PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEKEND – BRISBANE ROAR

With performances like these, it’s hard to wonder why they aren’t further up the table than they are. Currently sitting fourth, they could be pushing for a top two position easily.

Brisbane were strong against a resurgent Adelaide and took their chances well. Thomas Kristensen was certainly the hero of the night, and the Dane just seems to have a knack for scoring.

He worked his two goals well, finding the space to release shots both times, just within a few minutes of each other.

Brisbane were definitely the more clinical team, scoring with every single shot on target they had. Adelaide took more shots but few troubled Jamie Young, who rose to the challenge every time he was called into action.

Their defence was under the pump for a lot of the game, but cleared well, keeping the danger away and limiting the amount of solid opportunities Adelaide had.

They certainly had their work to do with Adelaide coming off the end of some resurgent form, but they quashed the Reds excellently, putting in a dominant display of football.

Adelaide certainly had their chances, with an astonishing 19 corners to just 1 to Brisbane. The South Australians will certainly be questioning why they found the back of the net so hard to come by this week as compared to last.

For me, it had everything to do with how Brisbane played, happy to absorb the pressure and not give an inch.

A deserved win for Brisbane and also, a terrific performance of the weekend.

PLAYER OF THE WEEKEND – BESART BERISHA

The hattrick hero had a blinder of a weekend, remaining clinical in front of goal (something that not could be said of his opposition).

To sum up his performance this weekend, he had three shots, all of which were on target and all of which found the back of the net. He wasn’t given as many chances as his opponents but showed why he’s one of the A-League’s best ever strikers, showing his sharpness in front of goal.

Scoring his second hattrick of the season, Berisha is certainly having a terrific season and he is showing that despite getting older, he is not allowing anyone to think he’s losing his touch.

His goals were not only clinical, but well worked. He pounced upon an Andrew Redmayne mistake to secure his first for the night and his terrific movement to meet a header with perfection saw him bag his second.

He capped off the night with a brilliant run with the ball, into the box, all whilst holding off two defenders. His finish was perfect too, giving Redmayne no hope of saving.

His excellent hattrick has also taken him to the top of the scorers table, leaping past Andy Keogh and Bruno Fornaroli, both who failed to find the back of the net this weekend.

Certainly a great player of the season and definitely our player of the weekend.

GOAL OF THE WEEKEND – VINCE LIA

Vince Lia couldn’t quite believe he’d scored and neither could we really. As a player not particularly known for his shooting ability, this shot was incredible. The defensive midfielder had only scored two A-League goals prior to this one but boy, wasn’t this one special.

The goal capped off a great game for Wellington who were excellent despite the loss of their coach at the start of the week.

Fabio Ferreira’s head gave him the opportunity, as the Central Coast player cleared a free kick from the side of the box.

The ball landed perfectly for Lia who simply took a touch before sending it screaming into the top corner from outside the box.

The ball seemingly hung in the air, it was hit with such perfection, with the diving Ivan Necevski given absolutely no chance to save it. It was hit so well that the ball was still rising as it hit the back of the net.

One that Vince will never forget and an excellent goal of the weekend.

FLOP OF THE WEEKEND – WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS

Wasteful is the best way to describe Western Sydney. With a home ground advantage and almost everything going their way, they could not score.

They had chance after chance but displayed some of the poorest finishing we’ve seen this season. Melbourne Victory made them pay on the counter and having the hattrick hero, Besart Berisha leading their front line, they put the game to bed with such limited chances.

Almost everyone on the Wanderer’s team had a shot and whilst Jack Clisby’s shot hit the cross bar and somehow didn’t go in despite flashing across the goal, for the rest of the time, their finishing was amateur.

Despite 18 shots, 12 of which were inside the box, they could only put five on target and none into the back of the net.

Nicolas Martinez saw all four of his shots fly wide, with not even one troubling the keeper. With such a strong attacking team, the Wanderers should have done better. They allowed Melbourne Victory into a game that they were dominating and allowed the clinical Victory to open them up and scored despite limited chances.

Many fans would have been left disappointed with the highest attendance of the round forced to watch the Wanderers miss chance after chance, after chance.

Not the kind of performance a team like the Wanderers would be used to and they will really have to work harder in that final third and defensively, to make sure that there aren’t more flops like this one.