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Six talking points from A-League Round 20

Roar Guru
24th February, 2019
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Roar Guru
24th February, 2019
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It is safe to say that the round possibly didn’t deliver the fireworks and excitement that had been anticipated after last weekend’s round, but nevertheless eight goals on the Friday and a derby send-off on Saturday resulted in some intriguing talking points from Round 20.

Respect for your club does not automatically mean disrespect for your old club
Chris Ikonomidis is hot property this season, as much as he was hot property at the end of last season.

To finish off the 2017-18 season Ikonomidis was on loan to Western Sydney, where he managed a goal every second game, and he was hotly sought after at the end of last season, though ultimately greatly welcomed when he signed for the Glory.

The Wanderers were disappointed, but in much the same way that loanee Riley McGree had a stint in Newcastle and left for the lighter blue pastures of Melbourne City, so too did Ikonomidis look elsewhere, and leave the western suburbs of Sydney.

Ikonomidis was only there for 12 games, so it really should not have been that big a deal.

Now he is having a stellar season with Perth, not spectacular, but they are top nonetheless, so it came as no surprise that he opened the scoring for the table-topping Glory against the team running seventh.

The scoring of any goal should be a cause for exuberant celebration, however, far from showing that excitement for his club, Ikonomidis curiously lowered his head, and didn’t celebrate.

He did so, presumably, out of respect for his old club, the Wanderers, they of the lengthy 12-game stint.

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When did celebrating a goal against a club you used to play for become such a punishable by death offence?

It’s a genuine question, because more and more you see players who once played for, or even trialled with, a club feeling that it is disrespectful to celebrate against them (unless you are Emmanuel Adebayor).

But when did football become so sensitive that you can no longer show respect for your new club, out of some perceived disrespect for your old club?

The irony is also in the fact that with players moving more and more between clubs, and players frequently playing for up to half a dozen clubs in a career, you are almost less likely to play a team that you haven’t played for, rather than one you have.

Now, I appreciate that if say the likes of a David Beckham, or Cristiano Ronaldo, or heck, if he ever left, Lionel Messi, are coming up against clubs that they gave their youth and careers for at times might feel uncomfortable celebrating in front of fans who called you hero, then that’s another matter.

But simply because you once wore a club’s colours, really shouldn’t mean that you are bound by those colours when you are wearing the shirt of a new club.

Football really does need to lighten up sometimes.

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Chris Ikonomidis of the Glory

(AAP Image/Darren Pateman)

Who says you need relegation and promotion for entertainment
You know that History channel meme that does the rounds, where there is a guy in a brown suit with matching brownish shirt and hair all over the place, just looking at the camera, with the caption: “Aliens.”

Well, you could have used that meme for Friday night’s match between the two teams running bottom, and simply written the caption: “Defence.”

The funny thing is that, given how poorly the Mariners and the Roar have been this season, of course it made sense that the defences cumulatively would leak eight goals for the match.

The thing is though – who knew that the relative attacks had that many goals in them?

Truth be told, I still remains dubious that a second division is going to be the saviour of the A-League.

But if Friday night is anything to go by, then clearly these two teams running bottom still care about that little matter of pride, and not finishing bottom.

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Point of fact: the goals by Eric Bautheac and Alex Lopez were world class, no matter where those goals were scored in the world.

Bautheac’s control and overhead kick (again, John Aloisi must have been lamenting such quality after his departure) and Lopez’s volley from the edge of the area lit up the near vacant Central Coast stadium.

And yet, such an exciting match was produced by teams who, we are often told, have little incentive to play good football.

On Friday’s evidence, a lack of incentive to perform does not appear to be the case at all.

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Nobody gets extra points for winning pretty
You have to say at least one thing about Steve Corica’s Sydney FC: if they have managed to emulate one characteristic of Graham Arnold’s teams, it is winning when you do not play well.

Because that is exactly what Sydney’s win this round was emblematic of, winning ugly.

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Thanks to a dubious penalty (it always amazes me how players turn from immovable objects outside the box to legs made of straw in the box) Adam Le Fondre slotted home from the spot, for the solitary goal that gave the Sky Blues victory.

But otherwise, the Sydney side was relatively pedestrian.

