Macarthur FC 1-3 Central Coast Mariners
Mile Sterjovski (Macarthur FC):
"We were very dominant until the penalty decision against us. We had a lot of possession, we were in their final third for a lot of time and we created chances. We just didn't put them away and that has been our downfall tonight. There were some very poor decisions that went against us, in my opinion, that cost us a goal against the run of play where we dominated. When you're chasing the game, things change, and red cards don't make it easy. We'll have to rejig the defence with two send-offs.
"When you look at the decision on Sawyer, he chested the ball down for himself and he got fouled. He would have scored if he didn't get fouled, or at least a shot on goal. For me, there's no justice in that. Even with nine men down, we continued to try, so credit to the players for keeping on fighting. It's great spirit shown for the club."
Warren Moon (Central Coast Mariners):
"We can't control what decisions will be made, but we're certainly the beneficiaries of the match. The one thing about our time is we're working hard, we fight and we defend like our lives depend on it. I was very confident once we had the lead that we would go on to win the game. The boys that came in tonight did a really good job. Success for me doesn't necessarily mean making finals. When I came in, success was first and foremost about being competitive in every game.
"The A-League academies are showing the way in the last few years. I remember from my time in Brisbane the under-13 group now has five players playing professional football. At the Mariners we have a good core group of players who came through the academies like Bailey (Brandtman). Bailey was disappointed to be left out on the weekend but we had a plan to bring him in tonight so I think how he performed was pleasing."
Adelaide United 1-1 Wellington Phoenix
Airton Andrioli (Adelaide United):
"We obviously wanted the three points today but it didn't happen. I 100% knew this was going to be a difficult game. We should have scored within 40 seconds and then we conceded. They want to defend deep, they have big boys in the box and play transitions. In the first half we weren't playing the football we were playing during the week. In saying that, we came back in the second half the way we wanted to play. On a different day maybe we score and win the game. I'm happy we didn't lose the game, but we wanted three points tonight.
"Everybody is asking why (we can't beat Wellington). Sometimes you can't know why in football. I know that they are a very good team on their day. When they are defending that deep they're very difficult to break down. I can't put my finger on. It's going to be hard now, but we'll just have to regroup and go again next week."
Chris Greenacre (Wellington Phoenix):
"Full credit to Adelaide. They're one of the form teams, they play a lovely brand of football and we always knew it was going to be difficult. I thought my players were like warriors tonight. They dug in right to the death. Very disappointed to concede the goal that we did tonight, but we'll try and learn from that. The guys gave a lot from a really quick turnaround from our game against Sydney. If we would have been offered the point earlier in the week we would have taken it.
"We've struggled to get results here for a very long time. You can't beat Hindmarsh on a Friday night. The atmosphere is always electric and it's a great place to play. We really had to be on our game today. It was a tough old performance. As I said, it's a point in the right direction. Over time I've grown as a coach and as a person. My main focus has been to try and steady the group as I come in. You don't really know the ins and outs and there's a whole lot of information you need to gather. I don't think you can change things too quickly because that adds to the chaos that is around. It's a slow process, but I don't have time for a slow process, so it's about trying to find that right balance."
Newcastle Jets 2-1 Western Sydney Wanderers
Mark Milligan (Newcastle Jets):
"Fantastic result but a better performance. I thought we were really disciplined in sticking to the football that we want to play. A little bit untidy in the first half, a little bit out positionally, but the intent to do things was spot on. We knew at half-time if we tidied up that the opportunity would be there to get the result. Another fantastic home crowd again, fantastic noise. If I look at the whole 98 minutes, it's probably close to our most complete performance, but what it also does is give me great belief that there's still so much more to come from this group.
"We rushed a few things at times, but second half we were much more disciplined. Until we went 2-1 up, we were in full control of our destiny. Once we were 2-1 up, caution is thrown to the wind and we had to be professional in terms of dealing with what they were throwing at us."
Gary van Egmond (Western Sydney Wanderers):
"It was great. From the beginning of the game, I thought we did quite well. We took the lead and from a defensive perspective I thought we had enough control. The boys were walking very hard and we kept our goal intact for the first half. That probably played into what happened in the second half a little as well. We changed up our defensive shape a little and I felt it was better.
"The effort in transition for us to get forward and support the ball really only happened once they took the lead. You want to see that prior to (trailing). You need to be in a position where you're looking to see how you can score more goals. We created some reasonably good opportunities, but from an overall perspective we've still got a lot to work on."
Sydney FC 2-2 Melbourne Victory
Ufuk Talay (Sydney FC):
"I thought we actually started the game alright. There was a miscommunication in the first half where we turned over the ball, leading to a free kick at the edge of the box. It was a world class finish from Mata, to be honest. Not much Harrison can do about that way. I think the second goal was a bit sloppy in the defending. We had enough numbers in the box to deal with it but we allowed the player to turn and score the second.
"I still think we created enough chances to go out there and win the game. It was a positive response with good character for the boys. The change after the second goal gave us some pace down the side. To come back from 2-0 down against a quality side like Victory and walk away with a point is very positive in that manner. The positive side of it is that (Stamatelopoulos) so hopefully that opens the gate for more to come. And Ahmet got a goal as well, so the new boys are starting to grow with the team. I think that is very important."
Arthur Diles (Melbourne Victory):
"Five minutes of madness from us. We just switched off, I think. The first one (conceded) was the most important one because it gives them the confidence. At 2-0 you've got to hold firm and be strong mentally, because you know they're going to come at you hard. We should have dealt with that better and we didn't. In the end, a 2-2 result away from home, we'll take that."
"We needed to stand up, and once we conceded the next five minutes after that were really crucial. It's something we'll look at as to why we didn't do that. We gave them that momentum and belief and they came home strong. Maybe they were even unlucky to not get another one. At 2-0 we thought we had another top chance to go 3-0 up. That's frustrating that we couldn't hold onto a 2-0 lead. That should be enough, but it wasn't."
Auckland FC 2-2 Perth Glory
Steve Corica (Auckland FC):
"We definitely should have wrapped it up in the first half when we had a few good opportunities. It was poor defending from us from the corner that we just didn't deal with. We could have also wrapped it up in the second half, and we got caught again in a transition moment.
"We fought back and (Sam Cosgrove) scored two fantastic goals today. They tried disallowing the second one, which I don't know why as it was a fantastic header. Glad they made the right decision in the end. We just kept pushing but it didn't fall for us. We have to win next week (against Newcastle) if there's any title chance. We'll give it a good crack, but we believe we can go there and win."
Adam Griffiths (Perth Glory):
"We went into the game expecting to win. We don't go into any game trying to get one point. Going a goal down early is something that we need to fix, because it's happening too often. The positives were that we stayed composed, fought to get back into the game and got the lead. We allowed them to put a ball into the box, which we know is one of our strengths, and unfortunately it didn't go our way.
"To come to Auckland and go toe-to-toe with them, and put in the fight and composure we did was a good positive to take away. I'm not thinking we don't have to improve - we have to improve in multiple areas, and we will. To have the desire and the hunger to go toe-to-toe with Auckland, especially here as it is such a long trip for us, was a credit to the players."
