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My wrap-up of Round 5 of the A-League

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Roar Guru
10th November, 2019
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After another interesting week of football, this is Round 5 of the 2019-20 A-League season wrapped up.

Melbourne City 3-1 Central Coast Mariners

Melbourne City remain top of the table after their 3-1 victory against Central Coast. The home side got off the mark in the 17th minute, Lachlan Wales’s cross finding Curtis Good for the header. Adrian Luna scored his first coal for the Citizens before the hour mark, doubling their advantage, Conor Metcalfe’s clever ball finding Luna for the easy tap-in. Rostyn Griffiths put the game to bed in the 82nd minute, feeding the scraps off a Mark Birighitti save. Jordan Murray scored a consolation prize in the 89th minute for the visitors, their only highlight. City had the majority of possession – 52 per cent to 48 per cent – and had 23 shots to 16 for the game, putting on a complete performance.

Player of the game: Rostyn Griffiths
Griffiths put in an impressive performance in midfield, generated a lot of attacking play and pushed up forward resulting in his first goal of the season.

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Newcastle Jets 1-1 Perth Glory

Newcastle shared the points with Perth in a 1-1 draw at Hunter Stadium. Peter Ugarkovic’s through ball found Jason Hoffman, who finished in front of goal and opened the scoring for the home side just after the half-hour mark. Tempers flared between the sides five minutes later when Matthew Ridenton collected Glory’s Juande in an aerial challenge, sparking a scuffle between the two sides. Alex Grant and Matthew Ridenton received a yellow card for their part in the scuffle.

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Five minutes from the full-time whistle Diego Castro levelled the scores after a series of shots ricocheted off the post and defenders. Castro found the ball and finished. The drama continued a minute later when Grant received his second yellow for his challenge on Angus Thurgate, putting Perth down to ten men. Glory dominating possession – 64 per cent to 36 per cent – but failed to be meaningful with their possessions, hence settling for a point.

Player of the game: Diego Castro
Casto was a maestro in midfield, developing attacking play which included his equaliser.

Diego Castro

(AAP Image/Tony McDonough)

Western United 2-1 Western Sydney Wanderers

Western United continued their impressive start to their inaugural season with a 2-1 victory against Western Sydney. It was the visitors who were first on the board, Danijel Georgievski’s through ball spotting up Mitchell Duke for the opener in the fifth minute. United responded through an Andrew Durante header, Alessandro Diamanti spotting him up in the 13th minute. Kwabena Appiah completed the comeback in the 58th minute with his first goal of the season.

United had most of the attacking play, taking an extra nine shots on a goal, and reaped the rewards leaving with all three points, becoming the surprise team of the season and currently sitting second on the table.

Player of the game: Joshua Risdon
The Australian international put on a solid display defensively, with his numerous ball recoveries leading to counterattacking plays.

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Melbourne Victory 1-1 Wellington Phoenix

Melbourne Victory shared points with Wellington Phoenix is their clash at AAMI Park. The visitors stunned the home side early. Ola Toivonen made hand contact with the ball defending a corner, and a penalty was awarded with the help of VAR. Ulises Davila stepped up to the spot in the fifth minute and converted, giving Wellington a surprise lead they held into half-time.

The Victory equalised through Ola Toivonen in the 66th minute, being the recipient of a Kenny Athiu interception. The score made up for his earlier mistake. Victory dominated possession – 67 per cent to 33 per cent – and had nine more shots for the game but were unable to capitalise. THey now sit outside the top six.

Player of the game: Ulises Davila
Davila continues to be the shining light in a disappointing season for the Phoenix, with his attacking play pivotal in keeping his side in the game.

Adelaide United 1-0 Brisbane Roar

Adelaide won their second game of the season in a 1-0 home victory, refreshed after their bye. Michael Maria came close to opening the scoring in the early minutes for the home side but was denied by Max Crocombe. Riley McGree also came close to opening the scoring, trying his luck from range but was wide of the mark.

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After half-time Scott Neville looked to have opened the scoring for the visitors, only to be denied by Paul Izzo. Eight minutes from time James Troisi was able to break through the defence and spot up Riley McGree, the easy tap in opening the deadlock and proved to be a late winner.

Player of the game: Michael Jakobsen
He was a brick wall in the Adelaide defence, making several important clearances and ball recoveries to ensure his side kept the clean sheet.

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