The heroes of this weekend...

A shortened A-League week with only four fixtures, as Perth Glory, Wellington Phoenix and Western Sydney Wanderers all enjoyed a week off. There was still plenty of action to make up for the lost game, Robbie Fowler’s first managerial win in the A-League came after a scintillating comeback to win 4-3 against league leaders Melbourne City.

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Samuel Silvera

Maria’s direct opponent on the flanks was the Mariners’ own star Silvera, which made for an exciting battle on the wings. Neither challenger gave an inch and it was the teenager who drew first blood as he ghosted past the Adelaide defence to draw a penalty and give his team an early lead.

Silvera took on Maria a few times throughout the match but he couldn’t find a teammate in the box often enough to make it count unlike the Adelaide left-back.

Still, the rise of Silvera has been outstanding to watch for A-League followers and it’s clear that he has the potential to go a long way. After a few weeks on the bench to start the season, it seems like Alen Stajcic now trusts his wonderkid enough to become a fulcrum of this Mariners squad.

The former Western Sydney Wanderers player showed his versatility as he moved into the centre of midfield to support his team and was crucial on the counter-attack where he used his quick feet to put the United defence under pressure.

Now Silvera just needs some more support from his team if they want to start moving up the table.

Glen Moss

Simply put, the Jets wouldn’t have recorded their first win of the season if it weren’t for Moss.

For the last 30 minutes of the Jets match, every time Western United stormed forward, you thought this time they would equalise. United were simply putting on so much pressure and Newcastle fell back deeper and deeper as they tried to protect their goal.

WU would have had their goal too if it weren’t for Moss, who stood tall as the shots rained in. The New Zealander made several acrobatic saves, many from point blank range where reflexes take control.

It’s hard to pick a favourite given there were so many spectacular examples, but in the space of a minute where he made two crucial goal-bound saves just epitomises how unstoppable he was.

He had luck on his side too, as VAR correctly ruled offside the only time Moss couldn’t get in front of a shot. Moss will need a few more games like Saturday night, though, if Newcastle want to achieve anything meaningful this season.

Rhyan Grant

Grant is here solely because he has somehow played 90 minutes in Jordan, travelled almost a full day back to Sydney, and then put in another shift again on Sunday night to help his team.

Amidst all that, he even found the time to provide the assist for the winner, chesting the ball straight into the path of Kosta Barbarouses to finish from the six yard box.

Right-backs providing assists inside the box might sound unusual, but it exemplifies Grant’s game of endlessly running back and forth across both ends of the pitch. Corica praised the 28 year old in his press conference, labelling him a key member of the team, signifying how far Grant has come.

To top it all off, it was also Grant’s 200^th game in Sky Blue colours, and it will have been a memorable one as they claimed bragging rights against their Melbourne rivals.