A-League Pecking Order (After Restart- Excluding Finals Part Two)
The pecking order is based on the performance of the A-League teams following the A-League Season 2019/20 Restart on July 17th. That’s following the A-League Season 2019/20 delayed due to the Covid on March 23rd. It’s not purely based on results There were 11 teams in the A-League Season 2019/20; this is Part Two of Two, which starts with the 6th best team on the Pecking Order and finishes with the 1st team on the Pecking Order. Take a look at what the top six looks like!
6- Central Coast Mariners (Four Games- One Win, Two Draws, One Loss)
Central Coast Mariners improved after the A-League Restart to some extent. They only lost one game out of the four games that they played, which is a vast improvement on the rest of the A-League Season. It shows that despite they won the wooden spoon there are glimmers of hope there. Despite the fact that they were bottom of the ladder; their endeavour never wavered. They scored four goals and conceded four goals, which indicates that they were more competitive than earlier in A-League Season 2019/20.
5- Adelaide United (Five Games- Two Wins, Three Draws)
Adelaide United did a reasonable job with Carl Veart at the helm as interim Coach from a results perspective as they didn’t lose a game. They scored ten goals, half of them in the first game back from the A-League postponement when they defeated Perth Glory five goals to three. They conceded seven goals in five games. Although they played reasonable football, they would be regretting not taking their opportunities to win more games and feature in finals.
4- Western Sydney Wanderers (Five Games- Two Wins, One Draw, Two Losses)
Western Sydney Wanderers played decent football after the A-League Restart. It has to be taken into account that they played without arguably their most important player and goalkeeper, Daniel Lopar. It’s a genuine excuse for them only winning two out of five games. They scored eight goals, but conceded ten plays, which perhaps would have been a different story if Lopar was playing. As for the Coach Jean-Paul de Marigny, de Marigny did a decent job following the A-League Restart, but they should have made finals.
3- Western United (Six Games- Four Wins, Two Losses)
Western United played an attacking style of football following the A-League Restart. Their Coach Mark Rudan has to be commended for playing an attacking brand of football. They scored 12 goals and conceded nine goals following the A-League Restart. Their consistency is more remarkable, because they were playing in their first Season as an A-League team. They do have their deficiencies with regards to defending as they kept just one clean sheet in six games, however, the future looks bright for them based on their consistency after the A-League Restart.
2- Melbourne City (Three Games- Two Wins, One Draw)
Melbourne City may have been mathematically out of the race to win the Premiers Plate, they continually played to their optimum level. They scored at least two goals per game and never took any game lightly. They managed to score seven goals and three games, but they only conceded three goals; their attacking style of play didn’t hurt them defensively. It helps that they have a world class goalkeeper, in Tom Glover. There are plenty of positives for them to take out of the three games they played.
1- Newcastle Jets (Four Games- Three Wins, One Draw)
Newcastle Jets would be pleased with the fact that they were unbeaten following the A-League Restart. They scored six goals in four games, but they failed to hit the back of the net against Central Coast Mariners whom the Newcastle Jets drew with nil-nil. Despite the fact that they just missed out on the finals they only conceded one goal in four games, which meant that they kept three clean sheets. The consistent performances after the A-League Restart is due to having a high quality Coach; Carl Robinson.