Welcome to Made With Mitre Moments, where aleagues.com.au brings you all the biggest talking points from each round of the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
Read on for all the biggest talking points from Round 19 thanks to Mitre.
Black Knights focused on making history after exacting revenge over Western
The intention was to win everything in their first season in the Isuzu UTE A-League and it appears as though Auckland FC are on course to do just that.
Saturday’s 2-0 win over Western United coupled with a defeat for Adelaide sent the Black Knights five points clear at the top of the ladder but head coach Steve Corica says he isn’t surprised given the conversation he had with the team before the season began.
“At the start of the season, we spoke about winning,” said Corica when speaking in post-match press conference.
“And you know, that’s the reason why I went to Auckland in the first place, to be ambitious as well.
He continued: “Obviously, it’s gone very nicely for us. So far, we’ve had to work hard for some games and stuff like that.
“We’ve got another 10 games to go so it’s still a long way to go. Obviously we’re in a very good position. We just need to keep doing what we’re doing, winning games and keeping clean sheets and see what happens.”
First-half goals from Guillermo May and Max Mata got the job done for the visitors as they held firm to deny Western United any way back into the contest at Ironbark Fields to secure their 11th win of the season.
So with 11 wins to their names and a five-point buffer at the top – are Auckland FC now a strong chance of becoming the first New Zealand side to win the Premier’s Plate? Corica remains optimistic.
“Obviously we’d be very proud if we do do something like that. It’s a long way to go like I said but we want to be the first team to win a trophy.
“Obviously first year in, it’s going to be difficult. A lot of people probably didn’t think we’d be where we are right now.
“We just continue what we’re doing. One game at a time – it’s cliche, but it is right now. We had to turn up today, we did and put on a really good performance in tough conditions.
“Next week we have a derby, week after that we have Adelaide so it doesn’t get any easier but looking forward to the derby next week.”
Wanderers boss pays tribute to unsung hero after vital win
Western Sydney Wanderers head coach Alen Stajcic has hailed the impact a fit again Gabriel Cleur is having on the side following his match-winning performance against Macarthur.
The 27-year-old set up Nicolas Milanovic for the Wanderers’ equaliser before then lashing a stunning strike into the top corner in the 77th minute to secure all three points against the Bulls.
Cleur was in fine form for the Wanderers in the early part of the season, registering four assists from the opening nine matches before suspension coupled with a hamstring injury saw him sidelined.
“Look, I thought we were really building and improving throughout December, early January, and then Cleur and (Dylan) Scicluna got injured,” said Stajcic when speaking after the game.
“I think when both of them went down in the same game, we actually lost a lot of fluidity and rhythm in the team for the next three, four matches.
“Even though we didn’t lose every match, I just didn’t think we looked as good as what we had before that game, before that Adelaide game, which is for me, one of the better games that we played this year.
“Gab’s (Cleur) come back now, three matches. You know, every half that he’s played, he’s just built and built. He played one half, then last week he played 65 minutes, and then today, 90 minutes.
He added: “So he’s one of those types of players that when things do go his way, you’re just really happy for him, because he works so hard. He’s, without question, one of the hardest workers in our team and in the A-League.”
The win for the Wanderers keeps them in eighth spot on the ladder but more importantly they now sit level on points with both the Bulls in seventh and Sydney FC in sixth spot.
Next up for Stajcic and Co is an away trip to Gosford to face the Central Coast Mariners on February 22 when they’ll be hoping to take another step towards the top six against a Mariners side who face Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale away in midweek.
Veart highlights ‘warning sign’ for Adelaide after surprise defeat
Adelaide United head coach Carl Veart says his side must learn from their 2-1 home loss to Newcastle Jets, believing it could be a ‘warning sign’ for things to come.
The Reds fell behind to a Lachie Rose goal in the 33rd minute and while they did pull level through Stefan Mauk on the stroke of half-time, a Clayton Taylor strike in the second-half sealed their fate.
“Look, you know, Newcastle worked extremely hard tonight,” said Veart when speaking in his post-match press conference.
“They were a lot more desperate than what we were. So look, it’s disappointing.
“As a group, we’ve worked extremely hard this year, and you know, in the games that we’ve lost, we’ve been 10, 15% below what we we need to be at when we lose games.
Defeat for Adelaide coupled with Auckland FC’s win over Western United means the Reds are now five points behind the league leaders.
