What an entertaining round of football; there were 24 goals in four games in Round 10, with 18 scored after the 41st minute.
No team kept a clean sheet and six teams scored at least two goals.
Fun facts: Newcastle Jets are the best attacking team in the competition so far this A-League season, with 20 goals and the worst defensive side, as they have conceded 22.
Adelaide United haven’t drawn a game this season; they have had five wins and five losses.
Western Sydney Wanderers have failed to win in their last four A-League games. The last time that happened was 2015.
Melbourne City have only won one of their last six matches in the A-League.
Perth Glory scored for the first time in the opening 15 minutes this season. Glory coach Adam Griffiths, also known as “The Lion,” delivered an insightful comment post-match: “Simple is complicated.”
Juan Mata is 37 years young.
Sydney FC and Auckland FC weren’t included in this article, as the game due to be played last Saturday was postponed. Central Coast Mariners and Brisbane Roar were not a part of this article either, as they are due to play midweek.
Let us take a look at who made a difference for the teams in action.
Newcastle Jets: Clayton Taylor brought the Jets back into the game on two occasions; he scored a fantastic goal early in the second half, well described by Paramount+ commentator Ben Homer: “Clayton Taylor turns defence into attack. That’s Clayton Taylor for you. He just glided through the Bulls backline and it’s 2-2.”
The 21-year-old caused chaos in the final third that led to Jets substitute Ben Gibson scoring, which made the score 4-4.
Taylor’s sublime talent was on display when the Jets took on the Bulls, as described by Paramount+ pundit Roy O’Donovan: “Him coming back into this Jets side from injury has coincided with their best form. He gives them a whole different dynamic. An absolute joy to watch.”
Macarthur FC: Luke Vickery is a player with plenty of potential; the 20-year-old scored the winning goal in the 96th minute, thanks in part to an exquisite pass by Bulls substitute Anthony Caceres, with almost the last kick of the game. Vickery caused plenty of problems for the Jets, as he exposed the absence of Jets left-back Daniel Wilmering due to injury, with Vickery’s influence tough to curtail.
The 20-year-old summed the situation up well: “It was a massive team effort. We’ve had a tight schedule. I knew that there wasn’t much time left.”
Adelaide United: Joshua Smits came up trumps in the key moments; the goalkeeper made a couple of top draw saves, both from Wanderers attacker Bozhidar Kraev, the first in the 34th minute, termed by Paramount+ commentator Erik Paartalu: “A top level save.”
The Reds shot stopper wasn’t done yet, as he made a miraculous save in the 83rd minute, which was well articulated by Paartalu: “He’s been like superman tonight, Josh Smits. That might have saved the game for the home side.”
Paramount+ pundit Daniel McBreen summed the important of the save: “Josh Smits, that save wins them the game.”
Smits made an interesting observation regarding Coopers Stadium: “This is similar to Europe. It feels the same as Netherlands.”
Western Sydney Wanderers: Angus Thurgate put in a good shift for the Wanderers; the 25-year-old passed the ball accurately, with just three out of his 48 passes inaccurate and was the most fouled player in the game.
Thurgate proved too tough to stop, dribbling his way through the Reds defence, that resulted in him winning a penalty. The former Western United player put the ball on a plate for Anthony Pantazopoulos, who missed the target in the 79th minute.
Paramount+ commentator Robbie Thomson summed up Thurgate’s performance well: “Angus Thurgate has had a big impact in this one.”
Melbourne City: German Ferreyra was a bright spark for City; the Argentinian won the most duels in the game, with nine, six clearances, three tackles, three interception, two headed clearances and helped keep the scoreboard respectable.
Perth Glory: Tom Lawrence lived up to his pedigree scoring a hat-trick against City. The former Manchester United player’s humility shown through post-match: “I thought the lads were superb today.”
Glory coach Adam Griffiths summed up what the Welshman has brought to the dressing room, describing him as: “A quality player, a quality human, the boys love him. We’re very lucky to have him.”
Melbourne Victory: Niko Vergos had a great evening scoring a hat-trick and never took his foot off the pedal – the 29-year-old could’ve scored more goals, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Paramount + commentator Grace Gill summed up the shift that he put in: “Vergos didn’t let up.”
The former Greek youth international was understandably upbeat post-match: “It means a lot, because all this is from hard work. I’m very happy myself with my first hat-trick. We never stopped believing in ourselves.”
Wellington Phoenix: Ramy Najjarine pounced on an error from Victory left-back Jason Davidson, but still had to beat Jack Duncan, with the goal scored making the score 1-1 in the 29th minute, which was well described by Grace Gill: “Najjarine a real neat finish, but after that it was all one way traffic.”
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