John Greco

6 years ago

Paper Talk: Victory’s Honda receives incredible reception

He might have been wearing the colours of Melbourne Victory but Keisuke Honda got a rousing reception from fans in Sydney in Round 5 of the Hyundai A-League.

Elsewhere, Newcastle Jets attacker Jason Hoffman has drawn comparisons to a global superstar, while some Wanderers fans made quite an impression on their Jets counterparts.

It’s all in this week’s A-League Paper Talk!

TALKING POINTS: Superstar quality shines across Hyundai A-League
READ: Hyundai A-League Team of the Week: Round 5
WATCH FOR FREE: How to watch the Hyundai A-League LIVE and FREE

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Honda given rousing Sydney reception

There aren’t many times an opposition player is mobbed by fans outside the stadium after scoring the winning goal to sink the home side but it happened on Sunday at Jubilee Stadium.

In incredible scenes, Melbourne Victory’s marquee man Keisuke Honda was mobbed by Japanese fans after helping his side to a 2-1 win over Sydney FC in the Big Blue.

Hundreds of fans from his home country waited more than an hour after fulltime to get a glimpse of their hero, congregating around Victory’s team bus for Honda to emerge.

And when he did Honda received an amazing reception with fans chanting and cheering his name, clamoring to get a close-up look of the 32-year-old.

“He’s the utmost professional in the way he carries himself, in the way he looks after himself. He arrived back (from being away with Cambodia) Thursday morning, he was on the training ground by one o’clock,” Victory boss Kevin Muscat said of the Japanese star.

“He came in, did a recovery and looked after himself, trained with the team Friday and flew up here with us and he had a huge influence on the game. It was a pleasure to watch.”

  Milestones recognised for Sky Blues duo

While they ultimately ended on the wrong end of the result, Sunday’s clash against Victory was still a special occasion for Sydney FC pair Milos Ninkovic and Brandon O’Neill.

The duo were both presented with commemorative frames by Chairman Scott Barlow for making 100 appearances for the club in all competitions.

It was a nice touch by the Sky Blues for two players who have been integral members of the team’s success over the last couple of seasons.

Hoffman is Newcastle Jets’ ‘Queen’

Jason Hoffman’s impressive mustache as part of ‘Movember’ is not only doing great things for charity but also drawn comparisons to one of the greatest singers in the history of music.

Hoffman scored the opening goal in the Jets’ hard-fought 2-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers on Friday night, leaping off the ground and punching the air in celebration.

And according to Jets CEO Lawrie McKinna, the ‘Hoff’s’ celebration looked eerily similar to Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.

We’re not sure what Hoffman’s vocal skills are like but we can certainly see the resemblance.

Reds go into bat for Ilso

There was some conjecture over whether Adelaide United’s third goal in their 3-1 win over Wellington Phoenix on Saturday was scored by the Reds’ Ken Ilso or an own goal from defender Tom Doyle.

But to put the matter to rest, the Reds went to great lengths on their Twitter account to prove it was their man Ilso who got the final touch for his second goal of the match.

And with support like that, the Danish attacker will be keen to keep banging in the goals for Marco Kurz’s in-form side.

Wanderers fans classy gesture to Jets supporters

There was a nice touch by a couple of Western Sydney Wanderers fans prior to Friday night’s clash with the Jets at Spotless Stadium.

Two Jets supporters were about to purchase tickets to the match when they were given two freebies by a couple of Wanderers fans who had some spares.

With the Jets going on to record a confidence-boosting 2-0 win, it turned out to be quite a night for the pair from the Hunter.

A-League Men
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