A snapshot of round 20's A-League Men action

By: Anna Harrington and Justin Chadwick Time published 2023-03-12 at 05:18 PM (GMT +11:00)

A look at the round 20 A-League Men action, when Adelaide continued on their merry way while Perth enjoyed a dramatic late upset victory.

Coach UFUK TALAY.
Coach UFUK TALAY. Picture: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

THEY SAID IT: "I thank his wife Patrycja for holding on for another day." - Wellington coach Ufuk Talay after striker Oskar Zawada scored his ninth goal in 10 games to seal a 1-0 win over Sydney FC. Zawada's partner was due to give birth on Saturday and the striker had insisted he was going to stay in Wellington if she went into labour, but he travelled to Auckland and scored.

MAN OF THE WEEK: Craig Goodwin just can't stop influencing games. The Adelaide United skipper scored a goal and assisted in two others in the Reds' dramatic 4-2 win over Newcastle that extended their unbeaten run to nine games.

STAT ATTACK: 41. That's how many red cards there have been this season, matching the previous record set in 2010/11. With plenty more games to come, that record is set to be smashed in the coming weeks. As a side note, Glory defender Jordan Elsey's red card in the 93rd second was the second fastest in ALM history. The fastest belongs to then-Victory goalkeeper Ante Covic, who was sent off after just 62 seconds in a 2-2 draw with Brisbane in 2011. Both Elsey and Covic's fouls happened on 57 seconds, but the referee took more time to dish out Elsey's red.

BEAT THAT: Perth midfielder Aaron McEneff popped up five minutes into added time with the winner against Western Sydney. McEneff sent the crowd of 7,890 wild when his shot from the edge of the box deflected off Wanderers defender Thomas Beadling and wrong-footed goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas.

BEAT THAT 2: Aiden O'Neill's goal to put Melbourne City ahead against Brisbane was a work of art. Henry Hore coughed up the ball and O'Neill pounced, charging forward and embarking on a weaving run before fizzing a wonderful strike past Roar goalkeeper Jordan Holmes. He scored a flick-header in the 88th minute to seal a 2-1 win for City.

UNDER PRESSURE: Macarthur's 4-1 loss to Central Coast means the Bulls now haven't won away from Campbelltown Stadium since Christmas Eve.

UP NEXT: Battling Melbourne Victory take on Western United on Monday evening to round out the long weekend in Victoria.