Melbourne Victory 1-1 Adelaide United
Arthur Diles (Melbourne Victory):
"If you look at the chances in the match, we probably deserved more. We missed two or three really good chances in that second half. I'll take the point, absolutely, but I think we were good to get all three tonight. It wasn't to be. We had a big match which took a lot out of us, and then we had to be physically and mentally up for another derby.
"I wanted to see how the players reacted, and there were a couple of tired bodies out there which forced some subs. There was plenty of firepower coming off that bench, so it was no problem for me having to change the entire front line. We threw everything at them but in the end we couldn't get the result.
"Juan (Mata) was sore. He has carried a knock all week from last week, so I think it was important that we managed him and did the right thing like we do for all of our players. Their health and wellbeing comes first. We had enough quality on the pitch to get a result. The players that did come on gave us a good little boost but in the end we just couldn't put them away."
Airton Andrioli (Adelaide United):
"I think we played a very good first half even though we conceded a goal that could have been avoided. I'm proud of the fact we came back, created good chances and played the football we wanted to play. I think we controlled the game. We started off the second half as well, a few legs became to get tired and then the game opened up with a few transitions - something I don't like. If Luka scored that goal in the second half it would have put us in a good position. Victory have some good momentum so overall we'll take the point.
"They started to put a little bit more pressure on us as we were starting to play the ball through the centre. A few times we made the wrong choices, forcing the ball forward. We just had to be a little bit more patient and reacted to what they did. Sometimes in games like this where you're trying to push the ball forward, there'll be moments of transition, but that was a little bit of a problem for us."
Auckland FC 3-0 Melbourne City
Steve Corica (Auckland FC):
"We're really pleased with the way we're going after January, with three wins and a draw in the last four games. It's a positive mood forward. The pleasing thing is we're starting to score more goals and look more dangerous, but also keeping more clean sheets. Doing both at the moment is really good.
"One game at a time, obviously. We've still got four home games to go and we still want to make the most of them. The crowd were brilliant again today. They're right behind us, noisy and we love that. It's going to be a tough game. Perth beat us over there and they did so last season, but hopefully we'll get another win and clean sheet. It's going to take a lot of hard work."
Aurelio Vidmar (Melbourne City):
"I don't think we deserved a 3-0 loss, that's for sure. They took their chances. We didn't deal well with the long balls and some of those 50/50s in the defensive end where a couple of goals came from. In saying that, overall especially the second half we were having a lot of shots at goal but nothing on target. That hurts as we were getting into good positions without getting close to the goal or testing the keeper.
"I don't even know the (handball) rules anymore. One day, yes. One day, no. It was a critical time for us as well that potentially could have put us 1-0 up. You'll have to speak to the referee about why it wasn't given."
Central Coast Mariners 0-0 Newcastle Jets
Warren Moon (Central Coast Mariners):
"I think all in all that was more how I'd like to see this team play 90 minutes. I think they were more engaged. The first half was probably not where it needed to be, but we played a good side that tested us. We had opportunities to win as well but it was a good game overall and I think we did a good job.
"The first half was a bit cagey. The second half was a bit tit-for-tat. They had opportunities, we had opportunities. At times we sat deep, at times we penned them in. All in all, it was a good test and I think that was the most pleasing thing for us. It wasn't all one way - we gave a really good account of ourselves and had some chances of our own in the second half.
"I'm with Mark (Milligan). I was preparing for the (disallowed) goal to be given. I thought it was a good goal. Having seen the replay, I see what the letter of the law and they have applied the letter of the law. That's what the referees have to do. But in a bygone era, that's a perfectly good goal, isn't it?"
Mark Milligan (Newcastle Jets):
"It was frustrating, but we allowed it to be that way. We worked hard to get control in the first half and created a number of good chances, but that's what happens when you don't take your chances. We allowed them to get in behind the ball in the second half and they were disciplined. As a result of that, disappointingly for all of our fans who travelled, we weren't able to do enough in the second half.
"(The disallowed goal in the second half) doesn't make sense to me, but it doesn't have to. Apparently that's the rule. We've had a couple this year. VAR was meant to be for clear and obvious errors and I can't see for the life of me how it was clear and obvious tonight. He was offside but he doesn't affect the player that's defendi- anyway, I don't want to come across like I'm whinging. We didn't create enough in the second half.
