Young excellence, promotion battles, and a happy farewell: The Australian team of the week from players around the globe
From the A-League to European competition, these are who I think were the best performances by Aussie footballers in the week just gone.
Goalkeeper
Lawrence Thomas: 2-1 loss for Western Sydney Wanderers against Sydney FC. Full game played, seven saves, one duel won, 21/33 passing, two claims.
Despite the Sydney derby loss, Thomas played a good game, making some good saves down the stretch to keep the Wanderers in the game.
The result means that Western Sydney’s upcoming game against Melbourne City is a huge one, as City is now just one point behind the Wanderers.
Left-back
Corey Brown: 2-0 loss for Brisbane Roar against Newcastle Jets. Full game played, six key passes, three interceptions, two duels won, one big chance created, 49/56 passing.
A decent performance in a disappointing loss for the Roar. Brown’s attacking game was particularly good, creating opportunities for his teammates that simply were not capitalized upon. The Roar are now five points out of a finals spot.
Centre-back
Cameron Burgess: 1-1 draw for Ipswich against Middlesbrough. Full game played, five duels won, 66/80 passing, three tackles.
A solid performance for Burgess in a crucial week for the Championship title race.
Ipswich are now one point ahead of Leicester, who are one point above Leeds.
With games left against Coventry, Hull, and Huddersfield, it is truly crunch time for the Socceroo and his teammate Massimo Luongo.
Centre-back
Alessandro Circati: 2-0 win for Parma against Spezia. 85 minutes played, three clearances, two interceptions, two tackles, four duels won, 39/44 passing.
Circati, one of Australia’s best defensive prospects, played well as Parma close in on promotion back to Serie A.
However, it seems he picked up a knock, causing him to be substituted early. His circumstances are thus far unknown, but I really hope it’s nothing too serious.
Right-back
Steven Ugarkovic: 8-0 win for Melbourne City against Perth Glory. Full game played, one goal, one assist, one duel won, one clearance, two key passes, 56/61 passing, one dribble, and one big chance created.
A fantastic performance from Ugarkovic in Melbourne City’s rout of Perth Glory.
He seemed to be everywhere, contributing a goal and assist along with a solid defensive performance.
Melbourne City fans would appreciate a similar performance in their massive match against Ugarkovic’s former club Western Sydney next round.
Defensive midfielder
Jackson Irvine: 4-3 loss for St.Pauli against Elversberg. Full game played, one goal, 27/35 passing, six duels won, three tackles.
A second straight hiccup for St.Pauli as they continue their bid for promotion.
Even though he ultimately lost, Irvine was his usual reliable self, as well as scoring a late goal.
Dusseldorf beat John Iredale’s Wehen Wiesbaden to close the gap on automatic promotion.
Irvine, Conor Metcalfe, and their St. Pauli teammates will have to rebound in a tough game next round in Hannover.
Mathew Leckie of Melbourne City celebrates with his teammates. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Central midfielder
Matthew Leckie: 8-0 win for Melbourne City against Perth Glory. 61 minutes played, one assist, 31/37 passing, one key pass, four long balls, four dribbles, eight duels won, two interceptions and one tackle.
Leckie’s best performance this season, playing in a relatively unfamiliar position. His passing, dribbling, and defensive work were all excellent, helping conduct Melbourne City to a gigantic win over Perth.
Attacking midfielder
Ajdin Hrustic: 2-0 loss for Heracles against Heerenveen. Full game played, .23 xg 1 xa, 30/25 passing, three key passes, three long balls, one big chance created, four duels won and two tackles.
A nice performance for a player who needs to string together some good performances in order to get him where he wants to be within the Socceroo setup.
Hrustic created a lot in this game, but his efforts were not capitalized on by his teammates.
Left winger
Clayton Taylor: 2-0 win for Newcastle Jets against Brisbane Roar. 87 minutes played, one goal, two key passes, five duels won, two tackles.
A second straight impressive performance for the Newcastle Jets young star.
His rise over the course of the season has been huge, and it would not be too surprising to see some foreign interest in the coming months.
Sydney FC must be kicking themselves for not giving him a chance to shine.
Striker
Dimitri Petratos: 4-0 win for Mohun Bagan Super Giant against Bengaluru. Full game played, one assist, nine key passes, three big chances created.
A strong performance from the striker who seems to be preferred over Jason Cummings at the moment.
His ability as a creator was on full display, creating numerous chances and notching an assist.
Right winger
Nestory Irankunda: 2-1 loss for Adelaide United against Macarthur. Full game played, one goal, four key passes, six dribbles, eight duels won and one tackle.
Ignoring the penalty miss, Irankunda’s Adelaide farewell was another display of everything that makes him so special.
He added to his already outstanding goal catalogue with a magnificent finish and was a menace all game. He completed six dribbles, causing havoc for the Macarthur defence all game.