When Andrew Redmayne saved Riley McGree’s penalty at Jubilee Stadium he punctuated one of the most entertaining A-League rounds in recent memory.
Who would have thought when Western Sydney Wanderers swapped Redmayne for Vedran Janjetovic things would quite turn out like this?
Redmayne has turned into one of the best goalkeepers in the A-League and Janjetovic has turned into, well, Janjetovic.
And Redmayne’s third consecutive penalty save went a long way to securing a somewhat laborious 2-0 win for Sydney FC over Melbourne City in what was their final regular-season game at Jubilee Stadium.
Was the decision to play games in Kogarah a success? In many ways it was.
Another healthy crowd of more than 13,000 fans turned out for the visit of City, as the Sky Blues demonstrated once again that plenty of their fans hail from the southern suburbs of Sydney.
But those wondering why Sydney FC don’t permanently move to somewhere like Kogarah don’t quite understand the geography of Sydney – or, for that matter, the whole reason the club exists in the first place.
For Sydney FC to move permanently away from the CBD to one of Sydney’s countless geographic enclaves would defeat the purpose of founding a club to represent the whole of the city.
Sydney is not Melbourne, and the Sky Blues would cease to be Sydney FC if they moved to a suburb like Kogarah or Leichhardt – they’d be Southern Sydney FC or the Inner West Hipsters or whatever.
That’s probably an important distinction to make given the sheer volume of fans who have commented online – typically from outside Sydney – that the Sky Blues should simply move to Kogarah permanently.
Redmayne’s penalty save aside, Sydney FC weren’t overly impressive downing a Melbourne City side that once again lacked a cutting edge up front.
But who really cares about that game when Saturday’s fixtures were three of the most entertaining we’ve seen in the A-League in ages?
Where do we even start? Probably with Andrew Hoole’s spectacular double against Melbourne Victory in Gosford.
Andrew Hoole of the Mariners celebrates with Jake McGing. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
If they’d been scored in the English Premier League, we’d been fawning all over Hoole and proclaiming him one of the finest free-kick exponents of our time. But one of the biggest problems the A-League has had for a long time now is convincing anyone that there is genuine quality to be found in our stadiums.
It’s a shame the Mariners couldn’t hold on – unless you’re a Victory fan of course – but even they didn’t endure the most spectacular meltdown of the weekend. That honour of course belongs to Brisbane Roar, who somehow turned a 3-0 lead with a one-man advantage into a 4-3 defeat come the full-time whistle.
And if you want to talk about coach killers, it was Dane Ingham’s second yellow for kicking the ball away that completely changed the complexion of the match.
Mind you, Jamie Young almost decapitating Craig Goodwin didn’t help, and the Roar custodian might find himself set for a decent stint on the sidelines following his dismissal.
Adelaide still had to produce the quality to make their unexpected one-man advantage count, and they did that and then some when Nikola Mileusnic headed home the most ridiculous of winners in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
Yes, some of the officiating during the game was questionable and it certainly wasn’t exactly a stellar defensive display from either team, but how good was that climax?
Oh yeah, and Andy Keogh’s daisy-cutter in Perth Glory’s 3-0 win over Wellington Phoenix may just have been the most aesthetically pleasing goal of the round.
The problem with the A-League is not its quality – save for the odd stinker here and there – and it honestly never has been.
The issue for a long time now has been trying to convince those who have written the competition off to give it a chance.
jbinnie
Guest
Nem - You again totally miss out on what my comment was aimed at ,that being the inconsistencies of referees and punishment committees. I mentioned 3 specific cases, all very similar in outcomes and damages, and yet there are 3 different penalties awarded. Unfortunately I am not a psychologist so can't tell you what was going through the minds of the 3 held responsible, but if you don't mind me saying so ----neither do you, nor does the committee that hands out sentences so, all we know is that Donovan got 13 weeks, Delbridge got a yellow card, and Young got 3 weeks for his punishment, yet two of those incidents required surgical repair, and one was where the horrendously tackled player got up, scored a goal and assisted in another, all within minutes of being at "death's door". And the band played believe it if you like. Cheers jb.
anon
Roar Pro
Yes, you have people watching foreign leagues, much like people watch the NBA or NFL. Not the A-League.
anon
Roar Pro
This comment has been removed for breaching The Roar's comments policy.
Nemesis
Guest
jb. I never said Young's act was intentional. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt & say it was Reckless or Extremely Negligent. Every player has a duty of care to their fellow professionals on the pitch. Young was outside the box. He was nowhere near the ball. He could've done immense damage to Goodwin. As an outfield player running outside the box, Goodwin would expect & has a duty to protect himself against reasonable contact. But, Young's contact was not reasonable contact. It was vicious, violent & he's lucky Goodwin didn't suffer major injury to neck or head.
