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Matt Simon is to Adrian Mierzejewski what motor oil is to a magnum of champagne, yet it was Simon who truly terrorised the Wanderers defence yesterday.
For 70 teeth-rattling minutes, former Mariners man Simon showed his full range of abilities against a suitably harassed Wanderers defence in Sydney FC’s 3-1 derby win in torrential rain at Allianz Stadium.
There were flying elbows and misplaced passes, niggly fouls and backchat aplenty – but there were also a few key moments that Simon’s army of detractors will no doubt have missed.
Firstly, he helped win the free-kick that led to Sydney FC’s equaliser after the intended recipient of his one-two, Milos Ninkovic, was fouled.
Secondly, he set up Mierzejewski’s second with a comical assist that cannoned off his chest after he literally thighed the ball into himself.
Lastly, he almost had a hand in a third just before the hour mark when Bobo ran on to Mierzejewski’s pinpoint through ball – after Simon had drawn Michael Thwaite into his space, forcing Brendan Hamill to gallop back frantically in defence.
Later, a tired Wanderers defence gave the ball away to Ninkovic, who promptly set up Bobo to kill off the game.
Why does this matter? Because with so much focus on their foreigners, Sydney FC’s critics often forget that the Sky Blues are more than capable of winning ugly.
And that’s bad news for the rest of the A-League, given that no one has truly worked out how to beat the defending champions.
The other good news? The fact that more than 25,000 fans turned up in absolutely abysmal conditions to watch the final Sydney Derby before Allianz Stadium is knocked down and rebuilt.
For all the pre-match talk about poor ticket sales, the derby still managed to put a couple of rival sports in the shade at the box office.
And A-League fans who complained so vociferously about a Sunday night kick-off could probably do with a dose of perspective.
Know what other big games kicked off on a Sunday this weekend?
Only the League Cup final at Wembley, Manchester United–Chelsea in the Premier League, Roma-Milan in Serie A, Leverkusen–Schalke in the Bundesliga, Feyenoord–PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie and Paris Saint-Germain–Marseille in France’s Le Classique.
Heck, even Kashima Antlers managed to fill the entire away end at a sold-out Nihondaira Stadium against Shimizu S-Pulse yesterday, following a 300-kilometre journey that would have required a Shinkansen trip, a local train and then a bus ride to Mitch Duke’s picturesque home ground.
Want to know why the J.League gets big crowds? Because people show up at the games.
And that’s something we need more of across the board in the A-League, and not just for derbies.
Still, those who did turn up in wet weather this weekend deserve plenty of credit – even if Brisbane Roar fans must have wondered why they bothered.
Of all Football Federation Australia’s perception problems, they have an increasingly serious one in Brisbane, where fans are more and more convinced that the FFA don’t care about what happens to football in the city because it’s not Sydney or Melbourne.
Case in point? Nikolai Topor-Stanley’s clear foul on Avraam Papadopoulos in stoppage time of Brisbane Roar’s 1-0 loss to the Newcastle Jets on Saturday.
It should have been a penalty, but neither referee Stephen Lucas nor – farcically – the VAR saw fit to award a spot-kick.
So that’s another two points dropped by a Roar side that has had countless refereeing decisions go against them all season.
Of course, if Brett Holman had just lifted his shot over the goalkeeper – like the underrated Bobo did for Sydney FC – then the Roar might have snatched a point anyway.
They deserved to on the balance of chances alone.
But that’s been the story of the A-League season to date. Plenty of hustle and bustle, but only Sydney FC have got an Adrian to go with their Simon.