Heskey for England! Bridge scores! Miller needs a zinho! The Scout picks his team of the week for Round 4.
Heskey for England! Bridge scores! Miller needs a zinho! The Scout picks his team of the week for Round 4.
Goalkeeper: Ante Covic – The Wanderers stopper was in fine form against champions Brisbane, and played a huge part in marshalling the hugely impressive Western Sydney backline. Never flustered and always ready to pull off important saves, Covic was one of Tony Popovic-s most astute pick-ups when he was building his team.
Defender: Cassio – In his 100th Hyundai A-League game the now-naturalised Australian Brazilian put in a massive performance against the Phoenix, topped off by a rampaging run and ever-so-slightly offside goal. But go on – 100 games – you-ve got to give him something.
Defender: Michael Beauchamp – Another standout from the Wanderers backline, the sometime Socceroo swatted back Brisbane Roar like they were North Queensland Fury. If Popa wanted a mini-me in his backline, he looks to have picked the right man.
Defender: Trent Sainsbury – Wilko? Who-s Wilko? We-ve got Trent. Trento. Or should it be Saino? Either way, the young Central Coast centreback is proving a more than adequate replacement for the departed Mariners skipper. Why were Melbourne Heart so poor in front of goal? Because Saino didn-t give them a sniff.
Midfielder: Mark Milligan – There is obviously some way to go for Ange-s Victory team but Milligan is proving a rock in front of the defence. He contained the Jets throughout the first half and provided a platform for Melbourne-s mobile forwards to start their attacks. He couldn-t stop Emile Heskey grabbing a brace – but then nobody-s perfect.
Midfielder: Liam Miller – Is Liam Miller the most unheralded midfielder in the competition? Perhaps if he had a “-ski” or “-zinho” at the end of his name he might get the credit he deserves for pulling the strings in Perth-s powerful midfield, despite an unlucky loss to Sydney.
Midfielder: Youssouf Hersi – The Dutchman certainly picked the right game to show A-League fans what he can do. Granted, there wasn-t a goal at the end of it, but Hersi was a livewire for the Wanderers and gave the Brisbane midfielders and defenders something other to do than just pass-pass-pass… Yawn!
Midfielder: Brett Emerton – Where has Emmo been hiding? Stories in the press this weekend have suggested he-s been a “hero” for Sydney FC for playing through injury last season. The Scout-s not quite sure about his hero status but this full-strength Emmo is certainly more enjoyable than the Brett Lite we had to swallow last year.
Attack: Mark Bridge – There you go. There. You. Go. See, Bridgey? Can-t you do that every week? Bustling, hassling, chasing, pressuring and even bagging a goal. Bridge has the tools; he just seems to have mislaid his tool bag. Popa better keep him busy!
Attack: Emile Heskey – “Heskey for England” the Pommie papers exclaimed. Can you get sarcasm is newspaper headlines? Whatever they think of Heskey and whatever his history, the big man is proving a hit for the Jets. Is it him? Is it us? If he keeps banging ‘em in, who cares.
Attack: Paul Ifill – The Scout saw a comment on Twitter this weekend that said if Paul Ifill had played for Melbourne Victory or Sydney FC, he wouldn-t have been called the A-League-s finest import. Perhaps he needs a “-ski” or a “-zinho” at the end of his name – but the Phoenix forward did everything to pull his team back into a game they shouldn-t have been losing. The man-s a giant. An Ifill Tower.