Whilst defeat to the Jets is no doubt frustrating, arguably the most irritating aspect of the loss for Veart is the fact his side aren’t making the most of their opportunities in the final third.
“I suppose the pleasing thing is we’re getting in the right areas,” said Veart when discussing the missed chances.
“We spoke a lot this week about the quality and the decision making of that final ball. There’s no point, you know, just chucking the ball in the box. It has to be with purpose, and our movement in the box has to be better.
“We saw that tonight (it) just wasn’t at the level that it needs to be. You know, we had enough of the ball and enough opportunities to get the ball into the box but it was either the movement or the final ball.
“There was a lot of things that didn’t go well for us, but, you know, it’s frustrating, to drop points in the way that we did as well.”
Next up for Adelaide is a tricky trip to Ironbark Fields on Sunday when they face fifth-placed Western United.
Vidmar praises prodigious young talent as veteran Socceroo sets the benchmark
Melbourne City ended a run of three-straight losses in the Isuzu UTE A-League when they defeated Perth Glory 1-0 in Round 19.
Coming up with the match-winning moment was teenager Lawrence Wong who, at 17 years of age, became the club’s youngest ever goalscorer after curling home a sublime effort in the 37th minute.
“It was a nice goal,” said Vidmar when asked about the talented young midfielder in his post-match press conference.
“The youngest player ever here at the club to score a goal, so that’s good for him and you know, he’s just got to keep learning.
He continued: “He’s learning a lot of things about working hard, what it’s like to be a good teammate.
“He’s going to go through ups and downs, and that’s all part of it, and he’s pretty level-headed anyway, so as long as he keeps listening, keeps learning, keeps pushing himself and then he gives himself a good chance.”
So whilst one City player is beginning to take his first steps in professional football another, more experienced star, Mathew Leckie, is continuing to work his way back into the sort of form City fans know he can produce.
‘Lecks is very important for us,” said Vidmar when asked about the Socceroo’s performance.
“I was contemplating taking him off towards the end, but at that stage of the game, we thought, we just need him on.
He went on to say: “He adds a lot of strength. It probably wasn’t his best game, but he’s a guy doing 15 slide tackles out there.
Crucially for Vidmar and City, the win over Perth represented the first time Leckie has played 90 minutes this season – a feat which comes at the perfect time given City face Melbourne Victory in the Melbourne Derby in Round 20.
Chiefy laments ‘fine margins’ but defends Nix approach: ‘We don’t work like that’
It’s now 23 matches at AAMI Park without a win for Wellington Phoenix following their 1-0 loss to Melbourne Victory in Round 19 of the Isuzu UTE A-League.
A Nikos Vergos header in the 57th minute of the contest proved to be the difference between the two sides as Victory secured the win which moves them up into third on the ladder.
As for Wellington, defeat is their seventh of the season and leaves them sat in tenth position, six points outside the top six.
I was happy for the large part,” said Italiano when asked for his assessment after the game.
“I mean, if you look at the balance of the game, I think the most disappointing thing is Corban (Piper) and Kosta (Barbarouses) are in their box – a miss-hit pass, which would have led to a big chance, and we get countered and we get done on transition.
“It was probably a poor goal to concede to be fair, especially when you’re in that position, but if that pass sticks, you know, it’s a little bit more in front (of the player), we could be talking about a 1-0 victory as opposed to a 1-0 defeat so it’s fine margins.”
Ranked lowest in the league for ‘Expected Goals’ (xG) and ‘Big Chances Missed’ this season according to Opta Data, the Nix had to wait until the final 20 minutes of the game at AAMI Park before registering their first effort on target.
However, despite seeing the ‘Nix struggle in front of goal once again, Italiano believes the stats don’t necessarily reflect how his side are actually playing.
“I don’t sit on the bench thinking, you know, ‘the more shots we have, the more we’re going to have goals.
“For us, it’s about quality of chances, opening up the right areas. If you see a lot of our goals, you know, cutbacks and so on, it’s all done by design.
“So again, I keep stressing to the boys, it’s more about the quality. You can have two chances in a game, if they’re both quality chances you can win two-nil. You can have 20 shots in a game. And if they’re all like half chances outside the box, you know, I’m not really sure that they’re clear.
Up next for Wellington is a mouthwatering New Zealand Derby against league-leaders Auckland FC on Saturday afternoon at Go Media Stadium.
