Here’s what we learned from the weekend’s A-League encounters …

1. Finishing is Foremost
Forget the referee; Brisbane Roar had enough chances to bury Adelaide United on Saturday afternoon. Massimo Murdocca, Besart Berisha and Issey Nakajima-Farran were all guilty of wasting fine opportunities to seal what should have been a steadying three points for the away side. Having been lambasted by Ange Postecoglou during and after their lucky escape in Perth midweek, Brisbane’s players will rightly be more satisfied with their performance in Adelaide – though assisted by the Reds scant attempts at high pressing. The away side’s failure to kill the contest – a quality not even Thomas Broich can provide to the necessary quantity – is a slightly less troubling issue for the Roar boss than a lack of supply, but one which requires urgent mending nonetheless. Ultimately, a short unproductive spell was enough for a freshly-confident Adelaide outfit to pounce upon and snatch a draw.

2. Jim Has It Easy
New Victory coach Jim Magilton will stride into AAMI Park for his first official day in charge of the two-time A-League Champions with his notebook probably reading something like this:

  • “First order of the day: construct a plan to get Harry Kewell on the ball.

  • Second: continue perfecting plan to get Harry Kewell on the ball.

  • Third: lunch.

  • Fourth: finalise plan to …” and, well, you get the picture.

The former Ipswich Town manager will have been delighted with show Harry Kewell staged during his new club’s win over Newcastle on Saturday night as Kewell, deployed on the left of midfield early before floating to the right, delivered two scintillating passes, including the assist for the opening goal, within the first ten minutes. Kevin Muscat managed it from the confines of a coaching playpen (squared in by kid-friendly advertising cushions); Jim Magilton has the remainder of the season to continue extracting the best of Harry Kewell.

3. Miller’s Got It All
One’s first thought upon hearing a Wellington vs. Perth fixture is to be constested in driving rain and blustery wind is generally either “urgh” or, for the quicker thinking folk, “hurry, cancel the Foxtel subscription!” It’s times like these when the special players give spectators hope. Enter Liam Miller. The former Celtic and Manchester United schemer may have done his best work in the first hour of the match but don’t let that discredit the influence he had on Perth’s late, late winner over hosts Wellington. Miller was the only one of a handful of candidates to deliver a moment of inspiration in the match as he wriggled away from four defenders to serve Steve McGarry with the first clear-cut chance just prior to half-time. Miller’s first action upon seeing his teammate waste the glorious opportunity? Not to bury his head in his hands, but to turn, chase and snuff out any possible counter-attack. The entire sequence typified the Irishman’s charm as a footballer in combining skill and work ethic. If Perth’s revival is to extend for a meaningful period, Miller’s form will be central (literally and figuratively).

4. The Brilliance Is In the Balance
As the right-footed, left-stationed duo of Karol Kisel and Seb Ryall were being soundly destroyed by consecutive waves of Central Coast attacks, Vitezslav Lavicka must have finally and emphatically been alarmed to Sydney’s glaring lack of balance. While the Mariners benefit from balance as perhaps their strongest asset – in the spread of their midfield, between attack defence, flair and grit, pace and power – Sydney have long pined for a settled left-back and competent, naturally left-sided midfielder since David Carney departed. Now falling back into the mid-table pack, Sydney requires urgent investment upon the commencement of the transfer window if they are to reposition themselves as title contenders. The Gosford club, meanwhile, made use of their balanced approach in running the show in the first half and grinding out the result in the second, all in front of Australia coach Holger Osieck, apparently just returned from his Castaway-inspired holiday.

5. We Like the Hype
The set-piece specialist has returned, and this time he can score them. It seems as though former Victory and Adelaide midfielder Kristian Sarkies – ‘STARkies’ when in form – has been in a state of suspended animation since that famed free-kick was delivered for Mark Milligan to head Australia into the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But he’s now returned, and we for one are ready for the inevitable wave of rather undeserved billing not seen since this writer labelled himself the new Paul Scholes – of whom Paul Beekmans was unfortunate not to emulate in Gold Coast’s 1-1 draw with Sarkies’ Heart on Sunday afternoon. In fact, forget the naysayers; ‘Five Things We Learned’ is proud to be champion of the set-piece specialist bandwagon. Goalkeepers around the country will hopefully now learn it takes more than a two-man wall to deny the 25-year-old, as we’re sure Gold Coast coach Jose Mo- err, Miron Bleiberg, will make abundantly clear to his defence.