The goals flowed like water in Round 22 of the Hyundai A-League, highlighted by a drama-packed close to the weekend as Melbourne City played out a five-goal thriller with Perth Glory.
The series of scoring sprees commenced on Friday night as Brisbane Roar polished off Western Sydney Wanderers 3-1, while Western United also went for the jugular with a 5-1 drubbing of Adelaide United.
Not to be outdone, Sydney FC also posted big numbers as they downed Melbourne Victory 4-1 in the Big Blue, while Wellington Phoenix were clinical in a 3-1 result over Central Coast Mariners.
But with so much great football on show, how do we whittle it down to eleven players for the Team of the Week?
Read on to find out who made it in our 4-4-2 formation.
Goalkeeper
Tom Glover (Melbourne City)
Melbourne City survived an almighty storm from Perth Glory on Sunday night and they would not have emerged with a famous 3-2 win had it not been for Glover’s excellence.
The Olyroos ‘keeper made a good stop from Bruno Fornaroli in the first half, and in the second, Glover consistently thwarted the red-hot reigning Premiers. The highlight was a miraculous acrobatic stop to parry Fornaroli’s volley onto the crossbar in the 90th minute.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6139427592001
Defenders
Josh Risdon (Western United)
The Hyundai A-League record for assists in a match is four, but Risdon came close to matching that as he set-up three goals for his side at Coopers Stadium.
The right fullback was irrepressible as he led his side with 68 touches and few were better than his assists – twice playing pin-point squaring balls for Besart Berisha while also deftly nodded across goal to set-up Max Burgess.
Defensively he was just as relentless as he won all three of his tackle attempts and also won a match best eight of 12 duels.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6139242933001
Macauley Gillesphey (Brisbane Roar)
Roar were dominant in their win over the Wanderers and it was built on the back of a solid defensive showing from the back three – and Gillesphey was the pick of the bunch.
The Englishman laid the foundation for their attack with a match high 99 touches and 81 passes, while he also got forward enough to fire off a trio of shots.
Off the ball he was just as solid as he won eight of 10 duels and made three clearances as he complemented his fellow defenders Tom Aldred and Scott Neville to effectively stifle the Wanderers across the 90 minutes.
Rostyn Griffiths (Melbourne City)
The City veteran’s opening goal in Sunday’s 3-2 thriller feels is a mere footnote considering the drama that followed. And even though City barely held on to their lead against Perth in the second half, Griffiths’ leadership and courage shone and helped his teammates escape with the three points.
Griffiths is technically playing out of position at centre back but you would not have for one moment realised it at HBF Park. He made three key clearances and three interceptions to keep Perth at bay before being substituted with cramp.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6139414948001
Liberato Cacace (Wellington Phoenix)
Taking the pitch in his 50th Hyundai A-League game, the Kiwi international again proved electric at left fullback to drive his side to a third straight win.
He marked his 50-up anniversary with his side’s opening goal with a cool slotted finish on the angle, but that was just the icing on the cake in another strong performance.
On the ball he notched 85 touches in his 90 minutes against the Mariners. While off it, he won three of four tackles and 9 of 11 duels to stifle the Mariners’ advances.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6139406305001
Midfielders
Jay O’Shea (Brisbane Roar)
Just when it looked like it might never come, Brisbane’s prime creator finally got his maiden Hyundai A-League goal against Western Sydney Wanderers on Friday night.
O’Shea took five shots on the night including a first-half effort from a free kick which cannoned off the upright before he stepped up to the spot to score the sealing goal in an impressive 3-1 win.
O’Shea was at his creative best all night, laying nine crosses including the delivery which led to Brisbane scoring their first goal just three minutes into the contest; he created two goal-scoring chances on a night where his 71 passes came off at an accuracy of over 91%.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6138968693001
Anthony Caceres (Sydney FC)
A largely unsung hero with his high work rate and positioning this season, Caceres brought the Sydney fans to their feet with his stunning strike in the Big Blue.
Cutting inside from the right, Caceres guide his firm-yet-curling effort through the traffic and in-off-the-post to give his side the lead against their long-time rivals.
It capped off a typically strong night from the 27-year-old, as he won seven of 15 duels and won his side three fouls in an at-times rugged battle.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6139253984001
Matti Steinmann (Wellington Phoenix)
The central midfielder played a key role as Ufuk Talay’s side returned from Gosford with the three points in a clinical performance on Sunday afternoon.
Dominant in the central third, Steinmann was a crucial link in the Phoenix transition in a hard-working performance that saw him amass 95 touches, while he completed an astounding 91.1% of his match-best 79 passes.
Alessandro Diamanti (Western United)
We are quickly running out of superlatives for the Italian legend who again proved the master puppeteer as he pulled the strings in midfield for his side’s win over the Reds – adding an assist to his well-taken first-half goal.
He completed 68.3% of his 41 passes to go along with 64 touches and while he played in Connor Pain’s second half strike, he was also instrumental in his side’s opener by picking out Josh Risdon with a peach of a pass through the Reds lines.
And like nearly everything he does his goal was perfectly timed, coming just minutes after the Reds levelled to commence his side’s resulting rampage.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6139234074001
Forwards
Scott McDonald (Brisbane Roar)
Scott McDonald was a constant thorn in the Wanderers’ side as he tormented the Red and Black in a damaging performance at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
McDonald scored his first two goals for the club in the first half of action, showing the best of his poaching abilities with the pair of close-range finishes.
The 36-year-old created a game-high five chances to go with his own two goals in his best game in Brisbane colours to date.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6138951619001
Besart Berisha (Western United)
The Hyundai A-League’s all-time leading goal scorer added Adelaide to his list of bunnies to bookend his side’s five-goal rampage at Coopers Stadium and take his tally against the Reds to 21 goals all told.
Both were textbook ‘number 9’ finishes as he perfectly timed runs into space to twice latch on to passes from Josh Risdon and convert a pair of composed finishes.
The haul marks his second straight brace and his fifth of the season.