Punter
Roar Rookie
150 years 3 states.
Anthony Ferguson
Guest
Yeah, try following Perth.
Anthony Ferguson
Guest
Another moment from the 1970 Cup Final. Eddie McCreadie kung fu kicks Billy Bremner in the face in the penalty box, right in front of the ref, who waves his arms as if to say, play on lads. Chelsea go up the other end snd almost score.
jbinnie
Guest
Nem - for such an intelligent subscriber you go overboard at times. Not so long ago a centre forward was given a huge suspension for kicking his leg so high he connected with Thomas' head. I assume you had no axe to grind as Thomas had to have stitches and a head bandage. He played on. Change to this weekend and we see a young Sydney FC player get his forehead split by a foot which had to be swinging at a ball some 5 feet off the ground. The young player had to have a stitch or two but could not continue. The acrobat who kicked him in the face got a yellow card. Now to Young's indiscretion. He connected with Goodwin ,no doubt , but in your mind and some others the act was purely intentional, note that well, he intended to "flatten" Goodwin. The "victim" doesn't need a stitch, carries on playing, scores and makes the goals that gave his team victory. If you can explain away the inconsistensies in these 3 incidents I would love to hear your explanations. jb.
chris
Guest
Yes exactly. Very similar to their male counterparts. I recently had an overseas visitor from the US who said she was channel surfing in her hotel room. She stumbled upon an AFL match and she said she couldn't stop laughing.
chris
Guest
Yes but try and follow what's being said. Football in this country is more than the A-League.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
I'll try to get down and have a look. I normally enter at the Milton Rd end, where we should have a statue of Thomas Broich. My best game for the weekend was the youth league grand final - some really good prospects in our academy team, NYL champions, and I notice today our under 20 team had a big win round one of NPL. Just got to love our game.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Nick, I did read that the capacity was reduced for Superbowl - I think it was due to the removal ofsafe standing area at MLS games. I would like to get to Atlanta to witness the atmosphere and just see for myself. This year I’m heading for Oregon and will take in a game in Portland - another passionate bunch of supporters.
brisvegas
Guest
All the more reason to go to the game. Can Roar keep the score under 5? or 10? Can they pull off the win of the century? Will the goalkeeper look better than those that play walking football? Speaking of which Walking Football Brisbane will play a demonstration game, outside, down the Wally Lewis end before the game. (sorry for the unabashed plug). There's always a reason to go to a game. Embarrassment at the state of the club probably isn't a worthy one. Keep a sense of humour about you, take a dose of resignation and keep dreaming that miracles can happen.
Nemesis
Guest
Well the ALeague Disciplinary Committee agrees with me. Young got an additional 2 match ban, so he'll be suspended in total for 3 matches. Sounds fair to me.
chris
Guest
great story jb
anon
Roar Pro
Low scores, lack of basic skills. Both AFLW and the A-League suffer the same problems I see.
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
AFLW (free entry?). As exciting as watching paint dry. Low scores, lack of basic skills. Wonderful viewing.
anon
Roar Pro
This comment has been removed for breaching The Roar's comments policy.
Fadida
Guest
Why not just say "off field"? You've had very little on field disappointment
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
I’d agree Waz, there’s a lot of understandably angry fans around. It would be a major problem if they weren’t angry, at least it shows passion for our team. Nothing personal, but I was disappointed that the RSF would even hint at a boycott in the fan survey. The club and the players are obviously well aware of the situation and we can’t doubt the players’ effort. I’ve been disappointed that the club hasn’t kept members/fans better informed during this rough period – when do they hope to have a new coach? assistants? signing some replacement players? etc. David Pourre is not the communicator that was Mark Kingsman (rest peacefully). I have confidence in David but he tells us nothing, except the press releases that go on the website. Remember how Mark used to keep us informed. I wrote to Mark when they released Thomas Broich and he rang me, personally and spoke for about 45 minutes about the club and players contract – what a gent and great executive. David placates fans by buying them a beer at away matches. Much of what I’m hearing is ill-informed still, blaming the owners or the interim coach. I heard a call for the club to beg the Aloisi boys to return, lmao at that one. But you’re right, it’s indicative of the anger. Fans won’t be placated until we start to win again, and play fair. It’d be nice if the MD/CEO could give us some hope that we’re heading in the right direction. Nothing personal but I’d prefer the RSF to be chasing a club update rather than even mentioning fan boycott.