Five games of fixtures kept the entertainment flowing through an action-packed Saturday afternoon of A-Leagues football.
KEEPUP followed along LIVE to bring you all the goals, highlights, up to date scores and biggest talking points from a blockbuster day in the A-Leagues.
RESULTS
- Melbourne Victory 0-2 Perth Glory
Liberty A-League, AAMI Park
REPORT: Finals-chasing Glory stun Victory in ALW
- Newcastle Jets 2-2 Western Sydney Wanderers
Liberty A-League, No. 2 Sportsground. Kick-off: 5.05pm AEDT
REPORT: Jets snatch draw at the death in ALW clash
- Wellington Phoenix 1-1 Sydney FC
Isuzu UTE A-League, Leichhardt Oval. Kick-off: 5.05pm AEDT
REPORT: Phoenix and Sydney share the spoils in ALM
- Macarthur FC 4-1 Adelaide United
Isuzu UTE A-League, Campbelltown Stadium
REPORT: Dávila inspires Bulls to 4-1 win over Reds
- Melbourne Victory 1-0 Central Coast Mariners
Isuzu UTE A-League, AAMI Park
REPORT: Velupillay snatches crucial Victory win
REACTION
‘Never seen it in my career’ – Cummings laments pattern of late Mariners collapses
For the third game in a row, a goal conceded by the Mariners in the 90th minute and beyond has cost Nick Montgomery’s side valuable points in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Central Coast looked set to take a point from their clash with Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park until Nishan Velupillay arrived off the bench to change the game, heading home Chris Ikonomidis’ cross from close range to put the hosts ahead in the fourth minute of added time.
REPORT: Velupillay snatches crucial Victory win
In the two games prior to Saturday night’s heartbreaker, the Mariners leaked last-gasp equalisers to cough up a possible six points and emerge with two. On Saturday night they were left scratching their heads once more trying to figure out exactly what is behind the bad habit of conceding late goals.
Striker Jason Cummings says it’s a “stinker” of a trait the Mariners need to iron out as soon as possible.
“I (cannot) put my finger on it,” he told Paramount+ post-game. “That’s three games in a row now we’ve conceded in the 90th minute.
“I’ve never seen it in my career. I don’t know what it is, we need to learn, we’ve obviously not learned from the last two.
“I don’t know if its game management, fitness, I’m not sure but we need to have a look at it again and we need to sort it (quickly). For the majority of spells of the game we were probably the better team today, and I just feel sorry for the boys, but at the end of the day it’s our fault.”
Cummings added: “I don’t think they deserved to win – and I don’t think we deserved to win either. It was a bit of a stale game, and to concede last minute like that was just (a) stinker.”
Velupillay adds to early-season heroics – but this time it means more
“It was a performance of two teams without confidence, without a win in recent matches, and the display really showed that – but it was a substitution that made all the difference: Nishan Velupillay.
“He was fantastic from the moment he came on, and really changed the game.”
The post-match words of Paramount+ co-commentator Daniel McBreen summed it up best.
Nishan Velupillay, the boyhood Victory fan who scored his debut goal in a 2-1 Original Rivalry triumph in December, 2021, was at it again off the bench on Saturday night, causing all sorts of problems for a tiring Mariners defence before finally breaching the dam wall with a 94th-minute winner in front of his home fans.
He wheeled off in celebration in front of the ecstatic Victory faithful – the very same crowd he once sat amongst as a young fan of the club dreaming of one day crossing the white line in navy blue and white.
His key impact against Adelaide United on the road was a special moment – but scoring at the death in front of an adoring crowd at AAMI Park is what Velupillay says made the moment all the more sweeter.
“Probably this one (was better) because of the home fans,” Velupillay told Paramount+ post-match. “The atmosphere is still electric. It was good to get the win because we needed it after a bit of a rocky period. Hopefully we can push on from here.
“It’s obviously hard, we’ve played a lot of games in a short period of time but these are the kind of games you have to grind through and find a way to win, and thankfully we did that today.
“(The win will make) a big difference. We haven’t been low on confidence at all, we still trust in our game style but it will give us definitely something to push on (with) from here.”
‘I was really emotional’ – Apostolakis reflects on ‘amazing’ day of highs and lows
At just 15 years of age, Alexia Apostolakis has plenty more to learn as her football career continues to blossom.
