The Worst A-League Team Ever At Defending Set-Pieces Award

The Western Sydney Wanderers are staring down the barrel of a fourth consecutive season without finals football. If you wanted any evidence that they don't deserve it, it is their abysmal set-piece defending.

Last Wednesday, against the Phoenix, they shipped in another two from dead-ball scenarios. Both their defence and Daniel Margush didn't breed any confidence they could clear the ball for both goals.

This problem is not the first time it's been raised this season, either.

Last month they were beaten 5-4 by the Victory at Marvel, with Ziggy Gordon's positioning particularly all over the place on multiple occasions.

For a club that Tony Popovic once coached - a manager who prides himself on having a solid foundation - this Wanderers' team is a far cry from sides of the past.

Their schoolboy approach to defending will cost them dearly, and it might also cost manager Carl Robinson his job. 

The Marauding Fullback Award

What on earth got into Jack Clisby last Thursday night?

The left-back netted the Mariners equaliser against Macarthur, as they went on to secure a 2-1 comeback win and move ever closer to a first finals appearance in seven years.

He punished the Bulls with a ferocious hit that cut across Adam Federici's goal to equalise after Matt Simon found him on the left side of the penalty area.

However, just moments after his first, he should have scored a second. Marco Ureña slipped him into an identical situation to the first goal, but he only found the side-netting.

Incredibly, he could have even had a first-half hat-trick when he again found space in the pocket down the left and scored, but Ureña was offside in the build-up.

Not only is the 29-year-old a defender, but before last week he had scored just three times previously in 164 league appearances.

On another night, Clisby might have ended up doubling his A-League career total for goals.

The Anticlimax Award

Oh, Western United. A season that promised so much has ultimately provided nothing but a significant step backwards.

After another impressive off-season of recruitment, where the signings of Spaniard's Victor Sanchez and Iker Guarrotxena seemed to have improved their squad on paper, Western have seriously underperformed.

Many might have tipped them to go all the way before the season started after making the semi-finals in 2019-20.

However, Mark Rudan's side currently has the second-worst defence in the league this season, coupled with the second-worst attack.

That attack has misfired despite Alessandro Diamanti having another excellent season, thus proving their overreliance on the Italian star.

Only the Victory have conceded more goals than their crosstown rivals this season. It would've been a bitter pill to swallow that the cellar-dwellers were the ones who put the final nail in the coffin.

Western's 6-1 thrashing on Friday night to the Victory ended their season. But it was also a severe indictment of the club's predicament on the whole at the moment.

They've now lost six straight games, and on four of those occasions, the margin was three goals or more.

Yikes.

The Friendly Reminder Award

Like Saturday night's meeting with Adelaide United, Sydney FC might not play with the most flair or swagger in crunch games. But, they get the result they need and do it with minimal amounts of fuss.

The Sky Blues were victorious 4-1, and they surely can’t drop out of the top two now?

The Mariners might have something to say about that, but right now, you can’t look past Steve Corica’s side based on both recent history and tonight.

Their performance was a friendly reminder of their star quality and put them in a strong position for a home semi-final.

We might even see a repeat of last year’s Grand Final the way things are shaping up.

Melbourne City is still the benchmark right now. Still, one thing Sydney and Corica have that Patrick Kisnorbo’s side does not are trophies under their belt.

That factor is crucial come finals time, and although there is a gap between the pair, that can be quickly closed in a one-off final.

Corica will be delighted that his side has effectively sewn things up with a game spare, but more crucially, it seems his team are hitting form at the right time.

The Most Penalty Drama Ever Seen In Injury Time Award

It was essentially a playoff game between two sides fighting for their lives just outside the top six. Wellington's clash in Auckland with Perth lived up to the hype in an enthralling 2-2 draw.

All four of the goals scored at Eden Park were phenomenal in their own right.

Tomer Hemed expertly held his run to score the Nix's first, and Diego Castro's weight of pass to set up Bruno Fornaroli was also brilliant.

Let's not forget Callum Timmins' ridiculous long-range thunderbolt with fifteen to play or Jaushua Sotirio getting in on the act with a fine curling effort from just inside the box to tie things up.

However, amongst the attacking quality on display with the goals, there was still time for some peak A-League football in stoppage time.

The Nix were awarded a penalty after Nick D'Agostino brought down David Ball. Liam Reddy saved from twelve yards to deny Ulises Davila the winner, though.

Perth was still not off the hook yet, though, with the Nix repeatedly getting dangerous crosses into the area throughout the additional seven minutes.

On several occasions, their players were adamant that one of Perth's defenders had either handled the ball or made a foul.

The most contentious call was a non-penalty award for Darryl Lachman supposedly pushing Louis Fenton when contesting a 97th-minute cross.

It seemed as if referee Alex King was waving away shouts at a rate of one every minute. If I were a Perth fan, I would've been sweating bullets throughout the frantic finale.