Another action-packed weekend of football is in the books and there’s a bit to unpack, so let’s get stuck in. Here are your A-League Round 6 talking points.
Bulls claim seven-goal thriller
We had to be patient for the match of the round, but Macarthur’s 4-3 triumph over Adelaide was worth the wait. It was a remarkably open game, and as the scoreline suggests neither’s side defence shone at Campbelltown Stadium.
After twice coming from behind to level the scores, the Reds got themselves in front through Zach Clough and it seemed Carl Veart’s side were in the mood to go on with it. However, their backline again faltered, coughing up two goals in two minutes to the delight of the surprisingly loud Bulls faithful.
Considering the attacking philosophy instilled by Veart, until this round Adelaide’s defence had been quite stingy, only allowing seven goals in five matches.
Macarthur, meanwhile, are up to third on the table with Ulises Davila as usual pulling the strings in midfield. The Mexican No.10 has shown his class in the A-League since his time in New Zealand and with the form he’s in at the moment, the Bulls could be destined for a very strong campaign.
Sydney outlast Perth on wild night
On a very wet and stormy evening in the Harbour City, Sydney FC hung on to the three points in what was definitely the most bizarre football match I’ve ever attended.
The heavy rain was uncomfortable for fans but it was the persistent lightning strikes in and around Sydney’s inner-east that forced a lengthy extension to the half-time break. Close to two hours after Alireza Faghani had blown to signal the end of the first half, the two teams finally returned to the pitch for a second warm-up and play was then resumed.
It was a strange evening, with the crowd thinning out throughout while The Cove did an admirable job of sustaining the atmosphere. When Andrew Redmayne misjudged Oliver Bozanic’s free kick late on it made for a nervy finish for the Sky Blues, but Sydney managed to close out the second-longest game in A-League history.
Alen Stajcic could count his side unlucky to leave Allianz Stadium empty-handed, considering some of the chances Perth were unable to capitalise on. For Ufuk Talay it’s two wins from three games, but the latter two performances show Sydney FC are still far from their best.
Spring chicken Fornaroli humming as Victory remain undefeated
Rolling back the years, the 36 years young Bruno Fornaroli can’t seem to stop scoring again. Fornaroli is deservedly considered in the upper echelon of A-League strikers along with the likes of Besart Berisha, Jamie Maclaren and Archie Thompson, and his late-career hot streak should ensure he raises the bat with 100 goals across stints with Melbourne City, Perth and Victory.
Melbourne Victory’s Bruno Fornaroli celebrates a goal against Sydney FC. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)
Tony Popovic’s side had to settle for a share of the spoils in Gosford but are humming along well enough. They are still undefeated, but have failed to win in four matches after two wins to open the season.
It’s been such an open start to 2023-24 across the league so it’s difficult to distinguish the pretenders from the contenders at this stage, but I’m confident that Melbourne Victory will fall into the latter category come the end of the season.
Another unacceptable Suncorp surface
As long as A-League clubs’ home venues are controlled by state governments and councils, the condition of surfaces across the competition will vary considerably. This is a long-term problem and there’s no solution on the horizon, perhaps with the exception of Western United, if their much-hyped stadium is ever delivered.
This is something fans understand and begrudgingly tolerate. However, what is not tolerable is the current state of the Suncorp Stadium pitch. Ground staff were not helped by the fierce storm southeast Queensland experienced on Friday night, which delayed kick-off by an hour, but the pitch was in awful nick a week previous for Brisbane’s 2-1 victory over Perth.
Even one of the best maintained grounds, Coopers Stadium, isn’t safe – the Foo Fighters’ gig over the weekend will no doubt cause issues in Adelaide. In recent weeks we’ve also seen the farcical relocation of the F3 Derby due to motorbikes destroying the McDonald Jones Stadium surface, as well as the Wanderers’ women’s side postponing a game because they couldn’t find anywhere in Australia’s most populous city to play.
Luka Jovanovic of Adelaide poses with his A-League Player Of The Month Award during the round 24 A-League Men’s match between Adelaide United and Western United at Coopers Stadium, on April 16, 2023, in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
There is only one solution to this problem: hundreds of millions of dollars invested in privately built stadia. But as wealthy as some of the league’s owners are, I can’t see many going into their own pockets for this purpose.
Quick hits
-Wellington ground out another victory on the road to go top of the league. New manager Giancarlo Italiano has done a stellar job with the Nix, who are filling the vacuum left by Melbourne City and Central Coast at the pointy end of the ladder.
-Tim Cahill’s son, Shae, made his debut for Brisbane and almost scored but for a great stop from Lawrence Thomas. I always find it interesting how these players deal with playing in their father’s shadow, and what a shadow it is in this case.
-Western United’s move to their soon-to-be completed training base can’t come soon enough. Watching United’s home games at Mars Stadium is utterly depressing. Who knows when – or if – the 15,000-capacity ground will become reality, but at least the training ground is rectangular. Baby steps.
-With five defeats in six games to start the season, after missing the finals in 2022-23, is John Aloisi in trouble?
Paul2
Roar Rookie
"The A-league is the money maker for stadiums in this country because they pay high rents , play a lot of fixtures and dont damage the venue." Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!
