The big winners of Round 4 were...
Auckland FC, who maintained top position on the table after winning the unwinnable derby against Wellington Phoenix at Sky Stadium.
Their perfect record against the Phoenix, which now stands at four wins from four, was severely under threat when the Premiers Plate holders went down to nine men with little more than ten minutes to play, following straight red cards to both Daniel Hall and Logan Rogerson.
The Phoenix amassed 72% of possession in the second half thanks to their on-field advantage, but could only place two of their 14 shots for the half on target and ultimately failed to break through, sending the travelling Black Knights fans into raptures.
Auckland ultimately retained an unbeaten record and top place in the standings, having conceded only two goals in their first four matches, and manager Steve Corica will head into the international break hopeful than Dan Hall's red card is rescinded for an incident that he believes should have seen Auckland awarded a foul for a handball from Wellington's Corban Piper.
The big losers of Round 4 were...
Melbourne Victory are yet to put in a convincing 90-minute performance this season, even when they defeated last-placed Perth Glory in the previous round, and pressure is mounting on head coach Arthur Diles particularly with highly credentialled, championship-winning Western United boss John Aloisi still in the job market.
The Victory looked flat and at times a bit lost when pushing out of defence against their derby rivals on a wet Saturday night at AAMI Park, and whilst they amassed 21 shots to City's ten by the final whistle, only Juan Mata and Matthew Grimaldi looked close to scoring in separate incidents, the latter drawing an outstanding left-handed parry out of new Socceroo squad member Patrick Beach.
Diles deflected some of the heat onto starting Greek striker Nikos Vergos, who remains goalless after four appearances and has created only 0.87 expected goals (xG) in more than 300 minutes of football this season.
He was pulled within the first hour by Diles on Saturday, signalling the boss is running out of patience with Vergos' lack of output. His replacement, 22-year-old Jing Reec, has not been any better, leaving a lot of pressure on veteran Mata and the wingers to solve Victory's woes.
City's and Auckland's win both came at a cost
Melbourne City wrapped their star players in cotton wool during the pre-season Australia Cup, costing them an embarrassing Round of 32 exit away to NPL NSW side APIA Leichhardt, but the measure hasn't spared them from a slew of soft-tissue injuries during the opening month of the campaign.
Not assisted by a busy AFC Champions League Elite schedule in September and October, City already had an injury list heading into this weekend that included Aziz Behich, Mathew Leckie, Elbasan Rashani, Samuel Souprayen and Medin Memeti.
The last thing they therefore needed was to see Nathaniel Atkinson, one of the very few starting players who didn't break down when the club went through an injury crisis last season, go down during the derby with a hamstring issue.
Auckland could be without stand-in captain Jake Brimmer, who was filling in for the already injured Hiroki Sakai, for some time after he left the field late in the second half experiencing severe discomfort and showing signs of what appeared to be a dislocated shoulder.
“It popped out but they popped it back in," Brimmer said after the game.
“Obviously international break next week so we will see what happens from there.”
Goal of the week
There were a couple of impressive maiden A-League goals this weekend, including from a couple of teenagers such as Melbourne City's Peter Antoniou.
However, it's hard to go past Central Coast's Bailey Brandtman - in just ninth A-League game - for this confident cut-in and strike from outside the box against a pair of hapless defenders.
What the managers said
Airton Andrioli, Adelaide United: "We said before the game we had been playing well, but tonight was about getting the result, making sure that our good performances translate into a winning result. That's what really builds confidence and belief."
Steve Corica, Auckland FC: "Derbies are never easy with 11 men let alone nine. The players dug deep, put their bodies on the line and defended their box. I'm very proud of them. That's going to stand us in good stead for coming games."
Michael Valkanis, Brisbane Roar: "It was a real balanced and professional performance in terms of what we worked on and how we executed. In terms of our defensive structures, I think we also stifled their game plan. I've learned in Europe you need to keep clean sheets and work hard. We didn't look like we were going to concede and that's because we worked hard and fought."
Warren Moon, Central Coast Mariners: "We took our time to get into the game, but we were quite comfortable in the first half without offering a threat. Very pleased with the second half performance. We spoke at half-time about being a little more brave in the key moments and Bailey (Brandtman) came up with a great moment."
Mile Sterjovski, Macarthur Bulls: "I'm very proud of the players to back up after playing on Thursday night. I felt like we were maybe the better team in the first half and we were in the match for a long period, but I was disappointed with the foul that was given against Sawyer. It shouldn't have been a foul and it would have been a goal for us, which would have changed the result."
Aurelio Vidmar, Melbourne City: "Everybody knows the week we've had has been tough on everyone. The character and resilience we've shown this week was incredible. Sometimes you're not going to have everything on your terms but you've got to find a way and hang in there and that's what we did tonight."
Arthur Diles, Melbourne Victory: "At this point it's frustrating. On review of the match we'll find a lot of positives in terms of it being one of our best performances. There were periods with a lot of great football. Once we look back, I'm sure we'll take a lot of positives. We had 20-odd shots, 13 from inside the box but only five on target. I think that tells a story. We've got to be more efficient than that."
Mark Milligan, Newcastle Jets: "It took us quite a while to get into the game. We changed a few of our starting points and perhaps my messaging came across negatively, because we weren't as positive as we normally are. That's definitely on me and I need to have a look into why we were a long way from where we need to be and should be."
Adam Griffiths, Perth Glory: "We had momentum and opportunity but we didn't take it. A positive performance without the result. We came out sluggish and naive in terms of our approach. We had complete control of the first half but didn't get the goal that we needed. Those half-chances with a little more quality can be turned into clear-cut chances, but we're not doing that."
Ufuk Talay, Sydney FC: "I thought we didn't start on the front foot and tried to force the issue in the first half. The group rushed things, but second half we were a little more patient and kept the ball in their half a lot more. I don't think we were at our best, but if we're not at our best and still winning games, that's very important."
Giancarlo Italiano, Wellington Phoenix: "I think the red cards ruined the game, to be fair. I just felt we were ill-disciplined and couldn't capitalise on the opportunities. Disappointed that we didn't get something out of that game. The second goal was a lapse in understanding when we need to protect the offside line and some over-eager players stepped out of line at the wrong time. I felt we gave them the two goals."
Alen Stajcic, Western Sydney Wanderers: "We had the better chances in the first half ... we should have been 2-1 or 3-1 up at half-time. That has been the story of our season so far: we haven't executed when we've been on top. We had some good passages of play where we needed to score and get on top but we didn't."
Next round's fixtures
