Simon makes national league history after 102nd appearance from bench
The Hyundai A-League 2019/20 campaign is proving to be a season of milestones for Central Coast Mariners striker Matt Simon.
In Round 2, the 33-year-old picked up his 50th yellow card in the league, and on Saturday night he became the player with the most substitute appearances in Australian national league history.
READ ON AS WE WRAP UP THE BEST STATISTICAL STORYLINES FROM ROUND 6!
Simon made his 102nd appearance from the bench in the Mariners’ 3-1 loss to Adelaide, eclipsing former record holder, Western Sydney Wanderers and Perth Glory super-sub Brendon Santalab (101).
Honourable mentions go to Adam Kwasnik (97), Travis Dodd (94) and Labinot Haliti (84), but being the only active player in the list means Simon has the chance to put considerable difference between himself and the rest of the competition in this unusual statistic.
Simon wasn’t the only player altering the record books on the weekend, in a round of Hyundai A-League action defined by some never before seen individual and team performances.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Who joins O’Donovan in the Round 6 best XI?
HOW TO WATCH: Don’t miss a kick of Round 7
READ: The mental demons O’Donovan overcame to make Hyundai A-League history
Roar's comeback a rare feat
Trailing 3-1 to league-leaders Melbourne City, Brisbane Roar seemed destined for another disappointing result on Sunday afternoon.
But chasing that deficit, Brisbane – who had not found the back of the net since Roy O'Donovan's stoppage time equaliser against Perth Glory in Round 1 – suddenly found it four times, as the O’Donovan-inspired Roar pegged one goal back, then equalised, then took the lead to win 4-3.
It was a phenomenal result for Robbie Fowler’s side, and an extremely rare one: only five teams have ever recovered from a 3-1 deficit to win in Hyundai A-League history.
And Brisbane are the only team to have done it twice; in the 2016/17 season they inflicted the same punishment on Wellington Phoenix, coming from 3-1 down to win 4-3.
It was the most unlikely of results won on the back of a fantastic second half performance from the Roar, granting Fowler his first win in the Hyundai A-League, and in some style.
HIGHLIGHTS: Re-live every moment from the game of the season so far
Petratos continues his silver service
Newcastle Jets star and Caltex Socceroo Dimitri Petratos stands head and shoulders above the competition when it comes to creating chances in the Hyundai A-League.
Petratos got the all-important assist of Angus Thurgate’s first half goal as the Jets earned an impressive 1-0 victory away to Western United on Saturday night.
It was a game in which, like so many others, Petratos lead all comers in the creation of chances (four for the night), carrying on his tremendous form in the category over the past two seasons.
Since the start of the 2017/18 Hyundai A-League campaign Petratos has created 179 chances in 58 games – 67 more than Perth Glory’s Diego Castro (112) who has created the second most.
It’s impossible to ignore Petratos’ creative ability and this statistic only illuminates the threat he poses to opposition defences week in, week out.
MINI MATCHES: Watch all the games from Round 6
Golden boot race heats up
Jamie Maclaren returned from injury for Melbourne City on Sunday afternoon, which only meant one thing: the resumption of his seemingly infinite production line of goals.
His hat-trick against Brisbane took the striker's tally for the season to seven goals from just three appearances.
He’s scored at least two goals in all three of his appearances so far this season; the only other player to do the same in Hyundai A-League history is Roy Krishna who did the same through Rounds 12-14 last season for Wellington Phoenix.
There’s a log jam behind Maclaren in second place in the Golden Boot race with five players on four goals apiece, including Roar striker O’Donovan following his three-goal exploits.
It’s the first time in Hyundai A-League and National Soccer League history that two players from opposing teams have scored a hat-trick in the same game.
O’Donovan’s three-goal haul brings him within touching distance of Maclaren on four goals, alongside Adam Le Fondre, Mitch Duke, Riley McGree (all from five appearances) and Ola Toivonen (six appearances).
But Maclaren has raced to seven from just three, making him the undisputed favourite to win the Golden Boot by the end of the season.