Beach
Roar Rookie
On your last paragraph, I've seen no evidence of that apart from the usual suspects. Crowds are down, ratings are beyond poor. The only reason for some flicker of optimism is the fact that an Auckland club has a seriously credentialed backer. He must see something that I don't, because on the basis of the ratings, another TV deal is almost impossible to see.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Your the one who has been making specific arguments without any evidence regarding concerts bringing in the money and this is your defence. Here is the breakdown of revenue Membership 8,722 7,831 Hiring and management fees 19,739 8,929 Ticketing and admissions fees 4,159 2,823 Catering 13,673 10,885 Sponsorships 3,546 3,23 As far as I know Suncorp and Gabba have membership but Gabba would be bigger membership , do members go to concerts I dont think so. Ticketing and admision would be their own events. Sponsorships naming rights to stadium. Catering depends on the stadiums deal, you dont know what percentage of the catering money the hirer takes. Does that include anything from concerts who knows. The major difference between the two years an extra rugby league team came into Suncorp and the Roar started playing games at Suncorp again. What the number of concerts difference is I dont know. Further more the major expense is 2023 2022 Professional fees and contractors 7,657 7,100 Council rates, water, electricity and gas 6,125 6,535 Insurance 4,240 2,592 Venue cleaning and asset protection costs 4,878 4,511 Repairs and maintenance 42,856 29,284 Software support and computer costs 5,752 3,536 Event costs 3,937 2,543 If there have been an increased number of concerts they have lost all the money on increased maintainence. It suggests that concerts are in fact a money loser and they should be vastly increasing hiring charges for them before they allowed. What we do know the impact on the field from an 11 vs 11 match of lighter players 65-80kg males is little compared to a rugby league match 80-110kg and a lot less than a rugby union match 80-120kg and AFL has 18 vs 18 75-100kg A concert on the other hand they seem to relay turf after every one its like having a natural disaster every weekend. Have you actually every laid turf yourself or looked at the cost.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Covid. Stadium revenue has many forms, not just rent. If the house is full, they make a whole lot more out of beverage and food sales, for example so the bargaining power is a lot more when it comes to rent. You simply can not make an argument about a single stadium on figures for all 9 very different venues across a very big geographical State, and with statements like 'we all know' and you can't conclude 'the figures suggest' anything about one particular stadium.
JoshW
Roar Rookie
Interesting weekend from WSW, outplayed for parts of the match but the psychological advantage of being able to come from 2 goals down is more important than salvaging a point.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
How does that make it better, the combined revenue is pathetic, if you are getting 9m one year and 19m year the next as hire charges across Suncorp, Gabba,two Gold COast stadiums, Townsville Stadium,Brisbane entertainment center, the tennis center. It points out that a lot are paying unders if nothing at all, of course the AFL we already know about dont contribute a cent around the country. This line that concerts are paying for it is obviously false looking at the figures. if anything the figures suggest that Roar in the past were one of the few paying any sort of money , and Suncorp is making most of the money.
NoMates
Roar Rookie
I'm expecting the Nixs to stay on top of the league for the next few rounds. There position is such a "up yours" To everyone that had them for the spoon this season.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Don't think you were listening
moe_syzlak
Roar Rookie
said it before and ill say it again …….. the pitch wars of tomorrow are gunna be lit ….. lit i tells ya …….. beware league/union fans – oz sokkah extremists are coming for ya [edit] Fact. :stoked: ….. [edit 2] the entertainment industry should be worried as well :silly:
Ed Flanders
Roar Rookie
Fiction. Plenty of world cup qualifiers have taken place on pitches of various quality. Not just in Asia, but in Africa, North America, South America etc. You weren't whinging when Australia played Mexico on astroturf.
Ed Flanders
Roar Rookie
Great comment, Moe. These yahoos just can't take facts though.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
State debt is much bigger in NSW and Vic than it is in Qld
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
I missed last night's game but caught Carl Veart's reaction, he was not happy with his team. Doubtless, he'll have them very fired up for Roar match next round.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
You need to account for the number of concerts, which stopped (cancelled, became zero) during Covid, but increased dramatically post Covid to the point that, for Suncorp for example, the number allowed by agreement with the local community, has increased from 6 to 12 per year.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
The figures you quote in both your replies are for all their venues, from Cairns to the Gold Coast which vary in use from Sunday markets to sports academy, school sports, swimming, diving, cycling, athletics, weightlifting, basketball, netball, tennis, concerts, etc and the national leagues. Many of the venues are far from self-funding, Bris Entertainment Centre for example, and Townsville, Cairns & Gold Coast stadiums are under utilised, as is QSAC. The figures are way too broad and varied, and your use of the figures is way too simplistic for the conclusion you draw. If you want to argue that the stadiums, all nine of them, cost a lot of money to run and maintain, you’re correct. They are publicly funded for a reason, and many of them are used by the public at little or no cost. But if you want to apply that directly to Suncorp Stadium, or to future venues, you’ll have to do a bit more research (yes I know, I led you on this path, sorry). Grants are not just grants from the State government to pay running costs, they also include significant capital works. Suncorp also received Federal gov grants for upgrades for the FIFA WWC, as did several other venues, for upgrades.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
I don't think there's any conspiracy theories here, but I also don't think there's any doubt that soccer requires a decent surface which the multiple purpose sports and entertainment venues in Australia simply do not provide. Fact.
chris1
Roar Rookie
LH not only that, but the surface required for an AFL match could be played on the moon and wouldn’t make any difference to the standard. Same with rugba league.
Waz
Roar Rookie
:laughing:
Midfielder
Roar Guru
Went to the Mariners game and watched all games except the Nix & Cows IMO and a very humble one, all games were good, hard to pick the best, for me the best game was Roar V WSW.... the class of those opening goals by the Roar to open up a good defence was simply joyful to watch. Sydney V Perth.... Perth will struggle and SFC seem on the improve, Pert struggled but defended well... Mariners V MV, ... we are struggling the new team and new coach don't quite reach the standards of the last two years... the game was strange in a way, both teams had long spells of being on top.... Overall, the talk the league up and unite seems to be slowly taking hold....
mrl
Roar Rookie
Our defenders do not align!!!