A-League Round Nine Talking Points

This week in the A-League saw the end of Roar’s run and the start of the regional fixtures. With plenty to talk about, TBG reviews the highs and lows in week nine of the A-League.

Mariners find form

The weekend started with a bang, four in fact, as the Mariners took advantage of a weak Adelaide to post their most convincing win of the season.

The Central Coast put their off-field woes behind them and demonstrated their impressive on-field credentials which pose a serious threat to the runaway leaders, Brisbane.

With four separate goal scorers the Mariners displayed impressive teamwork and it is unlikely that team will be able to shut them down by isolating a single area of play and must find a way of combating the team as a whole which may prove to be difficult.

The Mariners are serious contenders and their clash with the Roar on the 17^th of December may prove to be as intense as any.

Penalties

Three penalties were awarded this weekend making it 10 for the year.

This unfavourable statistic is a worrying sign for the league and can be interpreted to show two things: Poor defending and/or poor refereeing.

Regardless of the reason though the number of penalties awarded as of late is worrying and must be reduced in the future to improve the standard of football displayed in the a-league

Regional Games

2,951.

This figure represents the total attendance at Melbourne Heart’s clash against Wellington at Morwell.

In the first of a handful of regional matches this year this figure proves to be one of disappointment and concern.

Despite being well under the current a-league average it is clear these fixtures are not scheduled to pull crowds but rather to spread the game and even out a lopsided 27 round fixture.

That said one must question the choice of venue and hope the FFA learn to play future games in areas that maximises football exposure and allows the concept of regional matches to be financially viable.

The results of the remaining regional matches will be eagerly anticipated.

All things must come to an end

Warren Buffett once said:

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it."

In the Brisbane Roar’s case it took 36 competitive games and about 36 seconds before they let their piece of history become history.

Petratos’ first minute goal signalled the beginning of the end of Roar incredible run and left many football fans speechless.

As mentioned in our previous articles the run was bound to come to an end, it is how the Roar follow it up that will ultimately define their team in the history books.

Now is the time for the Roar to show they are more than just a good run of form.

It is bound to be an interesting few weeks in the A-League as the table takes shape and teams answer the questions asked of them.

*please note week nine's midweek fixture will be addressed in next week's talking points

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