3 minute read
A look at the action in round 24 of the A-League.
A-LEAGUE SNAPSHOT FOR ROUND 24:
* THEY SAID IT: "It's part of the reason everyone else treats us with contempt. All the other codes treat us with contempt because we accept it ourselves." Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat on A-League games being played at the SCG.
* MAN OF THE ROUND: Melbourne City's Ritchie De Laet. The defender with the goalscoring touch was inspirational in their 4-1 win over Brisbane Roar, capping a vigorous performance with a memorable goal.
* STAT ATTACK: De Laet's spectacular strike against Brisbane was his seventh goal of the season, giving him one more than he has managed in all of his 12 previous seasons of senior domestic league and cup play.
* TALKING POINT: The state of the SCG surface became the hot topic after Melbourne Victory's Terry Antonis suffered a knee injury in Saturday's Big Blue. There's talk Sydney FC will move their final home game of the season against Perth to another venue. It also raises the question of how often they will use the iconic stadium again over the next couple of seasons while they wait for their old home ground to be rebuilt.
* UNDER PRESSURE: Melbourne Victory. Conceding a late goal at the SCG could prove costly for Victory's top-two aspirations as the defending champions now face an uphill battle to snatch second from Sydney, and have lost all mathematical chance of catching ladder leader Perth.
* MAGIC MOMENTS: Not one but several in a round that produced some spectacular goals. If you like long range screamers you couldn't go past the efforts of De Laet and Sydney's Brandon O'Neill, but for class and guile Riley McGree's exquisite touch and finish against Brisbane probably takes the cake.
* CLANGERS: Melbourne City defender Harrison Delbridge's header from just inside his own penalty area was a doozy of an own goal, while Wanderers goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic added to his list of unfortunate goals conceded by punching a Dimi Petratos corner into his own net.
* WHAT'S NEXT: Perth can effectively wrap up the Premiers Plate if they score a home win over Newcastle on Sunday. That will keep them a minimum of six points and goal difference ahead of second-placed Sydney, who will need to win a derby against Western Sydney the day before to stay in the hunt. Elsewhere, sixth-placed Melbourne City host an Adelaide side one point and place above them, Brisbane are at home to Wellington Phoenix, and Melbourne Victory face the visiting Central Coast.
