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Opinion

What happened? A-League Round 5

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Roar Guru
11th November, 2019
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Several intriguing issues came about following A-League Round 5.

There were two score draws from five games, which indicates how close the competition is.

Bottom-placed Wellington Phoenix claimed their first point of the season in probably their worst performance of the season. Melbourne Victory had slightly more than two-thirds possession and 20 shots to Wellington’s 11.

Unfortunately the worst game of the round was probably the last game, with Adelaide United grabbing a somewhat undeserved three points against Brisbane Roar, but that’s the way football goes sometimes.

For just the second time this season there was a game with a margin of more than one goal. That match was between Melbourne City and Central Coast Mariners.

Once again, for the third week in a row, we have to talk about VAR. There was a goal scored by Scott McDonald for Western United against the Western Sydney Wanderers when the score was one-all. Well, let’s just say the ball appeared to be over the line but wasn’t called a goal.

Then there was a handball given against Ola Toivonen by VAR that was a somewhat questionable decision, which led to Wellington Phoenix breaking the deadlock from the penalty spot.

Thankfully, on the whole the football that was played was good and there were a lot of positives resulting from Round 5 of the A-League.

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Top-two coaches

1. Marco Kurz (Melbourne Victory)
On any other day Melbourne Victory would have won comprehensively, but Phoenix goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic showed why he has made the most saves of any keeper in the league.

2. Erick Mambaerts (Melbourne City)
Melbourne City played some good football and managed to score three goals against a much improved Central Coast Mariners team.

Coaches under the pump

Unfortunately Western Sydney Wanderers don’t appear to have a system despite having lost only one game. That’s mostly due to goalkeeper Daniel Lopar, who has been outstanding. Therefore Markus Babbel should be under some pressure. His team has to show that they can do the basics right, like keep the ball. For the third game in a row the Wanderers didn’t seem to have a system. Brisbane Roar just can’t score despite not playing badly. They are yet to register their first win of the season and unfortunately the signs look ominous for Robbie Fowler’s team.

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Melbourne City vs Central Coast Mariners

City too strong for disappointing Mariners
Magic moments
Scott Jamieson had a long shot brilliantly saved by Mark Birghitti. Connor Metcalfe played a flawless cross finished off clinically by Adrian Luna. Luna had a free kick well saved by Birghitti.

Who stood out from the pack?
Connor Metcalfe provided the all-important assist for Melbourne City’s second goal.

What went right?
Melbourne City played some good football after the opening ten minutes. Curtis Good scored his first goal in a few years for Melbourne City. Substitute Jordan Murray scored a consolation goal for the Mariners to make the final scoreline 3-1 in City’s favour.

What went wrong?
Craig Noone had a superb shot from distance hit the crossbar. The skill level from both teams in the final third was poor in the opening ten minutes. Central Coast’s defence was poor when conceding the first goal and the third goal of the game, both from a set piece. Melbourne City would be disappointed with conceding a late goal, which meant that they didn’t keep a clean sheet.

Jamie Maclaren

(Mike Owen/Getty Images)

Newcastle Jets vs Perth Glory

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Points shared due to lack of quality in final third
Magic moments
Abdiel Arroyo had Newcastle’s first shot on target well saved by Liam Reddy. Alex Grant prevented a certain goal for Newcastle in the second half. Chris Ikonomidis had a good shot from distance well saved by Glen Moss. Ivan Franjic had a long shot brilliantly saved by Moss.

Who stood out from the pack?
Lachlan Jackson proved that he deserves to be a permanent part of Newcastle’s starting XI with a quality display in the centre of defence.

What went right?
The game was played at a relatively high tempo from the outset. Perth started the game well from a balance of play perspective, playing some good football. Steven Ugarkovic provided a great assist for Jason Hoffman, who broke the deadlock in the 31st minute. The 1-1 result was probably fair.

What went wrong?
Nick Fitzgerald squandered a good chance to score in the first half shortly before Newcastle’s first goal. The Jets should have made it 2-0 before half-time, but they butchered the opportunity. Perth deserved to go into the break with at least one goal, but that’s football. Newcastle had two appeals for a penalty that weren’t overturned, one in the first half and the other in the second half. Chris Ikonomidis hit the crossbar. Newcastle’s defence was not good when they conceded an equaliser. Alex Grant got a dubious second yellow card. Jason Hoffman missed a chance to score late on in the game.

Ivan Franjcic

(Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Western United vs Western Sydney Wanderers

Western United win the battle of the westerns
Magic moments
Daniel Lopar made an outstanding save from a free kick taken by Alessandro Diamanti near the end of the first half. Daniel Georgievski did extremely well to provide the assist for Mitchell Duke to break the deadlock. Filip Kurto played sweeper-keeper to prevent Kwame Yeboah from scoring.

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Who stood out from the pack?
Andrew Durante scored the all-important equalising goal from a corner with a clinical header.

What went right?
Kwabena Appiah scored his first goal for Western United to make it 2-1 in his side’s favour shortly after the VAR controversy. Western United claimed a deserved three points.

What went wrong?
Panagiotis Kone had to be substituted due to an injury he suffered relatively early in the first half. The Wanderers had only one shot on target for the first half and it was Mitchell Duke’s goal. Scott McDonald appeared to be denied a certain goal thanks to VAR upholding the decision not to give a goal.

Daniel Lopar

Daniel Lopar has been a brick wall for the Wanderers. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Melbourne Victory vs Wellington Phoenix

Spoils shared in entertaining contest
Magic moments
Jakob Poulsen had a shot well saved by Stefan Marinovic in the first half. Thomas Deng did a good job to prevent a goal for Josh Sotirio with a great tackle. Ola Toivonen scored a freakish goal with a clinical finish to equalise at 1-1. Toivonen nearly scored a second goal in the second half, but his shot was well saved by Marinovic. Alex Rufer had a shot superbly saved by Lawrence Thomas late in the game. Poulsen had a shot saved well by Marinovic.

Who stood out from the pack?
Stefan Marinovic was brilliant for the Wellington Phoenix.

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What went right?
The tempo was good from Melbourne Victory throughout the game.

What went wrong?
Melbourne Victory conceded a handball early in the game from Ola Toivonen, which Davilla converted. Melbourne controlled the balance of play but couldn’t finish off in the first half. Toivonen missed a golden opportunity to score with a header near the 60th minute but failed to hit the target.

Adelaide United vs Brisbane Roar

Brisbane continue poor form somehow
Magic moments
Paul Izzo made a superb save near the 60th minute. Riley McGree broke the deadlock thanks to some great lead-up work from James Troisi.

Who stood out from the pack?
James Troisi played well, providing the crucial assist for the only goal of the game that broke the deadlock.

What went right?
Not a lot for either team. It wasn’t a good game to watch for the majority of it. The tempo improved in the second half for both teams, in particular the Roar, despite Adelaide United scoring the only goal.

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What went wrong?
Michael Maria hit the crossbar with a header early in the game. Passing and movement was shocking from both teams. Adelaide had just one shot on target from a total of nine shots in the first half. Brisbane lacked quality in the final third.

Team with the bye in Round 5: Sydney FC.

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