But a dramatic afternoon at No. 2 Sportsground defined by moments of pain and joy for the teenage defender will help to fast-track Apostolakis’ development at the Wanderers.
Leading 1-0 in the second half, Apostolakis was at fault for the Jets equaliser, fouling Ashlee Brodigan in the box before Elizabeth Eddy stepped forward to bury her strike home from the spot.
But Apostolakis hadn’t yet made her final impact on proceedings. Heading forward for an attacking set piece, she lost her marker to find herself in space to dispatch a loose ball into the top-right corner and restore Western Sydney’s lead.
In the process Apostolakis became the club’s youngest ever Liberty A-League goalscorer.
“Honestly, it was such an amazing feeling,” Apostolakis told Paramount+ post-match, speaking with confidence and poise beyond her years.
“I was really emotional – especially after conceding the penalty. I felt I really needed to get one back, I’m really relieved and happy that I kept going to the end.”
Unfortunately for Apostolakis and the Wanderers, her impact wasn’t to be the decisive one, with Ashlee Brodigan’s last-gasp equaliser for the Jets ensuring the points were shared at No. 2 Sportsground.
The result eventually will fade from memory – but what won’t be soon forgotten was the impact of a 15-year-old Wanderers star who properly introduced herself to the footballing world on Saturday afternoon.
“(Shes) definitely a future star,” said Paramount+ co-commentator Leah Blayney post-match. “How she handled herself after that interview, I touched on the fact she’s responsible for that penalty and to answer with a goal back – superb.”
Blayney added: “She definitely is (going to learn from this). The highs and lows of football were on display for this young kid, and her reaction to come back and score a goal for her team says it all.”
‘Inspired substitutions’ from Perth expose Victory as ‘one-half team’
Melbourne Victory star Alex Chidiac says her side’s tired second-half display in a 2-0 defeat to Perth Glory brought a common issue to light Victory have struggled with all season: maintaining their intensity from minute one to 90.
REPORT: Finals-chasing Glory stun Victory in ALW
Chidiac refused to use the packed February schedule as an excuse for her side, who played for the third time in seven days on Saturday afternoon.
Instead the fringe Matildas midfielder lamented her side’s inability to remain switched on from start to finish in games – a fact exposed by Perth’s two decisive goals scored within four minutes in a result at AAMI Park.
“We’ve just got to switch on in these second halves,” Chidiac told Paramount+ post-match. “We’ve been talking about it, that we’ve been a one-half team, and we really need to pick it up at the end of the season.”
After a 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets in early February, Victory head coach Jeff Hopkins expressed his disappointment at his side’s drop in intensity in the second half, stating it was a common theme in his pre and post-game discussions with his side.
BELOW: Hopkins discusses Victory’s drop in intensity in the second half of his side’s 1-0 win over Newcastle on February 8:
Victory weren’t made to pay on that day, but it was a different story against a Glory side hungry to steal the reigning champions’ spot in the top four.
The difference in approach from both Perth and Victory in the second half of their Saturday-afternoon clash said it all: locked at 0-0 a hungry Perth Glory got on the front foot, going all out for the three points they so desperately needed with three quick-fire substitutions from head coach Alex Epakis.
“The inspired substitutions from Perth Glory, the inclusion of Lisa De Vanna – that just really turned things around, and switched the energy levels,” said Paramount+ co-commentator Grace Gill post-game.
“From there it was just all Perth Glory.”
Epakis’ ambitious substitutions payed dividends for Perth.
Off the bench came Lisa De Vanna, Aideen Keane and Leena Khamis – three attacking substitutions – and the impact was telling, with Khamis scoring the sealer minutes after Perth carved out a 1-0 lead from a scrappy corner routine.
The experienced Khamis – a mid-season recruit for Epakis’ side – expressed her delight at Glory’s ability to turn it on in the second half and notch a result which could prove pivotal in the race for a spot in the top four.
Glory now sit one point behind Glory in fourth, and three points behind both Adelaide United and Melbourne City in first and second respectively.
“Brilliant, (I’m) just super excited,” Khamis told Paramount+ post-match. “We know we needed to win this came to stay alive in the fight for the top four, and we did it. Credit to every single player on the field and off the field.
“We knew we needed a goal to win. We had a good first half, we fought well, we were in everything, we were unlucky with some chances – and we just needed to go for it. So we went for it.”