"We were good in the first half. We stuck to our processes. We found solutions and got control of the game. In the second half they stopped pressing. This is down to me: we need to work hard on the training pitch to help them find more solutions. We won't change what we do but we'll find how we can keep getting better at breaking teams down. It's a big part of the game that we need to work on."
Brisbane Roar 1-1 Perth Glory
Michael Valkanis (Brisbane Roar):
"The positive was we got Jay O'Shea back. We know how important he is to the team. We could possibly lose two top strikers. That's football sometimes. We'll assess them and know a lot more soon. If they could have stayed on, given all the quality chances we created, you never know what could have happened. We need to keep pushing and keep being positive.
"I felt we created enough chances to win the game. I don't know how many (Brian) Kaltak blocked on the line, but it seemed he was a second goalkeeper. He made a lot of blocks.
"I think the boys gave everything today and we played good football. We dominated nearly every stat, so we ticked those boxes as well. We just weren't clinical enough even though we got enough shots on goal to get three points. So it does feel disappointing to lose those two points. But we will go on a run. There's no doubt about that."
Adam Griffiths (Perth Glory):
"I need to reflect further. We had some tough moments towards the end there. We always want to get the three points but that was a gutsy point, travelling across from Perth to here. That's the type of character that we want to see every game. There was a lot of pressure mounting but Sutton made some outstanding saves and we expect him to do that every game. That's his job.
"Every game in the A-League is a difficult one. Every game is winnable. Any team can beat anyone. We look at every game as an opportunity. If we continue to show that character and improve on the ball, get some players back and some more fitness into some others. We definitely showed real character to get the point and that's something that every Perth Glory team needs to have every week. If we have that, we can start to build and develop and grow from there."
Macarthur FC 0-4 Western Sydney Wanderers
Mile Sterjovski (Macarthur FC):
"(Conceding on the counterattack) has been a bit of an issue for us. The best way to stop that is to not lose the ball, making more of an effort to support your teammate who has the ball, try to go forwards and keep the pressure on the opposition.
We came up against a team that had more desire. I felt in the first half that we were second to everything. They had about four decent chances and they put them away. I had a quick look at the stats and I think we had seven big chances. That was the story of the night. If we continue to work on finishing and on combinations, they could go in. A few weeks ago we put six past Melbourne City. Inconsistency has been the story of our season. I'd like the senior players especially to step up in this crucial part of the season, because we still have a lot to play for."
Gary van Egmond (Western Sydney Wanderers):
"(Holding leads) is something we've spoken about. We've led in a lot of games only to drop off, so to see us close out the game in such fashion was really good. We've been working extremely hard on the training paddock and this sort of result has been coming for a few weeks. To see them get that is great.
"We pressed pretty high up early in the game and got some joy from that. We then spoke about managing the game and playing with a little more transition at times, and the importance of still trying to play rather than just protecting the game. You're always trying to manage the moments within the game. We probably had too many where we were just trying to manage it in the second half."
Wellington Phoenix 0-1 Sydney FC
Chris Greenacre (Wellington Phoenix):
"I haven't seen it (the VAR decision) so I can't comment. I let the staff argue the toss on that sort of stuff. We've got competition for places which is great, so I take that as it is.
"It was important that we had to make some changes, but I said to a number of people this week that they need to get back professionally. We had a lot of people within the squad that needed to put things right and it was important to give them the chance to do that. Overall, I think they did. I think they left everything on the pitch and it's a good platform to build on.
"I thought Josh (Oluwayemi) was excellent. I was umming and uhhing (about selection) for a while but I think he made really good and positive decisions. I was pleased with his performance. He made what on another day could have been some match-winning saves. For him to show some resilience - I haven't read social media but I can imagine what's going around - and to bounce back like that shows he has a lot of steel and a lot of character."
Ufuk Talay (Sydney FC):
"You always expect a lift in a team when the coach changes. It opens up the door for guys who weren't getting gametime to get gametime. The week probably would have been quite intense for that group. We knew it was going to be a tough game. It's always a tough game in Wellington.
"Our boys defended really well - they were very direct, and I think they heavily relied on set piece moments to create chances. We made a structural change at half-time that definitely helped. We capitalised on it straight away with a goal early in the second half. We should have looked for the second at the right time, but it was a tough game and we walk away with a 1-0 win and three points which is most important."