PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEKEND – MELBOURNE VICTORY

Currently sitting 3rd with a game in hand, Melbourne have been a silent force in the competition so far. They’ve dropped points just three times this season and only to teams inside the current top four.

In what was their fourth win in five games, Victory were firing in all departments. For the most part they kept it tight and the back, controlled possession in the midfield well and deadly up front.

Newcastle Jets have always been a tricky opponent for Victory with results very even between the two teams in their past few encounters. Melbourne were determined to make the home advantage count but almost conceded within the first five minutes with Andy Brennan blasting wide after some lead up play.

Melbourne Victory worked their way back into the game and were incredibly unfortunate not to go ahead inside the first quarter of an hour with Besart Berisha failing to finish a tap in from inside the six-yard box.

They wouldn’t get so close inside the first half but certainly came out firing in the second. A Marco Rojas free kick found a deflection off the head of Iain Fyfe and soared past Jack Duncan who was left stranded on this occasion.

Just a few minutes later, Rojas’s pressure on the Newcastle defence paid off when he intercepted inside his own half and began a 3 on 1 counter attack. Despite having two team mates to use, Rojas did it himself and put the ball past Jack Duncan after running half the length of the pitch.

Duncan would perform a world class save just five minutes later to deny another Victory goal and if it weren’t for the shot-stopper, Victory may have run away with the game. Troisi would blast it over from just inside the box a few minutes later too.

Newcastle came back late in the game but through excellent work from Matt Acton and James Donachie, they kept the clean sheet.

It was a strong performance from Victory against a Newcastle team that at times, looked very strong despite their injury setbacks. Melbourne may have taken some time to click but they proved on the weekend that they have what it takes to make it all the way to the finals.

Victory dominated the game, producing 21 shots to Newcastle’s 10 and holding way more possession than their opponents. They also proved to be the far more disciplined side too, picking up just one yellow card to Newcastle’s four.

A strong performance from the team and it’s no wonder it’s our performance of the weekend.

PLAYER OF THE WEEKEND – MARCO ROJAS

His return at the start of this season was a big deal and its clear to see why. He has not played a game with Victory this season without a goal or assist.

The little New Zealander was on fire for Victory this weekend, putting his mark on the game through both of the team’s goals. His first was a free kick that deflected with his second being a strong individual effort.

The free kick was won off the back of some excellent attacking work by the Victory and Rojas stepped up with confidence. The kick may have found a deflection but it was a quality free kick nonetheless.

He backed up his man of the match credentials a few moments later with an excellent counter attacking move initiated and finished by the Kiwi. It may or may not have made our goal of the weekend, you’ll just have to see, but it was an incredible goal showcasing the player’s quality.

Rojas has been huge for Victory this season and he played a big part in this game. James Troisi was another force for Victory during this game but unlike Rojas, he couldn’t find the finish.

The 25-year-old probably should have been the player of the weekend sooner but he has really put himself out there this week in a way he hasn’t in previous weeks.

It’s a wonder that the Kiwi wasn’t able to establish himself more overseas with the kind of performances he’s been putting on for Victory showing his class and ability.

He’s been consistently putting in solid performance after solid performance and this week, he is our player of the weekend.

 

GOAL OF THE WEEKEND – MARCO ROJAS SECOND

Have we mentioned Rojas yet?

The 25-year-old had a great weekend and its capped off with the goal of the weekend. His intercept and run from inside his own half was brilliant and even with support off to his left, he finished superbly.

The goal had everything. Defence starting with the attackers, intercept, counter attack, three on one, great pace and overall, a great finish.

He had just been buoyed by a great free kick that had deflected into the back of Jack Duncan’s goal and he showed it.

Buzzing around just inside his own half, he snatched onto a ball that had been passed poorly, launching himself into a rapid counter attack. Johnny Katroumbis was the only defender to stay with the attack as Besart Berisha and Fahid Ben Khalfallah ran alongside the young Kiwi.

He calmly ran it right into the box and slotted it past the onrushing Jack Duncan who has not been a pushover by any stretch of the imagination this season.

A great goal, from a great player, in a great performance, in a great game. Rojas deserves many accolades this week and this goal is one he certainly deserves great praise for.

FLOP OF THE WEEKEND – SYDNEY FC

They have been flying high for so long but it was a very different Sydney FC that we saw against Adelaide. Coming off a stellar and dominant performance against Brisbane last week, they had momentum and they let it slip. Badly.

Sydney have had no trouble finding the back of the net this season but they really struggled this game. Sydney had only one shot on target all game to Adelaide’s three. They looked nothing like the team that had started the season and Graham Arnold would have been left frustrated going into the FFA Cup final.

David Carney’s outrageous foul just before half-time on an Adelaide counter attack summed it up. They were classless.

Bobo got almost no service which made it hard for Sydney to find anything solid going for them in the final third.

We’ve seen Sydney playing some beautiful football in the past few weeks and their counter attacking is fluid but this game, for whatever reason, was simply lacking that.

Adelaide were by no means a stellar side on the night but they almost looked good compared to Sydney. Adelaide have been very disappointing this season and a draw against the top team shouldn’t be mistaken for a good result. Sydney were poor.

Nothing was sticking for Sydney and maybe the words of their coach comparing them to the Arsenal Invicibles was something that gave them more cockiness than they needed when playing the bottom team.

They still sit four points clear at the top and they may still be undefeated, but Sydney have a lot of work to do in time for next week.

REFEREE WATCH

The referees have been the centre of controversy in recent weeks and so we thought we’d give you the wrap on their decision as a part of our weekly wrap.

After last week, both Kevin Muscat and Graham Arnold took the time to say they thought the officials were doing a good job and with many under scrutiny recently, there could be change afoot for the officials.

The referees were a lot better this weekend and very few controversial decisions were made, however there was an interesting call in the Melbourne Victory vs Newcastle Jets game when late call up keeper Matt Acton took out Devante Clut on the edge of the area.

The referee initially indicated the foul was going the way of the keeper but then changed his mind, signalling that it was actually Clut who would be given the advantage from the decision. The player was in a position to have a shot when it happened and Acton was incredibly lucky to escape without a yellow card when the referee could have just as easily pulled out a red.

A day later at AAMI Park, Melbourne City won a penalty in somewhat controversial circumstances with Marco Rossi and Bruno Fornaroli both holding each other’s shirts in a challenge. The referee called the penalty in Fornaroli’s favour and protests from the Wellington player erupted.

Whilst Fornaroli was definitely being fouled, it’s fair to say he was fouling Rossi simultaneously. It was a controversial call and Wellington will definitely feel upset by that and they definitely made their disappointment known to the referee.

Whilst there were some controversial incidents over the weekend involving the referees, there were none in the same league as we’ve seen recently and fair to say, the referees made some very good calls this weekend.