Ronaldo’s lone goal.

Crow, on his unpreferred console, did pull one back in the second half but it proved little more than a consolation.

Wellington Phoenix 4-7 Perth Glory

  • Peter Saisanas was the hero for Perth Glory as his massive PS4 victory consigned Wellington Phoenix to a heavy aggregate defeat.

Xbox: Justin ‘justmanutd12’ Josevski 2-1 David ‘HighFly357’ Cook

Justin Josevski produced an incredible piece of skill to get past David Cook and snatch a last-gasp 2-1 win for Phoenix in the first ‘Digital Distance Derby’.

Josevski fielded the likes of Nathan Burns and Roy Krishna in attack and it was the latter who helped make the breakthrough, supplying the through ball for Ronaldo’s delicate chip.

El Fenomeno soon turned Cook’s saviour with a superb top-corner equaliser, but the Phoenix man induced a flick-up thunderbolt from Gullit to secure victory at the death.

PS4: Christian ‘Fweshest’ Bartolillo 2-6 Peter ‘saisanas’ Saisanas

Perth’s Peter Saisanas piled on five unanswered goals on the way to a commanding 6-2 win over Christian Bartolillo of Wellington.

Bartolillo and Saisanas traded goals inside the opening half-hour, before the former restored his buffer just before the interval.

The see-sawing contest continued with former Arsenal stars Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira combing to swing the tie in Saisanas’ favour.

Henry struck again to double Glory’s advantage and give them an aggregate lead for the first time, which Saisanas cemented courtesy of another two late strikes.

Adelaide United 2-3 Central Coast Mariners

Central Coast Mariners did enough across two closely-contested matches to commence their campaign with a 3-2 aggregate win against Adelaide United.

Xbox: Jamie (FUTWIZ Jamie) O’Doherty 2-2 Matt ‘StrawHat Camels’ Camilleri

In one of the games of the night, Central Coast competitor Matt Camilleri rallied late to deny Jamie O’Doherty and Adelaide United in a 2-2 draw.

Camilleri defied his outsider status to grab an early lead through Cristiano Ronaldo, but the same man quickly replied for O’Doherty.

And the Portugal superstar looked to have completed the turnaround for O’Doherty after half-time. 

But there was drama still to come in stoppage-time as Trent Buhagiar, the night’s second of three Hyundai A-League scorers, poked home amid a scramble for Camilleri.

PS4: Zachary ‘vDreamz-Shooter’ May-Burgess 0-1 Kiran ‘KyrenFIFA’ Gupta

In round one’s tense closing encounter, Kiran Gupta earned the Mariners three points against Adelaide with a slim 1-0 win over Zachary May-Burgess.

Ronaldo came up with the all-important goal for Gupta in the second half to settle the aggregate score in Central Coast’s favour.

David de Gea starred for both sides, with Gupta’s clean sheet making the difference across a hard-fought two legs.

A-League Men
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