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This A-League round was one of the best of the season, with just about every club enjoying one reason or another to feel optimistic. But what was up with the refereeing?
The action started in earnest in Geelong, where the glass was either half full or half empty if you’re a Melbourne Victory fan.
Central Coast Mariners should have had the game wrapped up leading 3-0 at half-time, but not for the first time a lack of experience cost the Mariners dearly in a pulsating 3-3 draw.
Full credit for the decent crowd on hand that turned out in Geelong – a city that surely hasn’t seen the last of A-League football yet.
But if the Mariners are playing their home games more than a thousand kilometres from Gosford, then Football Federation Australia might as well start asking what sort of ‘metrics’ the beleaguered outfit bring to the competition.
At any rate, Victory’s stirring comeback suggests they’re still a force to be reckoned with, even if they’re in the midst of one of their most difficult patches under Kevin Muscat.
Sydney FC too could be a force to be reckoned with, although the Sky Blues still flatter to deceive under Graham Arnold’s guidance.
The major talking point from their victory over the Newcastle Jets was the scoring comeback of Ali Abbas, however Slovak winger Filip Holosko is also proving himself to be one of the more penetrating attacking players in the league.
If Sydney were workmanlike in their 2-0 win over the Jets, then Western Sydney were positively explosive in their clash with Melbourne City.
The problem for Tony Popovic – apart from an errant referee’s whistle – was the fact the Wanderers found the host’s import shot-stopper Thomas Sorensen in sublime form during City’s 3-2 win.
If the Dane was at fault for Mitch Nichols’ goal, he more than made up for it with a string of superb second-half saves.
Yet it would and probably should have counted for nought when Wanderers striker Mark Bridge rattled home at 2-2 in the 78th minute, only for referee Jarred Gillett to call back the quickly-taken free-kick.
In defence of Gillett, he blew his whistle – for a second time – just before Bridge slotted home.
“I originally called Patrick Kisnorbo out of position to manage that original situation,” Gillett told Fox Sports after the match.
“After doing so, I restarted play while the assistant referee was telling me not to restart because Kisnorbo wasn’t in position and therefore they were disadvantaged. So the fair thing to do was to restart from the free-kick.”
After the match, Fox Sports analysts Mark Rudan and Mark Bosnich both claimed Gillett had made a mistake, and it’s hard to disagree given that Gillett not only blew his whistle in the first place, but also lacked the situational awareness to realise Kisnorbo was out of position.
However on Monday’s highlights show, Rudan – who is undoubtedly one of the most astute analysts in the country – said referees are under too much pressure.
“I think we’re talking too much about referees. They’ve got a tough job as it is. They’re certainly under more scrutiny now than ever before, I believe, and I think we should just lay off them a little bit and allow them do their jobs,” Rudan said.
“Let them relax as well. They get paid to do a job. Do they make mistakes? It happens,” he added.
That was in response to referee Stephan Lucas awarding a penalty to Brisbane Roar in Wellington, only to change his decision and award a free-kick to the Phoenix after consulting with his assistant referee.
In the end, it was probably the right decision, albeit one made in unusual circumstances.
But it did nothing to divert the spotlight away from referees, on a weekend in which we should have been talking about the fantastic football on display.