A-League breaks crowd records
Never before has a round of the A-League been so well attended. For details, click on the owl.
Club crowd records were broken at Adelaide United, Sydney FC and Melbourne City, with 106,082 spectators in total passing through the gates across the weekend’s five games.
• David Villa saves City’s bacon with late goal
• Sydney FC storm home to beat Wanderers
It bettered the mark of 100,998 set in the opening round of the 2013/14 season.
“(The 10th season of the) A-League has started with a flurry of records and atmosphere that has once again showed football’s growth,” Football Federation Australia chief executive David Gallop said in a statement.
“It has set us up nicely as we look to meet some bullish targets for attendance and broadcast numbers over the 2014/15 season.
“The Sydney derby and Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory games in particular highlighted the box office appeal of the marquee matches.”
Sydney FC posted a dramatic 3-2 win over Western Sydney at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night, while Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory battled to a 1-1 draw in a less enterprising contest 24 hours earlier at Adelaide Oval.
Central Coast went down 2-1 to Wellington at home on Saturday.
On Sunday, Spanish superstar David Villa scored a late equaliser for Melbourne City in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle Jets.
Perth Glory then trumped Brisbane Roar 3-2 in a thrilling end to round two, taking top spot on the table.
Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC and Adelaide United are next on four points, while Wellington and Central Coast (both three points) round out the top six.
Reigning champions Brisbane and Asian Champions League finalists Western Sydney are the only sides yet to open their account this season.
Despite the weekend delivering plenty of feel-good stories and incredible goals, it wasn’t without controversy.
Unsurprisingly, most of it came at Allianz Stadium where the Wanderers were reduced to 10 men.
FFA will on Monday investigate a pitch invasion that followed Sydney FC captain Alex Brosque’s match-winning goal in the 80th minute.
Wanderers coach Tony Popovic noted of the incident “you don’t want to see that”, while he was also critical of referee Kris Griffiths-Jones.
“The officiating was poor throughout. You know, they’re big games. We need officials who can handle that,” Popovic said.