It was time for another round of exciting Hyundai A-League matches last week with some entertaining clashes on the cards. There were five mouth-watering contests to look forward to and the teams didn’t disappoint with a whopping 16 goals being scored in those five matches.
Melbourne Victory closed the gap on Melbourne City by securing an away win in the derby while Perth Glory continued their push towards a playoff spot by earning a comfortable 3-1 victory at home to Central Coast Mariners. There were victories for Newcastle Jets, Brisbane Roar and Western Sydney Wanderers as well, which capped off another engaging week of A-League football.
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from each match of the previous game week.
Melbourne City FC Vs Melbourne Victory
An intra-city local derby kicked things off in Gameweek 22 as both Melbourne teams clashed heads to determine who can come out on top and bag the crucial three points on the day. The visitors took the lead in the 12th minute through Kosta Barbarouses but Melbourne City equalised in the 54th minute when Bruno Fornaroli converted from the penalty spot. However, Kevin Muscat’s side pushed on and grabbed a winner in the 62nd minute, courtesy of Leroy George’s goal, which helped Victory close the gap to City to just a point at the top of Hyundai A-League standings.
Newcastle Jets Vs Sydney FC
Newcastle Jets took on the A-League leaders Sydney FC in the hope of closing the massive gap between the two teams at the top of the league table. The home team had a horror start to the match when Roy O’Donovan was sent off in the first quarter of the game. However, the Jets never gave up and were rewarded with a penalty just before half-time, which Dimitri Petratos converted with conviction. A-League top-scorer Bobo equalised for Sydney FC in the 52nd minute, only to see his team fall behind just four minutes later when Newcastle regained the lead through Andrew Nabbout to seal a hard-fought win for the Jets.
Brisbane Roar Vs Adelaide United
An 8th placed Brisbane side clashed heads with 6th placed Adelaide United looking to close the gap among themselves, making the race for the playoffs exciting. John Aloisi’s side took the lead in the 41st minute, courtesy of a goal from Eric Bautheac and hung on to secure maximum points on the day.
Western Sydney Wanderers Vs Wellington Phoenix
The Wanderers took on a Wellington Phoenix side, who are lacking confidence and sit rock bottom of the Hyundai A-League. They secured a comfortable 4-1 victory with the help of goals from Brendon Santalab, Chris Ikonomidis and a brace from Brendan Hamill. Sarpreet Singh scored the consolation goal for the visitors. This heavy defeat turned out to be the last match for Wellington Phoenix coach Darije Kalezic, who officially parted ways with the club after a disappointing campaign so far.
Perth Glory Vs Central Coast Mariners
Perth Glory had a golden chance to close the gap to 6th placed Adelaide United, who occupy the final playoff spot when they took on the Mariners on Saturday. The home team began the match on the front foot and took the lead in the 29th minute via Joel Chianese’s goal. The Australian forward doubled his side’s lead in the 61st minute to put Perth in a commanding position to gain the three points. Andrew Hoole scored for the visitors just eleven minutes later but Perth Glory hung on to seal the points in the 89th minute through Xavi Torres’ goal.
With just five matches remaining in the regular season, it remains to be seen which teams can make it into the top 6 and book their place in the post-season playoffs.
