Here’s what the weekend taught us …

1. Watch For The Signs Of Adelaide
Adelaide’s underperformance this season has been nothing short of spectacular. From pre-season title favourites to a likely ninth-place finish, United’s ongoing despair should not be wholly unexpected given the compellingly volatile nature of the league, and equally used as a checklist of warning signs for future hopefuls. So, judging by Friday’s 2-0 home loss to an efficient Perth Glory, A-League coaches should know they’re in trouble when:

  • Billy Mehmet, aware of Adelaide’s luck, is confident enough to put a boot on a shot destined for goal despite being in an offside position.

  • Nigel Boogard has such little faith in his attack that he believes attempting a backheel inside the opponent’s penalty area is a worthwhile option for beating Danny Vukovic in the Perth goal.

  • Sergio van Dijk, the third highest A-League scorer of all time, chooses to turn away from a clear scoring opportunity and into the onrushing defence. And few fans are surprised.

  • When trailing, seven minutes of extra time is only reserved for more disappointment.

Oh, and Jacob Burns hits an outside-of-the-boot scorcher from beyond the penalty area to seal the result for the opposition inside 25 minutes. Especially keep an eye out for that one telltale symptom.

2. The Importance Of Being Mitch
Never underestimate a man with a beard. Ever. Because, inevitably, that will man will perform superhuman feats. At the very least he will score you a goal, which is exactly what the newly bearded Mitch Nichols managed in Brisbane’s 1-1 home slipup to Melbourne Heart. Unfortunately for Nichols and Brisbane, the Olyroo’s stubble is only in its early stages, and as such was unable to safeguard from an injury-forced substitution in the 40th minute. The midfielder had earlier been central to much of Brisbane’s best work, firing a sizzling shot past Clint Bolton, the hero of the night, to open the scoring and almost laying on an assist only minutes later for teammate Nick Fitzgerald. His withdrawal drained Brisbane’s impetus in the second half and, for a third successive match against the champions, Heart were clever enough to capitalise. Knowing the match was only the first of Brisbane’s cluttered back-of-season schedule, Roar coach Ange Postecoglou will be wary of overexerting any of his key players, but he will likewise be cautious of channelling all expectation through Thomas Broich. One thing is for certain: Mitch Nichols’s beard will have to exert all of its powers of recovery.

3. Victory Are The Best Team In The League
Honestly, how could we let this slip? How could anyone let this slip? Heading into the weekend, probably the most unexpected lesson – even in all the A-League’s wildly ridiculous unpredictability – we could hope to learn would be that Melbourne Victory are the best team in the league. But, even though their catastrophic 3-1 Saturday afternoon loss to Newcastle suggests it’s beyond even the A-League’s abnormalities, that was what we learned. At least, that’s what Harry Kewell told us. What Kewell probably meant was … no, just no. Those words cannot be justified, at least not sensibly. Perhaps the Socceroo’s unthinkable penalty miss sent him into an out of body experience, whereby his mind was wrongly transplanted back into the body of a Newcastle Jets player. Yes, that’s almost definitely what happened. If true, his post-game opinion becomes marginally more reasonable, as Newcastle were again eye-catching in the encounter, including a 20 minute period where they piled on three goals to kick three points clear in sixth. The Jets’ recent form is comparable to any side in the league, and you wouldn’t blame even the best team in the league for wishing to be in their position.

4. Time Has Come For The Double Act
Central Coast are battling their way through a slump, everyone is well aware of that – their cheeks nestled on the toilet seat have become a little sore with only one win in their last six outings. Now, with an Asian Champions League campaign to balance against their three remaining A-League fixtures, Graham Arnold has two problems to solve. Fortunately for the Mariners boss, these conundrums may solve each other. The anticipation surrounding Mustafa Amini’s return from Olyroo duty was softened before the Mariners’ 1-1 draw with Sydney as Arnold declared the Dortmund-bound young gun lacking the necessary fitness to compete, meaning fellow teen sensation Tom Rogic was left to provide the creative spark for the home side. He couldn’t, and now the possibility of Amini shifting into Rostyn Griffiths’s vacated holding midfield role has been raised. Salivating Australian football fans will be hoping Arnold’s plan comes to fruition, while sight of Rogic and Amini in tandem should be enough for a rejuvenation of the Mariners.

5. If At First You Don’t Succeed, Wait ‘Til They’re On The Floor
If you weren’t able to catch the final match of the round – where, gladly, Wellington were able to host Gold Coast – and wanted the match summed up in a moment, we can only advise that you watch the final minute and a half. In the most memorable sequence of the 93 contested minutes, Mirjan Pavlovic was set free down Wellington’s right channel as Gold Coast players had ventured forward in search of an equaliser. Having shot straight at the man-of-the-match Jerrad Tyson from a tight angle, the striker then fired his rebound into the stomach of defender Zac Anderson, before laying off possession for Nick Ward to have a dip, only for the midfielder to see his strike heroically blocked by a diving Dylan McGowan, the same defender who initially slowed Pavlovic. Miraculously, it didn’t end there. Next it was the turn of Gold Coast captain Michael Thwaite to desperately lunge a boot in the path of another Ward effort before, finally, finally, the former Victory man found the space to scoop a shot past Tyson and hand the ‘Nix a deserved 2-0 win. Thus, the dagger had been rammed into Gold Coast’s proverbial heart – and the ball rammed literally into their bodies – leaving at least two players sprawling on the floor and several more downtrodden as their fight had come to a physically painful end. Those frantic seconds were an eternal struggle for the young away team and, just as they are tackling a tumultuous club situation beyond their control, they were admirably valiant.