THE recent spate of arguable penalty decisions is not a sign of some insidious new trend in football.

Although the mighty Mariners had a week off last weekend, my football fix was well and truly sated by not one, but four very entertaining and dramatic matches.

Firstly, Arsenal v Man Utd, not much needs to be said here, class football played by class players, with genius managers. The game simply lived up to its billing.

Secondly, a game that brought me no small amount of joy (being a Barcelona fan), Barca’s six-nil thumping of Valladolid. In this case, it was not so much the score, but the manner in which a team can make a defence look like its not even there. It was often sublime to the point it just makes you laugh seeing football made to look so easy. I confess, it’s right up there in the pure joy stakes for me. Or perhaps I’ve just been married too long

The big games locally, were of course Sydney v Wellington, and Newcastle v Perth, and both for very different reasons. The former, because Sydney seem to have a problem with Wellington, and really needed to regain some confidence from their capitulation the previous week, and the latter in view of the fact that both teams were desperate to move off the bottom of the table.

As it turned out both games were actually quite entertaining, not necessarily for the quality of the football, but as is more frequently the case in the A-league, the quality of the contest, athletically and tactically.

The final results in both games were contingent upon late penalty decisions that were both contentious at the time. The problem was not in either decision, but rather the poor reaction to these decisions by coaches from whom we all should expect a far higher standard of behaviour, notwithstanding the pressure they are under.

The Popovic penalty was a good decision, and frankly, given Wellington’s effort and commitment over the course of the full game rewarded the better team on this occasion.

The Trinidad penalty was less clear cut, but in football, these types of decisions decide games every week in every competition in the world. It has been this way for the 30-odd years that I have been watching the game.

Although he may have made more of hitting the ground than he should have, he was always going to hit the ground. Outside the box it would have been a foul, and inside the box it was therefore also a foul (direct or indirect is more the question).

Cheating in order to gain advantage, speaks to the character of individuals, not the character of the game. Referees, on balance, actually do a pretty good job, and in the end, over the course of a season, the best team will nonetheless prevail.

The solution is best left to leaders, i.e. coaches and managers instilling the right values in players (preferably at a young age), rather than technology.

As to the weekend ahead, and the only A-league game in town this week is obviously the deferred Mariners and Adelaide match. Let’s hope it's drama packed and exciting, with the Mariners ultimately triumphant, and taking second place on the ladder.

The Mariners should be fresh and confident. We know they know how to score, they just need to keep it tight at the other end. Mile will be fired up, given his call up to Socceroos squad again, as will Matty Simon, who is the form striker in the competition at the moment.

It’s difficult to know what psychological effect Adelaide’s drubbing at the hands of a vastly superior Gamba Osaka side will be. The final aggregate score was an accurate reflection of the gulf in speed, fitness, and technique over two legs. There were times when the game looked like the Barca v Valladolid match to which I referred earlier.

Perhaps Adelaide did not play at their best, however I expect players like Dodd, Cornthwaite, Cassio, and of course the returning Costanzo, to be very determined to make up for the disappointment of this result.

I’m looking forward to a great game, and a great night at Bluetongue, dodgy penalties or not.

Finally, best wishes also go out to Craig Moore, I’m sure that like me, all true Australian football fans hope that his recovery goes well, and that he returns to the game quickly.