The two additional cases were also confirmed to be A-League Men's players, with the club stating the individuals in question tested positive last Thursday and Friday.  Western United's first positive COVID-19 return was confirmed on Wednesday, December 15.

Western United situation

  • Western United announced their third COVID-19 positive player last Friday.
  • Western beat Adelaide United 1-0, their fourth consecutive win.
  • It was the first managerial confrontation between the Aloisi brothers.

More Australian football news can be found on FTBL.

Western were the fourth A-League side hit by COVID-19 this season, with Macarthur become the fifth on Friday.  United have confirmed that all three affected players are fully vaccinated but have not released their names.

Speaking to the ABC ahead of the match, Western's Head Coach John Aloisi addressed the COVID-19 situation:

"It's probably going to happen all season. We just have to be ready for it and make sure we adapt well and the group did tonight," Aloisi said.

"We're hoping that we aren't going to pick up even more cases in the next couple of weeks but we just have to make sure we're still following the right procedures, in terms of training, of being around the group, where we have our meetings and all that.

"We also have to be prepared that this can happen even with travel. We don't know what's around the corner.

"It's a bit of a lottery at the moment in terms of that and we have to be adaptable."

Despite the missing personal, Western United went on to get a win against Adelaide United in their Round 5 match.  It was their claiming fourth consecutive 1-0 win, a new club record.  The win rose them to first in the A-League Men's ladder, where they remained entering Sunday.

Western faced Adelaide United side at AAMI Park.  The game was one largely devoid of accurate chances on goal.  However, Connor Pain was able to break deadlock just before halftime to make it 1-0 for Western.  This was the second consecutive week that Pain's goal gave his team the win, with his strike last match winning A-League Goal of the Week.

The game did not end without referee controversy.  In the 53rd minute, referee Kurt Ams blew the whistle after Western's Leo Lacroix tackled Craig Goodwin.  However, the Reds had the advantage and the ball found Ben Halloran whose finish went into the corner of the net.  

The referee's decision not to allow Adelaide play the advantage left the visitor's players and staff furious.  John Aloisi stated after the match that his goalkeeper Jamie Young did not play the ball after the whistle was blown, putting the possibility of the equalizer going in in doubt. Adelaide's head coach Carl Veart did not seem to be convinced by this.

The game also marked the first time that John Aloisi went up against his older brother Ross Aloisi, an assistant manager at Adelaide.  In this first managerial match-up, the younger brother went home with the bragging rights.

Adelaide United have yet to find a win this season, having three draws and two losses in the A-League Men.

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Chelsea and Kerr's shock Champions League exit, Arsenal pull through

It was a difficult week for Chelsea FC, which included two positive COVID-19 cases and has concluded in their 2021-22 Champions League campaign being over. Elsewhere in the competition four other Matildas did progress to the knock out stage.

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'Distraught' Perth Glory could spend Christmas in quarantine with December A-League games postponed

Perth Glory has announced that their men's side's remaining December 2021 matches have been postponed. Their away matches against Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United are affected.

The full 2021 A-League Men's schedule can be found using this link.