Ange Postecoglou heads into unfamiliar territory on a high, while yet another low leaves Frank Farina with an all too familiar feeling after the A-League’s third round.

Melbourne Victory kicked off the third round of A-League action on Friday, giving newly-appointed Socceroos coach Postecoglou a winning send-off in his last match in charge with a with a 1-0 triumph over his former side Brisbane.

A James Troisi goal was the difference as the emotional mentor farewelled his club feeling he had unfinished business.

“In terms of my input I still think that the club’s in great shape… but you kind of leave thinking you should have put more into it and seen it through,” he conceded.

Postecoglou backed assistant Kevin Muscat as his worthy successor before departing to take on what will no doubt be the most pressure-filled role of his career.

In Sydney, meanwhile, Farina was already feeling the pressure as the Sky Blues slumped to a second straight defeat, going down 2-0 to Western Sydney in their first derby of the season on Saturday.

Goals from Iacopo La Rocca and Shinji Ono ensured the Wanderers claimed their first win of the campaign, easily accounting for Sydney who were unable to rebound from their 4-0 humbling by the Roar last week.

Fans turned out to Allianz Stadium in record numbers only to leave feeling they’re in for the same disappointment of last season.

Farina was again left lamenting his sides’ mistakes and a lack of discipline and praying skipper Alessandro Del Piero would recover for their trip to Perth next week.

But while admitting there was a lot of work to do to make his side competitive Farina, perhaps in an attempt to console himself, felt all teams would be in for the same unpredictability.

“There’s a lot more twists and turns to go not just for Sydney but for the whole league,” he said.

“Three rounds in, there’s still a lot of football to be played and I think it’s going to be a roller coaster for the whole league.”

Defending champions Central Coast also posted their maiden victory this season with a 1-0 result against Adelaide on Saturday, courtesy of a second-minute strike by Nick Fitzgerald.

In an ominous sign coach Graham Arnold declared it “the best start to a season in the three years I have been at the club”.

Wellington and Newcastle played out a scoreless draw in Sunday’s early game thanks to sensational goal-keeping at both ends.

Round 3

MELBOURNE VICTORY 1 (James Troisi 56m) bt BRISBANE ROAR 0 at Etihad Stadium. Crowd: 21,693. Referee: Ben Williams.

CENTRAL COAST MARINERS 1 (Nicholas Fitzgerald 2m) bt ADELAIDE UNITED 0 at Bluetongue Stadium. Crowd: 9,109. Referee: Peter Green.

WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS 2 (Iacopo La Rocca 12m, Shinji Ono 26m) bt SYDNEY FC 0 at Allianz Stadium. Crowd: 40,388. Referee: Strebre Delovski.

WELLINGTON PHOENIX 0 drew NEWCASTLE JETS 0 at McLean Park. Crowd: 9,020. Referee: Adam Kersey.

PERTH GLORY 1 (Jamie Maclaren 51m) bt MELBOURNE HEART 0 at nib Stadium. Crowd: 13,856. Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones.

LADDER AFTER Rd 3 P W D L GF GA GD Pts Brisbane Roar 3 2 0 1 6 2 4 6 Western Sydney Wanderers 3 1 2 0 4 2 2 5 Central Coast Mariners 3 1 2 0 4 3 1 5 Melbourne Victory 3 1 2 0 3 2 1 5 Adelaide United 3 1 1 1 5 4 1 4 Perth Glory 3 1 1 1 2 3 -1 4 Sydney FC 3 1 0 2 2 6 -4 3 Wellington Phoenix 3 0 2 1 2 3 -1 2 Melbourne Heart 3 0 2 1 2 3 -1 2 Newcastle Jets 3 0 2 1 0 2 -2 2

LEADING GOALSCORERS 3: Jeronimo Neumann (Adelaide) 2: David Williams (Melbourne Heart), Marcos Flores (Mariners), James Troisi (Victory) 1: Besart Berisha (Brisbane), Joel Chianese (Sydney), Guilherme Finkler (Victory), Stein Huysegems (Wellington), Alessandro Del Piero (Sydney), Jerome Polenz (Western Sydney), Shinji Ono (Western Sydney), Nicholas Fitzgerald (Mariners), Thomas Broich (Brisbane), Mitchell Duke (Mariners), Ivan Franjic (Brisbane), Jeremy Brockie (Wellington), Matthew Smith (Brisbane), Fabio Ferreira (Adelaide), Iacopo La Rocca (Western Sydney), Ryo Nagai (Perth), Tomi Juric (Western Sydney), Sergio Cirio (Adelaide), Jamie Maclaren (Perth), Jade North (Brisbane), Henrique (Brisbane)