The 10th round of the Isuzu UTE A-League saw us say goodbye to 2022 and welcome in 2023, with a number of storylines emerging from the latest long-weekend of action. Here are some of the talking points:
Wanderers find their attacking mojo
Ruthless.
Western Sydney Wanderers are back in business, entering the new year in style with a 4-0 thrashing of geographical rivals Macarthur FC. It was nothing short of hammering from Marko Rudan’s men, who were absolutely devastating in transition against a Bulls defence that had no answers for their rampant work on the counter.
MATCH REPORT: WANDERERS DISMANTLE BULLS IN STATEMENT WIN IN THE WEST
Incredibly, the Wanderers had only scored eight goals in nine games heading into the ‘Western Sydney derby’, but on Sunday it seemed as if they found a new edge in attack.
The numbers don’t lie either, with the Wanderers tallying their highest xG (expected goals) in a single game this season (2.49).
And unsurprisingly, defensively, the Wanderers were just as brilliant, not allowing the Bulls’ fleet-footed attack to really get a hold of them throughout the 90 – with Macarthur’s best chance coming from Craig Noone’s free-kick that whacked the cross-bar.
The return of Kusini Yengi added another dimension to the Wanderers attack, who sorely missed his presence since the season resumption post FIFA Men’s World Cup break, setting up both Oliver Bozanic’s belter and Brandon Borrello’s sealer.
Despite Sulejman Krpic dropping to the bench, Yengi returned to playing on the left-hand side of attack with Yeni N’Gbakoto shifting centrally as a make-shift number nine.
The move paid immediate dividends as Yengi bossed the left-flank and the latter was nuisance in behind with his pace. Had it not been for a quality save from Filip Kurto, Yengi could have easily had a hat-trick of assists – with the Polish keeper denying N’Gbakoto late in the first-half.
This was also the first time Rudan had Yengi and N’Gbakoto in the starting XI at the same time and you can only assume the attack will continue to make strides with more games playing together, Milos Ninkovic’s return from injury along with the impeding arrival of a striker in the January transfer window.
How Rudan fits in all his options will be a curious watch in the coming weeks. What’s the best midfield mix when Ninkovic is available? Does Bozanic retain his position? Who gets the nod in attack – when or if – a striker arrives?
A good dilemma for Rudan to have heading into 2023.
J-Mac continues to break records
Death, taxes and Jamie Maclaren scoring goals this Isuzu UTE A-League season.
REACTION: ‘IT’S SPECIAL’: MACLAREN’S RECORD-BREAKING OUTING AS MORE HISTORY LOOMS
The Melbourne City forward continued his unbelievable start to the campaign, breaking yet another goal-scoring record by becoming the first player in league history to score in nine consecutive games.
Maclaren fired home a brace in the reigning premiers’ 3-1 win away to Wellington Phoenix, to take his tally to 12 goals this season and is now firmly en route to achieving more history along the way.
With Wellington struggling to convert the myriad of chances that fell their way at the other end, Maclaren made them pay, dispatching his sixth goal via a penalty this season to give City the lead – before wrapping up the three points with a second-half stoppage time goal.
“It’s huge,’ Maclaren told Sky Sports NZ of the goal-scoring achievement.
“Obviously the last person who held that was [ex-Perth Glory striker] Andy Keogh, my former team-mate. He is a quality striker.
“To do nine is nine, it’s special for me and my family. It’s credit to the boys behind me who give me the service like Andy did.”
Not only does a historic fourth-straight Golden Boot (fifth overall) beckon for the Socceroos striker, but the title of being the all-time leading goal-scorer in league history is now firmly in sight.
Maclaren now sits only 10 (132 goals) behind Besart Berisha – whose 142 goals throughout his illustrious career down under is right within striking distance and given his current form, there’s every chance he could usurp him by before season’s end.
And if his current goal-to-game ratio (1.3 goals per game), is anything to go by, there’s every chance it will be broken well before the campaign comes to a conclusion – with the ‘estimated time’ of reaching the milestone being around the end of February/early March.
It’s now just a matter of when, not if he catches Berisha. The question is: ‘what’s next after that?’
And how about Cummings?
2022: what a year for Jason Cummings.
In January, Cummings was at a career cross-roads after a difficult spell at Scottish side Dundee and needed a change. Central Coast Mariners head coach Nick Montgomery came calling and the rest is history.
REACTION: ‘GO MAKE US PROUD, GARANG’: MARINERS FAREWELL NEWCASTLE-BOUND KUOL WITH THRILLING WIN OVER VICTORY
Almost 12 months later, Cummings is arguably in the form of his life, becoming an immediate hit in Gosford for his goal-scoring prowess and larger than life personality that has not only won the hearts of Mariners fans – but fans all across the country.
“It’s been unbelievable, we (Cummings and partner Hannah) came in January and it’s been a full year, it’s been the best year, the best decision I have made coming out here,” Cummings told Network 10.
“I’ve loved every moment, playing with these guys, playing in this beautiful stadium. It’s a proper family but to get the three points means we can have a few drinks tonight!”
The Scottish-born Socceroos striker ended his 2022 in the best way possible, firing home a double to help his side to a 2-1 win over Melbourne Victory – and had it not been for the VAR – he could have easily had a hat-trick to his name.
His performance was a reminder of his overall quality as one of the league’s most well-rounded strikers – bouncing back after a difficult outing against Melbourne City earlier in the week with one of his best showings of the campaign.
What makes the performance that much more outstanding was the fact he almost didn’t play on the night – with coach Montgomery, telling Network 10 he almost didn’t recover in time from playing in 37 degree heat against the league leaders.
“We played in tough conditions a few days ago, a few boys suffering from heat stroke and I didn’t think they would play tonight and one of them was Jason,” Montgomery said.
“He pops up with two goals today, so that’s the character of him, or the character of the team.”
But the final game of 2022 in the Isuzu UTE A-League was a special one for many reasons as Mariners fans had one last opportunity to say farewell to Garang Kuol.
Kuol officially became a Newcastle United player when the clock struck midnight on Sunday morning – with Cummings’ double helping send his attacking partner in crime off in style.
Veterans stand up for Sky Blues
Sydney FC needed a response to kick-off the New Year and they got exactly that.
After back-to-back defeats against Central Coast Mariners and Macarthur, the pressure had been building on the Sky Blues and their coach Steve Corica heading into 2023 – dropping as low as 10th before taking on Newcastle Jets.
REACTION: CORICA HAILS RODWELL AS ‘A BIG DIFFERENCE’ AS SKY BLUES NOTCH FIRST CLEAN SHEET OF SEASON
And Sydney, to their credit, responded, coming away with a much-needed 2-0 win on the road that slightly alleviates the pressure on the league heavyweights.
The Sky Blues put the game away in a blink of an eye with Adam Le Fondre and Robert Mak’s strikes in the space of five minutes wrapping up the three points before half-time.
Corica turned to experience in order to arrest the slide, choosing his most experienced outfit available – with the average age of the XI sitting at 30.
But it was the return of injury-plagued Jack Rodwell that in Corica’s eyes made the biggest difference, helping solidify a defence which had been leaking goals like a sieve throughout the first nine games of the season (18 goals conceded) and was yet to keep a clean sheet going into the contest.
“I’m very happy for Jack as well to play as long as he did because I think he makes a big difference at the back,” Corica told Paramount+.
“You could see today his leadership and some great qualities defensively as well which helps us.”
