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Opinion
The action never stops in the A-League, whether it’s the new documentaries, refereeing controversy or some unfortunate scenes in the stands.
Here are your A-League Round 3 talking points.
Did Ibusuki deserve red?
There have been some questionable red cards already this season, and today’s expulsion of Adelaide striker Hiroshi Ibusuki was no exception.
Referee Daniel Elder went straight to his pocket and produced a red card after the Japanese collected Sydney midfielder Anthony Caceres with his studs showing. Immediately there were vehement protests from Ibusuki himself, Carl Veart and the whole Adelaide bench. The partisan home crowd loved it, but apart from that there was almost universal disbelief over the decision.
You can hear what Sydney FC legend turned Network Ten analyst Alex Brosque thought of the call below.
Even Sydney conceded it was anything but straightforward.
“It probably is a little harsh,” Steve Corica said post-game.
“(Ibusuki) did have his studs up as he slid in. He won the ball, and it’s probably just intent that (Elder) hit him for. If I would’ve been in the same position, I would think it was a little bit harsh.”
Veart revealed that the referees met with clubs in pre-season to explain they would be cracking down on studs-up challenges, but with the important caveat that there had to be force involved too for a challenge to be worthy of a send-off. There’s no doubt Ibusuki’s studs were showing, but can it be argued the challenge was forceful enough for Elder to brandish the red card?
The Adelaide boss also confirmed the club will look at the decision and could well launch a formal appeal. Watch this space.
So, you’ve got both coaches and expert commentators raising a fair bit of doubt. Was it a red, Roarers? Sound off in the comments, I’m interested to know whether anyone’s going to back Elder up on this one.
Papas’ Jets take flight
That’s two straight wins for Newcastle now, and the Novocastrians are not just picking up valuable competition points but also playing some silky football. The first-half blitz that saw the Jets score three times through James McGarry, Beka Dartsmelia and Trent Buhagiar finished Wellington off before the sides even went to the sheds at half-time.
Aside from Melbourne City, the Jets have probably had the best start in the competition. They were favourites to take the three points in the F3 Derby too, had the Central Coast Stadium pitch not be converted to a swimming pool prior to kick-off.
Papas recruited well in the off-season, picking up A-League veterans Jaushua Sotirio and Brandon O’Neill, as well as speedster Trent Buhagiar. Sotirio and the ex-Sydney FC man aren’t the most technically gifted, but their searing pace and intelligent runs will cause a lot of defences problems this year. Beka Mikeltadze is good for 10 goals-plus.
The real test, of course, will come when Newcastle take on the competition heavyweights in City and Melbourne Victory but already there’s a different feel to the side from the Hunter. Let’s wait and see – it’s still early days, but it’s looking like a very open 2022-23 season from what we’ve seen so far, and finals football could beckon for the Jets.
Crowd concerns flare up again
I’ve held off on talking about crowds for the first two rounds, but it’s time to address a couple of concerning trends.
Firstly, let’s discuss the disappointing scenes at AAMI Park on Saturday evening during City’s 2-0 Derby triumph.
These broken seats in the Victory home end are certainly not a good look. On top of the destruction, up to 15 flares were lit by the home supporters and some were thrown on the pitch. This comes just two weeks after Paul Izzo was pelted by bottles from idiots within The Cove in the dying minutes of the Big Blue.
And while the disgraceful scenes in the Sydney United active supporters section recently didn’t occur during an A-League fixture, they’re still surely fresh in the minds of Australian football fans.
There’s no place for this kind of behaviour on our terraces. Destroying stadiums and compromising the health and safety of both fans and players is completely unacceptable.
Now to crowd figures, and the situation is getting grimmer by the week for Western United. For their first home game of the season against Sydney FC, John Aloisi’s side could only attract a paltry 3427 supporters. And this week just 2423 fans made their way through the turnstiles to witness United’s 1-1 draw with Macarthur.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
I’ve written before about the utterly embarrassing Tarneit stadium fiasco, and who knows when that ground will be ready to host A-League football, but in the meantime, something surely has to give. These are Gold Coast United-esque numbers – and we all know what that club’s fate was after just three seasons in the A-League.
Macarthur didn’t have a great showing for their first home game last week either, with only 3212 making their way to Campbelltown Stadium to see Daniel Arzani’s day out. The league average is still hovering around the 10,000 mark, propped up by the Melbourne Derby, Big Blue and Victory-Wanderers clash, but it won’t be for much longer if these two clubs can’t get it together.
APL hit home run with new content
Let’s give Danny Townsend and his team at the APL some credit where credit’s due. Two new shows giving fans behind-the-scenes access to their favourite teams and individual players, Sky Blue: Inside Sydney FC and A-Leagues All Access have both been fantastic viewing.
It’s not an original idea, of course, with excellent doccos such as Amazon’s All or Nothing series and the wildly popular Netflix program Drive to Survive coming to prominence recently.
But there’s nothing wrong with taking inspiration from those shows and providing A-League fans with unflinching, unprecedented insights into, for example, what happens at half-time after their side have conceded cheaply, and the trauma our players carry with them every day.
This content is key to driving engagement with casual, rusted-on and even brand new football fans alike, and making it accessible for free on KeepUp and YouTube is another great call from the league. I really can’t say enough good things about the APL’s new strategy, and with Melbourne City boss Patrick Kisnorbo the focus of the next episode of All Access, I’m waiting with bated breath for it to drop on Thursday.
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