Word of the Week: Shweeeet

By Vinnie Venezuela

My apologies to any Grease purists out there but “shweeet is the word that you heard, its got groove it’s got meaning’” especially when the A League season kicked off the way it did with goals, near misses and some plucky pieces of play.

Yes, it was delicious, sweet, sweet manna to see the crowds back and buzzing across the weekend and maybe, just maybe, it was the Victory and Wanderers’ fans that were pumped the most? Having said that, the Sydney FC /Melbourne City pundits also made plenty of noise.

Victory with Berisha looked pretty good and you could tell that he was ‘up for it’ by the way he was not going to allow anyone to tear the ball from his pincer like grip once Melbourne was awarded the penalty. Apparently, he is still clutching it. Though the Wanderers were robbed of a chance from the spot, all the stars in the world football galaxy were aligned for the Victory who also had Monsieur Laa Dee Del Pierre finish sweetly on debut, Broxham get some joy and Archie also slot one home. Have to say, I think Archie may well find new fire in his goal scoring loins with Berisha beside him this season.

Melbourne City was also amazingly good for a half and the tempo of that game all up was a delight. While every A League fan was hankering to see Villa who certainly made the most of his chance (take note Mate Dugandzic), just as big a talking point was the cracker from Antonis that hit the crossbar. Sweet … but also sour. Hats off to Graham Arnold for getting his boys back in the game and saving a point.

The F3 derby between Central Coast and Newcastle had its critics and, yes, it was cagey and maybe even a bit lack lustre, but the Mariner’s new man Mane` looks like he’ll be great to watch. Though Newcastle was always dangerous on the counter , the 1 zip win for the Mariners was fair.

Kudos to The Glory who stole the points away from home v the Phoenix. Mitch Nichols was back in A league action for Perth who also now have the irrepressible Hersi on their books as well as new signing Keogh who scored on debut. Clearly, Ernie will need to do more work in the prong end of Phoenix town to make the most of his solid midfield.

The other big game was Adelaide United’s efforts away v The Roar (or was it Blackpool or was it Holland??) Great game: excellent technique, plenty of passion, though maybe too much verbal punch from Matty McKay who got a red for getting lippy (btw he was tripped). Golden boy Broich was as commanding as ever and his goal was a tribute to what a clever dummy from their new man Mensur Kurtishi can do. Given how the game ended, Mensur and The Roar have since asked the media never to say the word “Berisha” in their presence again. The Reds, however, were determined and just as plucky and my word of the week certainly applies to Djite’s finish that nearly broke the ball.

All up, I think the A League made a sweet start.

Vinnie Venezuela

The Four Diegos

This article first appeared on the excellent and must have A-League Live app by Sportsmate.