Opinion
There were two penalties saved, one penalty scored, two red cards, two come-from-behind wins and one clean sheet. What a round!
Check out who managed to make the cut in Round 15.
Formation 3-5-2
Young kept Western United in the game as Western Sydney Wanderers dominated the game for its entirety. He made six saves and kept the deficit to one goal conceded by Western United from the 28th minute mark, which was when the deadlock was broken. He was a shining light for Western United as he produced some quality saves and led by example.
Miranda put in a good shift for Melbourne Victory as he helped them claim victory. He was one of the best players on the park. The icing on the cake would’ve been if he scored a goal in the 40th minute, but he misfired. That’s football, I’m sure he’ll take the three points over a goal.
Beevers played well for the Perth Glory in their 2-2 draw with Newcastle Jets. He did well to negate the threats Newcastle made, as he helped restrict the Jets to four shots on target. He gave his side a 2-1 lead in the 78th minute with an intelligent header, which meant that his team claimed the lead, which will be good for their morale, even though they didn’t claim all three points.
Aldred put in a performance that would be worthy of any league in the world. He displayed his leadership as he always does as he leads by example, the only thing that was missing was a goal. He helped control the danger of Hiroshi Ibusuki in the air, as he won that battle with the Adelaide United target man comfortably.
He finished the game with four shots, six clearances and five touches in the opposition box.
Piscopo had a great game, despite only playing 70 minutes. He was involved in most of Newcastle Jets’ forays forward. His work rate was phenomenal and if he can replicate the form he has shown in the last two games the future looks bright for him.
His highlight of the game was the goal he scored in the 59th minute, which made the score 1-1. It was a cracking goal that gave the Newcastle Jets some belief.
Jelacic was at the forefront of most of the good things that happened for Perth Glory. He was the best player on the park. He provided the assist for the opening goal of the game, which was scored by Luke Bodnar in the 44th minute. He put everything in perspective in his post-match interview: “Couldn’t capitalise on the big chances we had. We’ve just got to look forward to next week.”
Leckie played a pivotal role in City’s obliteration of Macarthur FC. His work rate was first class and his quality was there for all to see, as he provided the assist for Jamie Maclaren to score the opening goal in the third minute of the game. He worked hard defensively and at the other end of the field had a shot saved in the 40th minute.
He played 59 minutes, and was given a rest when the game was done and dusted at 3-0 in favour of Melbourne City.
Melbourne City’s Mat Leckie. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Richard van der Venne is a player of immense quality as he has converted his talent into making inroads in the final third. He was rewarded with a hat-trick and deservedly so. We are so fortunate to have a player of his calibre in the A-League. He has the capability to play in any league.
Remarkably, he had 27 passes in the final third, 10 final-third entries and seven touches in the opposition box.
Ngbakoto was everywhere for the Western Sydney Wanderers as he negated the impact that Western United had when they had possession of the ball. His work rate was first class as he tracked back willing runners from Western United to win the ball back to win throw ins and concede a corner.
He won 14 of 20 duels, which substantiates that he worked hard defensively. It translated into his attacking prowess; he scored the only goal of the game, had four shots on target from six shots, eight touches in the opposition box and six chances created.
Cummings’ pass to Marco Tulio led to the award of the penalty and the red card shown to Rhyan Grant of Sydney FC in the 19th minute. He scored two goals within the space of 13 minutes, the first coming in the 20th from the penalty spot.
The second goal he scored was in the 33rd minute, which gave Central Coast Mariners a 2-1 lead. He also played a fantastic through ball in the 81st minute, but unfortunately Thomas Aquilina was caught offside.
Le Fondre scored a brace and was instrumental in Sydney FC claiming all three points against Central Coast Mariners. He broke the deadlock in the 10 minute thanks to an assist provided by Max Burgess. He scored his second goal from a fantastic Paulo Retre cross in the 72nd minute. He needed to get on the score sheet for Sydney FC to claim the three points and he delivered.
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The Matilda scored the first two of her team's goals in the 4-0 win.
