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After another busy weekend there was movement at the top of the league, Adelaide United’s season is hanging by a thread and Western Sydney are reeling after disappointing back-to-back home defeats.
Here are your A-League talking points.
If the situation in the City of Churches was grim last week, it is looking even worse now after a 2-1 defeat in the Original Rivalry at a sauna-like Coopers Stadium. Carl Veart’s team selection was the subject of attention once more, as teenage sensation Nestory Irankunda started on the pine for the Reds.
It’s remarkable just how far Adelaide have fallen, slipping right down to 11th on the A-League ladder only above strugglers Western United. A season that was trending well despite the loss of talisman Craig Goodwin is now in tatters, with hopes of a finals berth pretty much ended on Saturday.
For Melbourne Victory, however, the latest instalment of the Original Rivalry made for a good opportunity to get back to winning ways. The travelling supporters were boisterous in their corner throughout the 90 minutes, helping to create good atmosphere despite the sweltering weather resulting in swathes of empty red seats.
On the back of a demoralising defeat at home in the Sydney Derby, and up against John Aloisi’s cellar dwellers on Friday evening, Marko Rudan was looking for a reaction from his players. Instead, all the former centre-half oversaw was another insipid display as Western United continued their recent purple patch, leaving CommBank Stadium with all three points.
Rudan’s infamous unhinged press conference following the dramatic 4-3 loss to Macarthur last month was always going to lead the side down one of two paths: either galvanising the group, or becoming such a circus that it would contribute to a complete loss of form. Clearly, Western Sydney are now ambling down the latter route as their chances of a first-ever A-League championship shrink by the week.
With a new three-year contract extension set to begin at the start of next season, Rudan’s job is under no immediate threat. However, things can change pretty quickly in football and should WSW miss the finals his employment could come under heavy scrutiny.
Wanderers will be racking up some travel with visits to Melbourne City and Perth Glory coming up in the next seven days before a much shorter bus ride to Campbelltown Stadium following the international break. Managing a win and a draw in the next three games would be par. Anything less could spell trouble for their top-six hopes.
Western Sydney Wanderers coach Marko Rudan gestures from the sideline. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
It seemed inevitable that first-year manager Giancarlo Italiano’s Wellington side would hit turbulence at some stage of the season, and now is better time for it than right at the pointy end of the season. A much-needed three points for Melbourne City at AAMI Park meant just a third defeat in 21 outings for the Nix thanks to Samuel Souprayen’s second-half strike.
It’ll be interesting to see how Wellington respond from here. The premiership is still very much within reach as the Mariners currently boast just one more victory (remember that weird quirk in the rules for this season), with both clubs on 40 points as we enter the final two months of 2023-24.
In Sydney’s southwest Central Coast continued their formidable form, a 3-0 win over the Bulls their fourth straight triumph. Josh Nisbet got his name on the scoresheet again and pulled the strings expertly as he has done all season. With each dominant performance he puts in, overseas scouts are surely more and more keen on the pint-sized midfielder who the Mariners are going to struggle to hang onto.
-Sydney FC centre-back Jake Girdwood-Reich, who’s in the midst of a breakout season at Allianz Stadium, was sent off for this challenge on Sunday afternoon. Did Adam Kersey make the right call?
-Credit to Wanderers CEO Scott Hudson, as well as his Brisbane counterpart Kaz Patafta, for their strongly-worded statements regarding recent trouble in the stands. Nick Garcia – or whoever is penning the waffling nonsense he puts his name to – is doing nothing to enhance the APL’s reputation among fans, however. Everyone’s sick of all the open letters, time for some real engagement between the league, fans, and police.
-Interesting to see one of the best football apps on the market, FotMob, give the A-League a nice shoutout on X. And it’s well deserved, with some fantastic football being played in 2023-24.
-Anyone on the eastern seaboard staying up to tune into a Perth home game has been duly rewarded this season. Seems there is always some late drama coming at HBF Park.
-The Golden Boot race is going to be exciting with around a quarter of the season to go. Can Adam Taggart get it done leading the line for the plucky Glory?
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