Uncapped Australian attacker Marcus Younis has seen his chances of a fairytale World Cup call-up take a hit, with his Melbourne City side going down on penalties to Auckland in the first of the A-league Men’s elimination finals.
Younis has been a revelation for City since arriving on loan from Danish club Bröndby in January, netting eight goals and providing three assists since returning to Australia.
And the 20-year-old has not been backward in coming forward about his desire to force his way into Tony Popovic’s Socceroos set-up, marking his goal in last weekend’s loss to Adelaide with a non-too-subtle “call me” celebration.
But Younis will now have to hope that his exploits during the regular season will be enough to earn him a place in Australia’s attacking arsenal for the tournament beginning in North America in June.
The Western Sydney Wanderers youth product was kept largely quiet in Auckland on Saturday afternoon, as Melbourne City’s season ended in heartbreaking fashion.
After Guillermo May’s well-taken header had given the Black Knights the lead late in the first period, Medin Memeti’s equaliser in second-half injury time proved to be in vain.
The sides played out a scoreless extra 30 minutes before City’s title defence came to an end from the penalty spot.
Nathaniel Atkinson was the only player to miss in a 14-kick shootout, opening the door for Dan Hall to power Auckland into a two-legged semifinal clash with Adelaide, beginning next weekend.
Sydney’s young stars get it done in the Big Blue
In Melbourne, a Socceroos rising star, a World Cup bolter and a precociously talented 16-year-old took to the field as Sydney FC downed Melbourne Victory in the second of Saturday’s elimination finals.
Central midfielder Paul Okon-Engstler, 21, was typically metronomic and one of the Sky Blues’ best on a dour and at times tetchy evening, as Patrick Wood’s 80th-minute strike set the Sydneysiders up for a semifinal tie with premiers Newcastle.
Okon-Engstler has been a regular fixture in Socceroos squads of late and his strong domestic form suggests he is poised to stamp his ticket to North America next month.
However, the former Benfica player was forced to weather a hairy moment midway through the second half, when he was adjudged to have illegally brought down Victory attacker Santos in the penalty area.
Thankfully for Okon-Engstler, the initial penalty decision was overturned on a line-ball VAR review.
That came only moments after Victory was aggrieved to not be awarded a spot kick when Apostolos Stamatelopoulos pulled the shirt of Jason Davidson at a corner
Replays suggested the decision could have very easily gone either way.
A player who will be grateful for another opportunity to push for an albeit unlikely World Cup call-up is Sydney teen sensation Tiago Quintal.
The attacking midfielder has notched five goals and three assists in a breakout season for the Sky Blues, but he was for the most part peripheral before being substituted early in the second half at AAMI Park.
The 19-year-old’s best moment came midway through the first period, when he glided through his marker and curled a left-footed effort just wide of the post.
It was a glimpse of the excitement and creativity Quintal could bring to international football, but this year’s tournament will likely come too soon for the youngster — although he too has been known to pick up the imaginary telephone.
Quintal was electric in Sydney’s 4-1 defeat of the Wanderers in January. (Getty Images: Jeremy Ng)
It was a momentous evening for 16-year-old Sydney winger Akol Akon, who became the youngest ever player to feature in an A-League Men’s final.
Largely used as a substitute during his first year of professional football, Akon was thrust into the starting line-up after Al-Hassan Toure was ruled out with injury, but was well up for the challenge on Saturday, using his head to force a sharp save from Victory shot-stopper Jack Warshawsky in the 41st minute.
Akon made three assists in 294 minutes of regular season action and is likely to be involved once more against the Jets next weekend.