The penultimate round of 2022-23 gave us plenty of thrills and spills, including a manic 4-4 stalemate at HBF Park on Sunday evening, so let’s get into it.
Here are your A-League Round 25 talking points.
Glory and Adelaide get wild in the west
Well, well, well. Let’s start with one of the wildest finishes to an A-League game I can remember. Perhaps not the craziest 90 minutes, but certainly an insane ending.
It was always going to be an attack-minded affair between the desperate Perth Glory and a United side who’ve had a very positive philosophy instilled into them by manager Carl Veart, but not many punters would’ve been on the 4-4 final score market, I wouldn’t think.
When talented striker Adam Taggart beat Joe Gauci from long range in the 96th minute, Ruben Zadkovich would have been forgiven for thinking his side had secured the three points only for the wildly promising Nestory Irankunda to salvage a point for the Reds three minutes later. It was fantastic entertainment and a testament to both sides’ quality, as well as their defensive deficencies.
Unfortunately, dropping two points right at the death likely spells the end of Perth’s campaign. Zadkovich deserves credit for what he’s done with a squad very little was expected of this season. An imperious home record made up for their dicey away form, allowing Glory to remain in the fight far longer than, realistically, they should have.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
They’re not dead yet, of course. If Wellington lose to Macarthur, Glory will need to defeat Western United and make up the goal difference. A single point for the Nix will condemn Perth to another finals-less season.
Obviously there are few sides desperate for an injection of quality as Zadkovich’s, so that’s something that will need to be addressed over the winter. With a few key pieces added, this should probably be a finals team in 2023-24.
For Adelaide, it was actually quite an important point, too. With the Mariners right on their heels, it means a draw will be enough to secure second place for Veart’s side on Friday night when Central Coast come to town.
Papas likely safe for now but Jets going nowhere until ownership situation is resolved
Newcastle isn’t the biggest market in the league, and that goes a long way to explaining why the heat isn’t on the club and manager Arthur Papas. Despite limited resources and some unfortunate circumstances, this season is still a failure for the Jets. It’s their fifth straight season without finals football, and now Papas’ second bottom-six finish since taking the reins at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Keeping the off-field issues in mind, on-field results are still the remit of the coaching staff and the fact is, results have not been good enough. Missing the finals in any given year is bad enough; twice on the bounce is bordering on a disaster.
Warren Moon was punted by Brisbane earlier this season to very little surprise around the league, yet Papas seemingly has a perpetual get out of jail free card. I’m not advocating for him to lose his job, but there needs to be some accountability at the club if they’re ever going to get moving in the right direction again.
Selling a football club is not a quick and easy process, obviously, but we do have a notoriously long off-season in this league and it sure would be fantastic if an owner can be found before season 2023-24 kicks off. Otherwise, it’s just going to be more pain and misery for the club’s long-suffering and loyal supporters.
Will we ever get simultaneous kick-offs on the final day?
As we head into the final round of the season, the case for playing all six games simultaneously looks more compelling with plenty left to play for. It’s a topic that’s been raised by journos and fans alike for many years, and of course it is the standard in the biggest league in the world, the English Premier League.
From what I’ve heard from a reliable source, it seems broadcast logistics are ultimately going to stand in the way of simultaneous kick-offs under the current rights deal. Perhaps it’s something the APL needs to consider when the rights come up again in a couple of years’ time, because it’s hard to deny how much drama the final day could bring when there’s top-two and finals places on the line, let alone the premiership potentially.
Maclaren becomes all-time leading goal-scorer
Whether you think Jamie Maclaren is the best striker in A-League history or not, he now stands alone at the summit of all-time goal-scorers with his hat-trick on Saturday night taking him to 143 goals.
It’s pretty easy to forget that the Socceroo is still on the right side of 30 (just), so there’s quite a bit of runway left for him. What comes next will be interesting, because he’s tried his hand at European football, with mixed results. A goalless run at Darmstadt in Germany was somewhat offset by nine goals in 27 appearances with Hibernian, before Macca was lured back to Australia by the City Football Group machine.
If he stays in Australia, he’ll top 200 goals and probably get closer to 250. That would be the safe play and seal his status as a league and City legend, allowing him to set a record that could potentially stand for decades. The question becomes: does he want to play it safe, or take a risk and aim a little higher?
Regardless of what the future holds, it’s no mean feat to outscore the likes of Archie Thompson, Besart Berisha and Bruno Fornaroli, so congratulations, Jamie.
Ferno
Roar Rookie
JMac was smart enough to realize that being a top player in AL is much better deal than being a nobody out there. :thumbup: I've seen many promising australian players just disappear in lower european leagues. He escaped this trap in time. Should be seen as an example.
Grem
Roar Rookie
We just need to choose the best Australian players in the A League (Socceroos A) to play NZ (All Whites A) )in an Ashes game on ANZAC Day. Gauchi, Boss, Good, Popovic, Risdon, O’Neil, Niewenhoff, Tilio, Leckie, Maclaren and Irankunda. Cummings, Borello, Triantis - there’s plenty of locals.
sportyguy
Roar Rookie
absolutely agree with you about tap ins and penalty taker jmac is lucky to be scoring easy goals supplied by really good players around him who does all the hard work. his highlight reel is super boring and uninspiring n thats why he failed overseas.
