Two goals was enough for all the victors in last weekend’s action, with three of the four home teams getting up and Melbourne City unable to send David Villa out a winner.
Western Sydney and Brisbane Roar both sat the round out as the Wanderers were otherwise engaged in claiming the AFC Champions League title. Unfortunately this match will not contribute to points later in the season.
Sky Blues’ Sasa Ognenovski topped the round for points with a cheeky deflection to go along with a clean sheet.
Striker Jamie Maclaren was not far behind with a double off the bench in Glory’s comeback win after Jeronimo Neumann had notched his first goal in Jets colours.
The Socceroos and Olyroos squads for upcoming internationals were both announced this week so astute managers will have an eye on the future in order to ensure they have the squad depth to cover their absences.
The big news is that Melbourne City have signed Socceroo Josh Kennedy as their Australian marquee for the next two seasons. Â
He’ll eventually replace the aforementioned David Villa (who is a must in the transfer exit lounge this week) up front but won’t arrive until the New Year.
Star man
Vedran Janjetovic ($267,000)Â The Sydney FC goalkeeper made a spectacular double save to deny the Mariners after they’d been awarded a penalty. His heroics ensured a clean sheet and his side banked the three points.
Dud of the week
Mitch Duke ($228,000) The Central Coast striker was the culprit when the referee pointed to the spot at Allianz Stadium – the 23-year-old was not without his chances throughout the match but wasn’t able to convert.
Bargain buy
Jamie Maclaren ($260,000) The Glory super-sub pushed his case for a permanent spot up front alongside Andy Keogh with his two goals condemning Newcastle to another loss and seeing his price swell.
Coach killer
Adrian Leijer ($176,000) The Victory defender received a red card for his ill-discipline in his side’s mid-week Westfield FFA Cup loss and ruling him out of an already decimated squad for their Round 4 clash.
Pick of the week
Terry Antonis ($242,000) They say good things come in threes so we’re banking on the Sydney FC midfielder to make it a trifecta this weekend. The 20-year-old was this week named the NAB Young Footballer of the Year nominee for October and was included in the upcoming Socceroos squad – another wonder-goal beckons!
Scout’s XI
The Scout has been active in the transfer market this season but with a cap being placed on personnel changes over the whole season we’re putting our faith in the same squad to score highly again this week.
Instead we’ve gone to our bench and a change in formation to mix things up.
Besart Berisha looks to have overcome his injury troubles and takes his place up front. We’re confident Bes will wreak havoc against a struggling Jets defence, so he also regains the captain’s armband.
Thomas Broich and Antony Golec both come into the side after they were forced to sit out the last round with their teams not in action.
We’re expecting big things from the reigning Johnny Warren medalist Broich, in the week we remembered ten years since the Aussie football legend’s passing.
Similarly we’re banking on Golec to bring some of the starch we’ve seen in the ACL from the Wanderers defence to domestic action – we just hope he keeps his feet in the box!
Muscat, Ben Khalfallah and De Silva all drop to the bench but may be called upon if there are any late injuries or Alex Gersbach misses due to his HSC commitments – good luck in your exams son!
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