These are the key talking points from the two Isuzu UTE A-League Elimination Finals as Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC progressed to the Semi-Finals.

Popa’s passionate response regarding Aussie talent: ‘That’s not enough’

There was a moment in Tony Popovic’s post-game press conference that gave an insight into the Melbourne Victory head coach’s thoughts around young talent in Australian football.

Ten-man Victory survived an unforgettable Elimination Final against rivals Melbourne City on Sunday night – Paul Izzo saved a first-half penalty and three in the shoot-out while converting one of his own to secure a nail-biting 3-2 win on penalties following a 1-1 draw.

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Some exciting young talents were at the heart of the incredible scenes at AAMI Park, where Victory had a numerical disadvantage since the 37th minute after Zinedine Machach was sent off but still managed to set up a two-legged Semi-Final against Wellington Phoenix.

Youngster Kasey Bos – the younger of Socceroos star Jordy – came off the bench and provided the assist for Nishan Velupillay’s 88th-minute equaliser, while he almost snatched the winner at the end of extra time. Jordi Valadon also came off the bench in a game that Ryan Teague started.

Popovic was asked about the state of Australia’s youth stocks after the Olyroos failed to qualify for this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, having failed to progress from the group phase of the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup.

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“There’s talent there but also, players can’t get an A-League contract or appearance based on being young. That’s not enough,” insisted Popovic, who played for Crystal Palace and earned 58 international caps for the Socceroos.

“You have to have quality, character, determination. You have to want to do the hard work, the extra work that it takes to get to the top. Just being young isn’t enough to play.

“Saying we don’t have young players – probably because a lot of young players won’t put in the hard work. Do they have talent? They probably do but you have to work. Nothing is given to you.

“Kasey Bos trained for six months before he even got close to the first team and he trained with us everyday. That’s hard work. that’s determination and dedication.

“We can’t just hand out appearances, ‘Here, you’re young so have an appearance’. You have to earn it.

“We’re fortunate, I’m fortunate that I have a club that we’re seeing young players are growing. Franco Lino went overseas. (Nick) D’Agostino went overseas. Now we have young players coming through but they’ve earnt it. I haven’t given that to them. I haven’t played a young player because he’s young.

“No, they’re playing because they deserve it. The more of those we have, it makes the national team stronger. If we don’t have that, national teams won’t be stronger.”

Izzo was the hero in unbelievable scenes in Melbourne, where Popovic struggled to sum up his side’s extraordinary win initially post-match.

“It’s hard to put it in words at the moment. I’ve been blessed and lucky enough to experience some great moments as a coach, but I’m not sure if this can be surpassed,” Popovic told Network 10.

“With 10 men, it’s a derby, it’s elimination. The character, determination and quality of football too in those moments. Extremely proud.”

Meanwhile, Melbourne City counterpart Aurelio Vidmar looks set to remain with the club in 2024-25 after leading a new-look side to the Finals Series as interim head coach.

Vidmar was initially appointed on a deal until the end of 2023-24 following Rado Vidosic’s departure in November.

“Yep, that’s the plan,” Vidmar said when asked if he would be continuing in the role. “So we’ve had discussions and everything seems to be going fine at this point in time.

“Hopefully a decision will be made pretty soon…”

Cheeky moment TV cameras missed caps off Izzo’s all-time heroics 

What a night it was for Melbourne Victory’s Paul Izzo.

He saved not just one penalty in regulation but a further three in a shoot-out to earn a showdown with Wellington Phoenix, who will travel to AAMI Park for the opening leg on Sunday afternoon.

Izzo was a brick wall in one of the greatest goalkeeping performances in A-Leagues history. He was also apparently shred in a cheeky moment the TV cameras missed.