Australian goalkeeper Mark Birighitti became a centurion on Sunday, making his 100th A-League appearance in Central Coast Mariners’ 3-1 loss against Western Sydney Wanderers.
The 28-year-old Perth-born stopper played 51 A-League games for the Newcastle Jets between 2012 and 2015, before moving overseas where he played club football in Italy, England and the Netherlands.
Following spells with Italian side Varese (Birighitti returned briefly to the Jets before heading overseas again) Welsh club Swansea City and Dutch team NAC Breda, Birighitti signed with Melbourne City FC in 2018.
Having only featured on the bench for City last season, Birighitti signed with the Mariners in the pre-season and has accrued 15 appearances for the 10th-placed side.
Birighitti’s former teammate, Harrison Delbridge, made his 50th appearance in the A-League, but marked the occasion with a red card in City’s 3-1 loss to Adelaide United.
Delbridge joined City during the 2018 January transfer window, signing a three-year contract with the Club, and has played all 50 A-League games with City.
Born in Sydney before moving to the United States at the age of 10, Delbridge developed in the States as a central defender before joining City from United Soccer League (USL) club FC Cincinnati, where he was crowned a two-time USL All-League Team player and FC Cincinnati’s Defensive Player of the Year.
In Saturday night’s fixture, Melbourne City’s Craig Noone‘s scored the club’s 400th goal in competition history.
In Perth, Nick D’Agostino’s scored a late header in Glory’s 2-2 draw with Melbourne Victory in his second appearance for the West Australians since joining from Brisbane Roar.
The 21-year-old, whose goal against Uzbekistan at the AFC U-23 Championship secured Olympic qualification for Australia, rose highest to nod home Ivan Franjic’s right-wing cross for the 90-minute equaliser.
That match marked a return to Victory for Kiwi international Marco Rojas, while Western Sydney Wanderers’ Irish striker Simon Cox netted on debut in his side’s 3-1 win over Birighitti’s Mariners.