Now, three competition points is three competitions points, and just ask Newcastle, I am sure they would rather points on the table than plaudits for a better brand of football.

The thing is though, you can only rely on luck for so long, and come finals time, especially if you are not in that top two finish, but winning three knock-out games in a row, you will get found out.

Of course, Sydney are currently second, so if they maintain this spot, then they only have to win two winner takes all matches for championship glory.

So, kudos to Sydney on extracting every point imaginable out of their season thus far.

I just hope that it doesn’t all come back to haunt them when championships are on the line.

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Sydney FC coach Steve Corica

(AAP Image/Brendan Esposito)

Credit is given where credit is due
Remember the first 19 rounds of the season, when the referees were rubbish?

Look, they still are not that great, but all the credit is to be given in the world to referee Peter Green on Saturday night who in the 15th minute of the game knew exactly what was about to happen as he followed the rules to the letter of the law, and sent Georg Neidermeier from the park.

Having received a yellow card some two minutes earlier, Neidermeier, who for all intents and purposes is a professional arguably in the know about what he’s doing, at least should have known he was on thin ice for the remainder of the match.

So in only a mere two minutes later, to commit a foul as the last defender, and give away a penalty to City, the writing was on the wall.

Now, if you go back and watch the footage of referee Green walking towards Neidermeier, I swear you can detect a sympathetic shrug of the referee’s shoulders.

Because in that moment, the referee was saying: I’m really sorry about this, but I actually have no choice.

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No, Green did not.

The rules are quite clear that a yellow card is mandatory for a foul in the area that denies a genuine scoring opportunity, and having two minutes earlier already written Neidermeier’s name in the book, the red was not that far away.

And further, the fall-out media coverage is to be commended that the headline reads “Neidermeier’s Brain Explosion Costs Victory” instead of “Referee’s Brain Explosion Costs Victory.”

In the match of the round, the referee did his job perfectly, and he should be commended for it.

Meanwhile, Melbourne played in front of their third consecutive crowd in excess of 20,000 spectators.

Oh, and Warren Joyce’s job becomes more and more tenuous with each passing round.

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The truly disappointing equilibrium of a draw
If a draw is a little bit like kissing your sister, then Sunday’s result between the Jets and the Reds was more akin to matching up with someone hot on Tinder, only to find out that they are your second cousin.

Essentially, while both teams managed to grab a point, both will see it as two points lost.

In particular, the Jets, who now have seven rounds to make up five points on sixth-placed Wellington, but with difficult matches to come.

The irony for Newcastle is that defensively, they put in one of their better performances of the season, managing to keep a clean sheet against an Adelaide side that has found the back of the net with ease, and often, in particular away from home.

Alas, that ever misfiring attack let the Jets down, and instead of being just one win behind Wellington, who slipped up against Sydney, Newcastle still need to find two extra wins.

And the same applies for Adelaide.

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A point is good, but a four-point gap over Melbourne City for that fourth and final hosting spot in the finals, would have been better than the current two-point gap.

It was a frustrating afternoon for both sides, and once again, who will be left the most frustrated won’t be known for another seven weeks.

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(Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)

Another ACL
As long as I live, despite the advancement in medicine, and the improvement of surgical procedures and rehabilitation, the sight and impact of season-ending injuries that put players out of the game for months on end will never sit well or comfortably with me.

True, we have come a long way from the days where tearing your anterior cruciate ligament was a question of ‘if”’ you came back, rather than ‘when,’ but such an injury is still hugely traumatic for player, club, and fan alike.

On the back of news that Tommy Oar’s stuttering career has stuttered to a halt, and he won’t be sighted again this season, young Jordan O’Doherty going down in a heap, untouched, was something that any true fan of football should never want to see.

It will be a long road to recovery for the youngster, who hopefully has time on his side at just 21 years of age.

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However, the thing is that such an injury will always bring into question whether that career does take off.

There are now no longer any guarantees about staying fit once the integrity of the knee joint is completely brought into question.

And that doesn’t factor in the psychological impact on such a young player, who will need time to have faith and put trust in his body again.

All the best with the recovery Jordan. Hopefully he comes back from this, and can continue his career unimpeded.

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