PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEKEND – SYDNEY FC

Well, sufficed to say, there is almost no way Sydney can lose from here. They extended the gap on Melbourne Victory to 11 and kept a clean sheet in the process.

Sydney didn’t just win the game, they dominated. They tripled the amount of shots of Melbourne Victory and if they weren’t missing their shooting boots in the final third, they would have won by a much higher margin.

Danny Vukovic was a big man for Sydney again, putting in a strong performance despite only being called into action three times. Alex Brosque and Milos Ninkovic were both putting in some solid performances up front too, never giving the Victory defence a moment to rest.

The result sees them all but secure the A-League title, with three of their next five opponents currently sitting outside the top six.

All that’s really left for Sydney to do now is break some records. Astoundingly, they have conceded just 11 goals and are likely to break the A-League record of 19, set in 21 game competition, rather than a 27-game competition.

They were able to play one of their best games of the season against the only team that has challenged their top spot all season. A great performance this weekend.

PLAYER OF THE WEEKEND – BRUNO FORNAROLI

Needing a strong result this weekend, City were in need of someone to step up after their performance last week and Bruno was the man. Giving City the lead early with a stunning free kick, he would later play a critical role in getting Paul Izzo sent off.

Fornaroli was the focal point of the attack for City, getting as many shots on target as the rest of the team combined. He peppered the goal with six shots and he gave the inexperienced Mariners defence a complete run around.

Just after the hour mark, he was able to block a Paul Izzo clearance and find himself through on goal. Instead of focussing on the shot, he shielded his body to protect the ball as Izzo ran back to stop the goal, taking out the player and earning himself a red card. Fornaroli was able to convert the penalty and he showed his experience, giving City the one man advantage for the remainder of the game, making it increasingly difficult for the Mariners to find a way back in.

While it may not have been an overall great performance for City, Fornaroli was able to give the, the result they needed, keeping them in third spot on the table. They will face Newcastle next week and will need to make sure they are keeping results positive with only 1 point separating them and 5th spot.

GOAL OF THE WEEKEND – ROY KRISHNA

The build up was almost as brilliant as the finish but it was Roy Krishna’s ability to fashion a chance out of nothing that made this goal spectacular.

A huge long ball from the Wellington defence found Shane Smeltz after a long run by the Kiwi striker. He passed it back to Roy Krishna on the edge of the box who was able to find his was past Rhys Williams and then release a deadly shot past three defenders and past the outstretched arms of Liam Reddy.

It was a low, hard shot that didn’t give the keeper a chance and despite having several bodies in the way, he was able to find the gap and release a beautiful shot.

It’s by no means one of the goals of the season but it was just beautifully done by the player and unlike some of the other spectacular goals this weekend, this one left you scratching your head wondering if the defence could have done anything about it.

He’s been a star player for Wellington for a while now and he proved his quality yet again with that strike.

FLOP OF THE WEEKEND – NEWCASTLE JETS

In a game they could have won, Newcastle simply threw it all away. Having taken the lead early, the Jets looked like they would giving it to a depleted Brisbane side but Jason Hoffman’s red card in the 30th minute, followed by Mark Jones meant that it was only a matter of time before Brisbane fought their way back.

The Newcastle forward line was left to work extra hard and the task was simply to great for them. They only had one shot of their nine shots on target all game, their goal. They allowed Brisbane 24 shots in total, of which 20 were inside their own box.

Tomislav Arcaba in the Newcastle goals was left to work extra hard while Michael Theo in the Brisbane goals was left with very little to do all night. The Jets had less than 40% possession and were made to endure an incredible 13 corners.

Brisbane had been without a win since January and with a hectic Asian Champions League schedule, Newcastle could have easily taken advantage but the game played out very differently and the Jets will go into next week’s match against Melbourne City desperately needing to turn things around.

It’s hard to think of a more one sided match from the past few weeks and with a performance like this, it’s hard to see the Jets being a finals contender despite sitting just three points off. A big flop this weekend.