3 minute read
A snapshot of the 15th round of the A-League Men where Adelaide celebrated their first Pride Day and Tommy Oar scored a belter for Macarthur.
THEY SAID IT: "It's stuff like this that just raises awareness. For people watching the game who have nothing to do with football, and see the pride flag and see everyone encouraging it and saying: 'I might be comfortable playing football now'." - Adelaide's Josh Cavallo after his side celebrated their Pride Day with a 2-1 win over Central Coast.
MAN OF THE WEEK: Beka Mikeltadze is in fine form for Newcastle with eight goals in 11 games. The Georgian international scored a penalty in their 2-2 draw with Macarthur FC and after he scored, he went behind the goals, lifted up a drawstring bag and unfurled a shirt bearing the flag of conflict-hit Ukraine.
BEAT THAT: Tommy Oar doesn't score tap-ins, and Saturday's strike against Newcastle was a thing of beauty. A poorly-cleared shot fell into Oar's path on the edge of the box and with perfect poise he sent a looping volley past Jack Duncan into the back of the net.
STAT ATTACK: Adam Le Fondre has failed to find the net in five straight games for Sydney FC. Coming into this season the English veteran was averaging a rate better than a goal for every two games. This is now the 35-year-old's most barren spell during his time in Australia.
TALKING POINT: Mathew Leckie's form must be encouraging for Socceroos boss Graham Arnold ahead of next month's crunch qualifier against Japan. Leckie took time to readjust to life in Australia but the Melbourne City man now has five goals in his last six games, including Saturday's added-time winner in their 2-1 victory over Sydney FC.
UNDER PRESSURE: After starting the season strongly Central Coast Mariners boss Nick Montgomery is up against it. The Mariners fell to Adelaide late on Saturday in what's becoming a familiar trend for the men from Gosford. The Mariners haven't won a game after Christmas and in every match they have conceded game-changing goals in the last 15 minutes.
UP NEXT: Melbourne Victory face Macarthur on Friday. Newcastle travel to Western on Saturday with Central Coast hosting Brisbane and Western Sydney taking on rivals Sydney FC. Perth return home to take on Adelaide on Sunday with Wellington in action against Melbourne City.