Garry
Roar Rookie
I think we should be less worried about clashes and set up our own traditions.. why not a 5pm Adelaide game for starters? removes the Friday clash
David Shilovsky
Expert
The Monday fixture was great. Most people off work the next day, and not going up against NRL.
Garry
Roar Rookie
btw 12,063 at Roar..a great turnout!! ..and why not a game today? if not an NZ International “ANZAC Soccer Ashes trophy rediscovered in suburban garage after almost 70 years”
Garry
Roar Rookie
I totally concur BUT to be fair to with more teams/games & pro/rel the season could still be alive too. Personally I think the Finals series works very well here atm.
Football Fan
Roar Rookie
It is that hypocrisy that annoys me the most Braintrust. Many of those people who are constantly pushing for abandoning the finals series are now pushing for a boycott because the GF is in Sydney for the next 3 years. They can't have it both ways. Not to mention the season would have been over months ago if we had no finals and games like the Perth -Adelaide and many others would have meant nothing and just fizzled out.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Papas is the issue , they should be selling Archie Goodwin for millions instead we haven't seen him. Even this season Piscopo great form what the Jets had was Piscopo through ball to Buhagiar, but his personal favourites Mikealtadze and Grozos are when they need Sotorio and Buhargiar to run onto the through balls. The previous seasons Jets had three great player Penha went to Korea, Yuel to Iran but what about Boumal he ended up back in Sudan, so Papas must have dumped and kept his personal favourites.
Grem
Roar Rookie
I break the news - I don’t just report! They’re back.
David Shilovsky
Expert
I didn't really see that as a talking point. They're on a good little run of form, but have a look at who they've played. If they win a finals game, that's news.
Denzo
Roar Rookie
The press are soft on Papas. If that was one of the big four clubs he would have been punted months ago. Can’t believe some of the stuff written about him. I do believe that the ownership structure is an issue for sure.
Denzo
Roar Rookie
Easy to keep JMac here because where else would he score this number of goals. Doubt he is good enough fur Europe or most of Asia. What has he ever done for Socceroos when asked? Really good penalty taker and tap in guy. Not ,much more though.
Simon Kelly
Roar Pro
100% correct on the Newcastle Jets. The ownership has almost been the elephant in the room this season. It's an issue that has rarely been talked about. The fact that we have been close enough to a finals spot is remarkable. Those calling for Papas to go aren't really thinking this whole process through. Get rid of the coach and the player/staff/academy merry go round starts all over again. Things have been put in place with Gary van Egmond in charge of the Academy and Damien Zane the NPL side. Sack the senior coach and this would undoubtedly unravel again. Stability is what the Jets need. Money won't buy a championship but new ownership cannot come soon enough for the Newcastle faithful.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
My preference is to have one match at a time to watch them live one at a time. In this weekend what happened to the advantage of foreknowledge? With Phoenix losing by 4 goals, even Macarthur were suddenly thrust back into the finals race, it had the opposite effect. Does anyone believe that if the A-league implemented this at enormous expense due to the broadcast requirements it would make any difference at all, apart from lower the combined ratings for the final round. The hypocrisy is every single one of the abolish the finals series article writers have abandoned the issue because you cant whine about the grand final hosting decision and say get rid of the finals in the same season.
Grem
Roar Rookie
Hoping to keep JMac in Australia. He is a genuine star in the A Leagues and needs to be kept. Each team needs a genuine Aussie marquee like JMac, Leckie, Goodwin, etc. Marquee funds for these players rather than Nani. And the talking point you forgot - Sydney are BACK! Has any team won the competition from 5th or 6th? Could be the year.
David Shilovsky
Expert
That's not really the point, though. There are myriad permutations and possible scenarios for the final day of any given season, and it's done in other leagues around the world, creating much drama.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Simultaneous kick offs are already there for the race for second place the main real contest left. The race for last finals spot has fizzled out after WSW really opened it up by thrashing Phoenix the five teams chasing them stuffed it up. In particular Macarthur not beating Victory means the one team the other teams were relying on to beat Phoenix has no reason to do it anymore. Then to make it worse the 2 teams on 29 points lose by 2 goals are virtually out of it on goal difference leaving Glory as the only realistic one on 29 if Wellington lose. Maclaren if he is going overseas needs to go a to a strong team in a weak league like Celtic or Rangers. Mori never got a lot of recognition and was even put behind Zdrillic and Max Vieri. His scoring record is quite decent at international level. Mori he only went overseas to a Bundesliga club, he could have succeeded in Belgium like others did. Maclaren should have done more while he was there. Western United and Macarthur their efforts were terrible. Zadkovich bringing in Elsey sabotaged GLory season. Sydney have to thank Brisbane coach for playing Scepevic , Roar tried to press but they wasted their energy because Scepevic didnt press with them.
David Shilovsky
Expert
Been saying it a lot, but the entertainment value has definitely been there this season. As you say, the game has to work out its off-field issues before we can even start thinking about getting the mainstream dollar back.
Saffi
Roar Rookie
I’ve not been a huge McLaren fan , but hell, what a sensational effort to bag a record number of goals. He’s been amazing. I agree that the Perth v Adelaide game was fantastic, Nistroy is an amazing talent, not sure how we keep that level of passion, energy and enthusiasm going in Adelaide? CCM, Melbourne City, Perth and Adelaide are genuinely playing exciting and forward soccer. Love the season and hopefully we get over the mess of the GF decision and Victory pitch invasion.