Perth Glory closed in on the top six with a pair of wins in Matchweek 21, whilst Melbourne City moved to within three points of the Premiers Plate as the 2020/21 A-League regular season moved into its final act.
Perth beat Western Sydney Wanderers 5-1 and Adelaide United 2-1 to go equal with sixth-placed Brisbane Roar on 31 points – with the Wanderers sandwiched between the teams in seventh. Wellington Phoenix remain in the hunt for a Finals Series spot after drawing 2-2 with City – as do Western United, who are equal on points (28) with the Phoenix in ninth after losing 1-0 to Sydney FC on Saturday, May 15.
The Sky Blues backed up their slender win over United by beating Melbourne Victory 2-0 in the Big Blue on Wednesday, May 19. It was the second of two derby fixtures for the Matchweek after Central Coast Mariners edged Newcastle Jets 1-0 in the F3 Derby. Macarthur FC beat Victory 3-1 on Friday, May 14, while Adelaide United won just one of three Matchweek 21 fixtures: a 1-0 triumph over Brisbane Roar.
Read on to see who features in a 4-3-3 formation for Team of the Week, presented by Bunnings Warehouse.
MW21 REPORT: Glory’s finals bid gathers pace as red-hot Ikonomidis hits late winner to down Adelaide
ABC POD: Stajcic or Kisnorbo? The coach of the season debate heats up
Goalkeeper
Ryan Scott -Western United
The Western United gloveman was beaten only by a second-half Adam Le Fondre penalty on a stellar afternoon in between the sticks against the Sky Blues.
Scott made 11 saves from his 12 shots faced, keeping United in the game before a contentious penalty decision swung the game in Sydney’s favour, vanquishing the gloveman’s hopes of keeping a well-deserved clean sheet at MARS Stadium.
READ: A-League’s highest appearance-maker Andrew Durante announces retirement from football
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6254311746001
Defenders
Scott Jamieson – Melbourne City
Jamieson has shown an increased eagerness to get his name on the scoresheet since netting his first A-League goal since November, 2014 against Newcastle Jets in Matchweek 19.
Facing off with Adelaide United on Thursday, May 13, the City captain managed to score his second of the campaign to help set up a 4-1 win at AAMI Park.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6254004963001
Jason Geria – Perth Glory
The recruitment of the impressive Geria is paying dividends for a Glory outfit on the rise, as the West Australian outfit notched two Matchweek 21 wins against Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide United.
Geria won 100% off his attempted tackles against the Wanderers, making five clearances and 3 interceptions in a 5-1 win before helping turn defeat into victory against the Reds, winning six of ten duels, making seven clearances, one interception and three successful tackles as Perth overcame a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1 at HBF Park.
Ben Warland – Sydney FC
Ben Warland made a rare start for Sydney FC against Melbourne Victory in the Big Blue on Wednesday night, and came out victorious playing a key role in earning his side a clean sheet in the 2-0 win.
Warland was resolute in defence, making five clearances and an interception whilst passing with confidence, playing 75 balls at 96.5% accuracy.
MW21 REPORT: Bobo answers the call as Sydney FC sweep Big Blue rivals Victory
ANNOUNCEMENT: A-League players selected in Australia U-23 squad to play in Jun
Rhyan Grant – Sydney FC
The Sky Blues full-back earned a pair of clean sheets in two Sydney FC wins throughout Matchweek 21.
Against Western United, Grant created four chances, won 11 of 19 duels and three of four tackles to go with three clearances and four interceptions. The defender’s impressive display against United was backed up against Victory when Grant helped seal successive clean sheets in a 2-0 Big Blue win at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
Midfielders
Gianni Stensness – Central Coast Mariners
The midfield battler went to work in a tight 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets as the Mariners secured F3 Derby bragging rights in Matchweek 21.
Stensness made 11 ball recoveries to go with five of six successful tackles and 11 of 20 duels won, making two clearances and three interceptions to go with a 90% success rate from 40 passes.
Luke Brattan – Sydney FC
Brattan put on two monster showings for Sydney FC throughout Matchweek 21, dominating the statistics as he pulled the strings in the middle of the park.
Brattan was the prime contributor in Sydney’s 1-0 win over Western United, playing in 15 crosses, creating eight chances and passing at an accuracy of 88.3% from 77 attempts. Brendan Hamill (44) was the closest United player to his passing total, while MiloÅ¡ Ninković and Anthony Caceres had 54 apiece – the second highest of any Sky Blues player throughout the game.
Brattan added five successful tackles from five attempts, four interceptions and a clearance to his name in the slender 1-0 result, before creating a further five chances and passing 67 times at 88.7% accuracy in a 2-0 Big Blue win over Melbourne Victory.
Cameron Devlin – Wellington Phoenix
Devlin was at his best in Wellington’s 2-2 draw with Melbourne City in Matchweek 21.
The central midfielder was committed to every challenge, winning 12 of 18 duels and five of eight tackles. Devlin made seven interceptions and two clearances whilst passing 84 times at 86.9% accuracy.
MORE: Ben Waine named April nominee for Young Footballer of the Year
READ: Phoenix touch down in Wellington looking to charge toward Finals Series
Forwards
Matt Derbyshire – Macarthur FC
Derbyshire did what he does best in Macarthur FC’s 3-1 win over Melbourne Victory, popping up in the moments that mattered to fire his side toward all three points.
Derbyshire opened the scoring in the first half before the Bulls built a two-goal buffer which Victory then halved in the second half. But after withstanding a strong press from the away side to find an equalising goal Derbyshire provided the pressure release with a sealing goal late in the piece to put the result to bed.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6254181382001
Andy Keogh – Perth Glory
Keogh was goalless for the season coming into Perth Glory’s clash with Western Sydney Wanderers, but that all changed with an inspired performance in a huge 5-1 win at HBF Park.
The Glory forward scored four of his side’s goals on the night, including a miraculous lob from just beyond the centre circle which stumped Wanderers ‘keeper Daniel Margush to put Keogh’s name in the mix for Goal of the Season honours.
MORE: Garcia hails Glory’s new-found resilience after fourth straight win
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6254435810001
Jamie Maclaren – Melbourne City
The Melbourne City superstar scored goals 23, 24 and 25 of his 2020/21 A-League campaign across two appearances in Matchweek 21.
The Golden Boot leader netted a brace in his side’s 4-1 win over Adelaide United before coming off the bench against Wellington on Sunday, May 16 to find the back of the net once more and extend his lead at the top of the Golden Boot leaderboard to 12 goals.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6254424357001