Five things we learned from A-League Round 1

Familiar foes, familiar flaws - the opening round of the new A-League season offered expectant fans plenty to ponder ahead of what will be an intriguing 2018-19 installment.

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RememVAR me?

If the A-League’s five-month-long off-season helped fans forget the nature of Melbourne Victory’s grand final triumph, Saturday night’s Melbourne Derby was an unfriendly reminder.

With Victory 1-0 up courtesy of a Keisuke Honda header and half-time fast approaching, neighbours City found fortune with a penalty via the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

But despite the questionable contact on Bruno Fornaroli and an additional look from referee Kurt Ams, the penalty stood and City levelled the scores – much to the anger of fans, coach Kevin Muscat and, most memorably, former Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Bosnich.

“The reason why we’ve got the VAR is for decisions like this; for the referee to have a look at it and realise that it wasn’t even a foul,” Bosnich said during Fox Sports’ half-time coverage.

“I’ve always been backing the referees in this country, saying it’s a difficult job, but if this is going to continue they need to start losing their jobs for a couple of weeks.

“That is an absolutely disgraceful decision and I feel so sorry for Melbourne Victory.”

To their credit, City enjoyed the better of their cross-town rivals in the second half, made evident through Riley McGree’s game-winning goal 20 minutes out from full-time, but it’s this interpretive error that will leave fans fuming.

In fact, just ask Central Coast Mariners defender Kalifa Cisse, who saw his match-winning header incorrectly ruled out for offside against Brisbane Roar.

Or even Kaine Sheppard, the Newcastle Jets debutant adjudged to have brought Wellington’s Mitch Nichols down inside the box for the decisive goal.

Better yet, just wait until next week.

New season, old snags

“Where Heroes Are Made.”

With just four simple words, the A-League was back.

Fresh from a promotional gap year and propelled by an exciting off-season stacked with international appeal, the 14th instalment of Australia’s domestic game was billed to buck the trend.

With crowds down 14 per cent and pay TV ratings falling a further 10, Football Federation Australia were in desperate need of a strong opening night.

And if the 10,018 fans that paid to witness Adelaide United’s 1-1 draw with Sydney FC pleased those in office, the match’s TV viewership did anything but.

A measly 67,000 national viewers tuned in on Friday night, the lowest figure for a season-opening fixture since 2011.

Adam le Fondre’s 78th-minute equaliser offered the game’s only real highlight, with United seemingly safe up until that point courtesy of Scott Galloway’s long-range effort.

Nevertheless, such an alarming trend only adds to the fears concerning the game’s growth as a commodity for free-to-air television and, should it continue, could force fans to find new “heroes” some place else.

The ‘B’ word

Mike Mulvey and the Central Coast Mariners made it their mission to maintain focus on Brisbane, but once the full-time whistle blew on Sunday, Bolt was back on everyone’s lips.

The Jamaican sprint star was reportedly offered an A-League contract with the Mariners midway through their 1-1 draw with the Roar and it seemed everyone other than Mulvey knew about it.

“You have a look at our front line today and you wonder whether he could get into any of those positions, wouldn’t you?” Mulvey said after the match.

“I do appreciate how important this story is for the rest of the world (but) you’re just talking about speculation.

“I don’t know anything about what you’re talking about and that’s the honest truth.”

Bolt was not with the squad for the clash at Suncorp Stadium; with News Corp revealing the 32-year-old was instead in Melbourne evaluating his options moving forward.

The eight-time Olympic gold medal-winner, who scored a brace in his first start for the club earlier this month, has attracted worldwide interest since making the trip Down Under and it appears a decision on his future is now imminent.

A Rudes awakening

“I understand what success looks like. One thing I will tell you and can be assured of is that there’s going to be improvements and I can say that quite confidently.”

Mark Rudan’s actions spoke significantly louder than his words on Sunday after his Wellington Phoenix outfit defeated the Newcastle Jets 2-1 at Westpac Stadium.

An own goal to Daniel Georgievski and clincher from Roy Krishna sent the Nix on their way to just their second ever season-opening win in club history.

Led by ex-Premier League stalwart Steven Taylor, the Phoenix have been built to soak up pressure and pounce with efficiency under Rudan, a far cry from their style of play last season under Darije Kalezic.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding their long-term A-League future, 9,174 fans turned out to witness the win, the club’s highest attendance figure in 26 home games.

And it is this newfound optimism that will serve Rudan and co. well heading into next weekend’s trip to Brisbane.

Fast draw

The much-anticipated battle out west between Perth Glory and the Western Sydney Wanderers ended all square at 1-1 on Sunday night.

In what was Tony Popovic’s first match against his former club, the Glory failed to build on Andy Keogh’s opener and eventually allowed the visitors back into the contest through Roly Bonevacia.

Perth’s 10,000-plus crowd were treated to an end-to-end affair in the latter stages of the second half but their new coach could not hide his disappointment after the full-time whistle.

“If we just look at the result, we’re a bit disappointed not to get the win,” Popovic said.

“I think we had enough of the game, certainly enough control and opportunities to win the match but we go away with a point and we have something to build on.”

Glory will now turn their attention to Sunday’s clash against Melbourne Victory, with both sides eager to make amends for their respective slip-ups.