Sydney FC has defensive issues it needs to sort out before the finals, but since the Asian Cup break it has scored an extraordinary 25 goals in seven games. That is an average of 3.57 goals per game. Before the break, it had scored just 15 goals in 14 games.
Whatever Sky Blues coach Graham Arnold did with the team's attack during the break, it has worked wonders. Marc Janko's golden run of scoring has been a huge factor, but the rest of the team has to get the ball to him in a good position first.
Sydney FC has collected an amazing 19 points from a possible 21 since the break. It is now the only team still unbeaten during that period. Brisbane Roar was the other, until it lost 5-4 to Sydney FC on Sunday.
Perth Glory, which was finally toppled from the competition lead as a result of its 2-1 loss to Wellington Phoenix, has picked up just five points from seven games since the break. The only team to have collected less points during that period is hapless Newcastle Jets, with three.
Arnold builds his teams around defence. When he took Central Coast Mariners to the A-League championship in the 2012-2013 season, it conceded just 22 goals in its 27 regular-season games - at an average of 0.81 per game.
Sydney FC has conceded 29 goals in 21 games this season, at 1.38 per game. That on its own is not too bad, but 14 of those goals have come at an average of two per game in the seven games since the break.
That is not the "Arnie" way and he'll be working to remedy the situation in a hurry.
Muscat's long-lost twin
False 9 dropped his Wagyu Burger, knocked over his glass of Wolf Blass sauvignon blanc and almost fell out of his plush seat in Gold Class when actor Mark Strong bobbed up in Kingsman: The Secret Service.
I could have sworn it was Victory coach Kevin Muscat!
If they ever make a movie about "Muscy", there can only be one possible choice to play him. Strong has got him covered - ring down to the pointy ears!
Man of the hour (and a half)
For the first time in the short but celebrated history of The False 9, it is the same player two weeks running.
Roly Bonevacia commanded the field from midfield for Wellington against Perth. It seemed like he had all day on the ball sometimes, as he surveyed the scene and decided which was the best option to take.
Pardon the pun, but Roly is on a roll with a series of tremendous performances as Phoenix makes its mark on the competition.
Wellington coach Ernie Merrick described Bonevacia's effort as "outstanding" and you can be sure he was again talking about Bonevacia, among other Wellington players, when he said: "There's no doubt when you win games like that the confidence grows and when you've got confident players you've got players who want the ball all the time and can show what they can do."
Villa loves going first
Spanish superstar David Villa scored the first goal for the rebranded Melbourne City in this season's A-League - against Sydney FC in round one - and now he has scored the first goal at iconic Yankee Stadium for New York City FC in the MLS.
Villa got a goal and an assist in the 2-1 win over New England Revolution in round two. The goal came when Villa played a defence-splitting one-two with Ned Grabavoy and then easily beat the goalkeeper with a clinical, curling finish.
The big O
Sydney FC really misses the "Og-monster".
Sasa Ognenovski may have been in the twilight of his career, but he was really bossing the defence in the early part of the season before injury ended it for him.
False 9 is sure most of the defensive stuff-ups that have led to gift goals for the opposition and played Brisbane back into Sunday's game would not have occurred had the "big O" been present to keep his teammates' minds on the job at the back.
Ognenovski when angry is not someone you would want to have to answer to when you make a mistake. Having him scream at you is worlds away from the soothing sounds of another big O whom False 9 now brings you for your listening enjoyment - the late, great Roy Orbison.
Tweet, tweet #1
You can take the boy out of Wellington, but you can't take the Wellington Phoenix out of the boy.
Ex-Phoenix striker Jeremy Brockie, who departed mid-season to take up a long-term contract with South African club SuperSport United, warmed up for his latest game by taking in all of the action from the Perth-Wellington match live on his computer.
Brockie then went out and enjoyed a 2-0 win with his team against University of Pretoria, ending a three-game losing streak.
Tweet, tweet #2
False 9 proudly presents a cross-code meeting of legends.
Melbourne Victory's Archie Thompson couldn't resist the opportunity to grab a snap with former Brisbane, Queensland and Australian rugby league halfback Allan "Alfie" Langer. Thompson's teammate and Asian Cup-winning Socceroos star Mark Milligan was in the frame as well.
The shot was taken at Sydney Airport on Saturday, with Victory heading home after Friday's win over Western Sydney and Langer, who is on the coaching staff at the Broncos, doing the same after they had beaten Cronulla.
Langer told False 9 the feeling of respect was mutual. "I'm a big fan of Archie's as well," he said. "It was good of him and Mark to come over and say hello."
Power rankings (last week in brackets)
1 Sydney FC (1) Made things difficult for itself with costly defensive errors when leading 4-1 and 5-3, but its 5-4 win over Brisbane was exciting to watch.
2 Melbourne Victory (2) Eventually got on top against exhausted Western Sydney Wanderers to secure a 3-0 win on the road. Still controls its own destiny on the table.
3 Wellington Phoenix (5) No Nathan Burns, no worries against Perth. Coach Ernie Merrick has got the new competition leader humming with three straight wins.
4 Perth Glory (3) Its lead at the top of the table got smaller and smaller and against Phoenix it finally disappeared. Dropped from first to fourth on tight table.
5 Brisbane Roar (4) Got itself into big trouble against Sydney FC by conceding two penalties, but never gave in and made the last few minutes interesting.
6 Melbourne City (6) Came off a disappointing loss in a midweek catch-up game against Wanderers to smash struggling Newcastle. Still lacking consistency.
7 Adelaide United (8) Fought hard to end a two-game losing streak and beat Central Coast 2-1 at home, but hasn't quite got its game together at the moment.
8 Central Coast Mariners (7) Kept fighting until the end against Adelaide, but simply doesn't have enough quality options in the front third at the moment.
9 Western Sydney Wanderers (10) Grabbed a rare win with late heroics against City, but its busy schedule caught up with it 48 hours later against Victory.
10 Newcastle Jets (9) As tired as the Wanderers are and will continue to be, Newcastle must be favourite for the wooden spoon. Pummelled on the road against City.
Can't wait for . . .
Adelaide faces its moment of truth against Victory at Coopers Stadium on Saturday night.
It has been very inconsistent since coming off the Asian Cup break, going win-loss-draw-win-loss-loss-win.
Apart from the 7-0 slaughter of a pathetic Newcastle that began that stretch, its football hasn't been as sweetly free-flowing as it was pre-break.
Victory has had its own issues during the same period, but that is more to do with not putting away numerous chances, which isn't the worst problem to have.
These two teams have a fierce rivalry and their clashes are usually well worth watching. There is plenty riding on this result, with the battle for positions on the competition table intensifying six rounds out from the finals.
Expect a torrid battle.
