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Melbourne Victory left it late, while Central Coast relied on defensive grit, but in the end the two most deserving sides marched on after the first week of the A-League finals.
There is just something about the intensity of finals football which adds an extra dimension to the action on the pitch.
No matter which team you support, you’d be hard pressed to find too many A-League fans who didn’t enjoy Victory’s exhilarating 2-1 win over a tenacious Sydney FC at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
Archie Thompson wound back the clock with a glorious opener, Seb Ryall taunted his former club with yet another goal and Victory all but threw the kitchen sink at a desperate Sydney defence in search of a winner.
They ultimately found one thanks to Gui Finkler’s measured finish in stoppage time.
In doing so, Victory managed to avoid extra-time ahead of their trip to South Korea in midweek to take on Jeonbuk in a decisive AFC Champions League clash.
This week’s final round of ACL group-stage fixtures means the shadowy spectre of scheduling once again looms over the A-League, with Victory enjoying a full 48 hours extra in which to prepare for their A-League semi-final against Brisbane Roar on Sunday.
That’ll no doubt please Kevin Muscat and the hordes of Victory supporters, although Victoria Police are apparently not thrilled with the manner in which the aforementioned Victory fans make their way to the stadium.
Assistant police commissioner Andrew Crisp admitted as much to The Herald Sun yesterday, telling that bastion of objective reporting that there are “better ways to use resources” than by watching on as A-League fans ‘march’ to the ground.
There certainly are better ways to employ resources, and rather than acting as a mouthpiece for police to air persistent complaints about being expected to do their job, perhaps The Herald Sun could make some enquiries as to why Victoria Police find it necessary to waste so much taxpayer money on palpably unnecessary methods of over-policing.
Still, it wouldn’t be a proper A-League atmosphere unless we saw dozens of bored police officers milling about with nothing to do, trotting around pointlessly on horseback and generally getting in everyone’s way.
And there are much more vexing issues to worry about than the umpteenth police complaint about what a tough gig the A-League is – not least this scheduling quandary.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that Western Sydney are also in ACL action on Tuesday night, against a Guizhou Renhe side which will invariably try and kick them off the park.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to see how the Mariners haven’t drawn the short straw, with a Saturday evening clash in Parramatta ensuring the Gosford side won’t even have the chance to schedule a training session ahead of the grand final rematch.
That will surely benefit the Wanderers, although they’ll need to be at their best to break down a resolute Mariners defence.
The defending champions were outstanding in shutting down Adelaide in their 1-0 win on Saturday, as Bernie Ibini lashed home the all-important goal midway through the second half.
Questions will be asked of Adelaide coach Josep Gombau’s tactical decision to drop the bustling Bruce Djite from his starting side and essentially flood the midfield, particularly when it lead to the Reds enjoying much of the possession without ever really troubling Liam Reddy in the Mariners goal.
Gombau has long proclaimed that this season is one of rebuilding for the Reds.
Reaching the finals will no doubt be viewed as a success, though perhaps Adelaide’s more dedicated fans could be forgiven for viewing the elimination-final exit as somewhat of a missed opportunity.
That’s the something the four remaining teams will be desperate to avoid on another blockbuster weekend of football next time out, after Victory and the Mariners deservedly marched on to the semi-finals.