There wasn’t a feast of goals to be had but Round Three certainly threw up some spirited encounters. So who were the crème de la crème?
There wasn-t a feast of goals to be had but Round Three certainly threw up some spirited encounters. So who were the crème de la crème? Let-s find out with the Team of the Week.
Goalkeeper: Mark Birighitti – Newcastle Jets
He had a debut he would rather forget for the Jets, getting a straight red card, but the youngster more than made up for it against the Mariners, outpointing reigning Keeper of the Year, Mat Ryan, along the way.
While the Mariners number one wasn-t exactly at his peak, Birighitti was. The Jets keeper made a few solid saves, was committed and brave at times. The goal he conceded was the fault of his defenders and he certainly helped them to get the three points.
Defender: Dominik Ritter – Newcastle Jets
The Jets Swiss import didn-t take long to impose himself physically on the smaller Mariners attackers and he continued to have an impact throughout the match. He was strong in the air and at ground level and looked good when pressing down the left wing and linking up with Craig Goodwin.
Defender: Trent McClenahan – Sydney FC
The Sky Blues- defence has been much maligned of late and with good reason, they have been leaky since late last season, but on this night McClenahan in particular stood out. He frequently cut out a majority of the Wanderers- crossed and was consistently in the right position throughout the derby.
Defender: Antony Golec – Adelaide United
With Jon McKain still to come back into the Reds line-up, it-s a fair assessment that Golec was playing for his place in John Kosmina-s side and despite their loss to Melbourne Victory, Golec would have done his chances of keeping his spot little harm.
Under constant attack from a Victory side who were on the rampage, Golec cut out many a forward thrust and passed the ball with great accuracy out of the backline to get the Reds going on the counter.
Defender: Josh Risdon – Perth Glory
Risdon may have had Ian Ferguson drilling him about his crossing during the week, but it seems to have had an effect on the young defender.
Against Melbourne Heart every run as usual had purpose but the delivery from the wingback into the likes of Heffernan and Billy Mehmet was spot on, Risdon continues to show himself as a young player with a big future.
Midfielder: Paul Ifill – Wellington Phoenix
The Barbadian looked in much better knick this week as opposed to last when his lack of fitness was apparent to all. Employed on the left side of midfield by Ricki Herbert, Ifill was a constant threat to Brisbane Roar, his skills and ability to deliver perfect crosses for his strikers on display.
On more than one occasion he unlocked the Roar defence and was unlucky not to score himself, seeing a dipping free kick stopped by a diving Michael Theo.
Midfielder: Aaron Mooy – Western Sydney Wanderers
Yes, Mooy gave away the penalty that allowed Alessandro Del Piero to win the inaugural Sydney Derby for the Sky Blues, but his performance was tireless in attack and defence and without him the Wanderers would be lost. Invaluable when it comes to providing a spark in attack, his delivery into the box is often dangerous and his mental awareness of the game around him only further shows his natural talent, oh and his free kicks are deadly. Great all around performance.
Midfielder: Marco Rojas – Melbourne Victory
Fresh from some good performances for the All Whites against Tahiti in World Cup qualifying, Rojas continued his good start to the Hyundai A-League season, netting his second goal for the year and dominating play down the right flank for the Victory.
It appears as if Rojas is coming of age this season and if he continues in his current vein of form he will make the Victory all the more dangerous.
Attacking Midfielder: Alessandro Del Piero – Sydney FC
While he didn-t score an audacious free kick like last week when he made his Team of the Week debut, he was the reason Sydney FC took out the Sydney Derby.
His class throughout was obvious for all to see and his triangle work with Brett Emerton and Paul Reid provided some delightful passing movements, finally it was his tricky feet that proved the difference when he forced Aaron Mooy to bring him down in the box. It was a sterling performance from a true star.
Striker: Besart Berisha – Brisbane Roar
The most prolific striker in the league had plenty of chances to put the Phoenix away, only to be thwarted by Mark Paston on a few occasions before deftly finishing a one-on-one opportunity, despite the aforementioned blundered finishes, Berisha was busy and his work ethic to get back in defence was also invaluable to the Roar.
Striker: Tom Rogic – Central Coast Mariners
He may not have scored when playing as the Mariners- second striker but Rogic was the biggest threat on the park, (aside from an angry Ruben Zadkovich) and his forward thrusts were a reminder to anyone who had forgotten that Rogic is a truly class act.
The young Mariner caused havoc wherever he went throughout the F3 Derby and showed courage as well, that courage would see him leave the field with a head injury, but his performance was immense in a losing side.
Coach: Ange Postecoglou – Melbourne Victory
Finally, Ange got the points at the Victory and while he did blast his players for their poor performance against the Roar the week prior, maybe it lit a fire under them, because to be honest this was a different Victory side.
Keeping the faith in his tactic of playing it out from the back, the Victory looked pretty and got the result despite some hairy moments.
Postecoglou has tremendous belief in his style of football and gets points for sticking with it.
