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| ROUND 20: Friday 11th January Melbourne Victory 3 Wellington Phoenix 0 Saturday 12th January Central Coast Mariners 1 Newcastle Jets 2 Sunday 13th January Queensland Roar 0 Sydney FC 0 Perth Glory 3 Adelaide United 2 |
| Melbourne Victory won their third game in a row, keeping their slim finals hopes alive, with a comprehensive 3-0 performance over Wellington Phoenix on Friday night. Before an impressive crowd of over 25,000, the Victory were dominant from the start, with Carlos Hernandez constantly threatening to score before finally breaking through on the half hour. Just 4 minutes later, Adrian Caceres enticed Phoenix keeper Glen Moss off his line before chipping to an unmarked Nick Ward to double the Victory lead. A late score by substitute Kaz Patafta put the icing on the cake; ensuring that for at least one more night the Victory remain in the finals race, and keeping them in good form as they prepare for their Asian Champions League appearance. Melbourne Victory 3 (C Hernandez 31, N Ward 35, K Patafta 88) Wellington Phoenix 0. Yellow Cards : Victory - Nil. Phoenix - T Brown 54, K Dodd 63, Felipe 90. Referee - P Green. Crowd - 25,489 at Telstra Dome. A capacity crowd of over 19,000 at Central Coast Stadium for the derby against Newcastle Jets was another sign of how the A-League has captured the public's imagination in recent weeks. And the crowd witnessed a frenetic opening, with both sides playing free-flowing attacking football. Newcastle were on the board after just 6 minutes, when teenager James Holland collected a pass from Denni to bang it into the Mariners' net. But just a few moments later the Mariners were back on level terms when Adam Kwasnik weaved his way around the Jets defence before a sweetly-timed strike hit the back of the net. In an entertaining contest in which both sides continued to attack, physical challenges were few and far between, with only one yellow card given out for the entire game. The winner would come early in the second half, with Joel Griffiths pouncing on a long ball to slam home another score. The result saw the Jets join the Mariners on 31 points, ensuring their finals berth and ending any hope of Melbourne or Adelaide qualifying for the playoffs. Central Coast Mariners 1 (A Kwasnik 9) Newcastle Jets 2 (J Holland 6, J Griffiths 52). Yellow Cards : Mariners - Nil. Jets - N Spencer 66. Referee - M Breeze. Crowd - 19,238 at Central Coast Stadium. With one round remaining, the most even A-League season yet sees only goal difference separating the top 4 after a scoreless draw between Queensland Roar and Sydney FC at Suncorp Stadium. The winner of the match had the potential to go to top spot, and a sensational crowd of 31,933 was on hand as the popularity of the league continues to soar. But with the stakes so high, both sides were cautious and unwilling to take risks, seemingly happier to sit on the draw than to take a gamble that could see them drop to 4th. |
|
The Roar created the best chances, and could have picked up a penalty when teenager Tahj
Minniecon came to ground in the box after a tackle from Brendan Renaud, but referee Mark Shield
waved away the Roar appeals; replays showing his decision was clearly correct.
With just one round to go in the regular season, four teams are level on 31 points; with none of
them to play each other in the last round. Queensland Roar have the best goal difference, putting
them on top ahead of Sydney FC, Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets.
Queensland Roar 0 Sydney FC 0
Yellow Cards : Roar - A Packer 33, A Lynch 40. Sydney - T McFlynn 16.
Referee - M Shield. Crowd - 31,933 at Suncorp Stadium.
With no finals positions up for grabs when Perth Glory and Adelaide United played off, the shackles
were off with both sides letting their hair down and playing some attacking and entertaining football.
In a contrast to the cautious and defensive contest in the Queensland v Sydney game that
preceded it, this game saw both sides willing to take risks and set up goal-scoring opportunities.
In the end, it was a winner from Jamie Harnwell that gave the Glory the game, a reward at last for
the long-suffering fans of the WA franchise and one that has taken them off the bottom of the
ladder. For Adelaide, although they were again defeated for the 4th time in a row, there were
positive signs that the Reds may have the firepower to challenge during the upcoming Asian
Champions League.
Perth Glory 3 (J Robinson 11, N Rukavytsya 45, J Harnwell 61) Adelaide United 2 (B Djite 8, T
Dodd 59).
Yellow Cards : Glory - H Foxe 54, J Robinson 81. Reds - R Alagich 40, L Pantelis 53, Cassio 80.
Referee - B Williams. Crowd - 8,025 at Members Equity Stadium.
Minniecon came to ground in the box after a tackle from Brendan Renaud, but referee Mark Shield
waved away the Roar appeals; replays showing his decision was clearly correct.
With just one round to go in the regular season, four teams are level on 31 points; with none of
them to play each other in the last round. Queensland Roar have the best goal difference, putting
them on top ahead of Sydney FC, Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets.
Queensland Roar 0 Sydney FC 0
Yellow Cards : Roar - A Packer 33, A Lynch 40. Sydney - T McFlynn 16.
Referee - M Shield. Crowd - 31,933 at Suncorp Stadium.
With no finals positions up for grabs when Perth Glory and Adelaide United played off, the shackles
were off with both sides letting their hair down and playing some attacking and entertaining football.
In a contrast to the cautious and defensive contest in the Queensland v Sydney game that
preceded it, this game saw both sides willing to take risks and set up goal-scoring opportunities.
In the end, it was a winner from Jamie Harnwell that gave the Glory the game, a reward at last for
the long-suffering fans of the WA franchise and one that has taken them off the bottom of the
ladder. For Adelaide, although they were again defeated for the 4th time in a row, there were
positive signs that the Reds may have the firepower to challenge during the upcoming Asian
Champions League.
Perth Glory 3 (J Robinson 11, N Rukavytsya 45, J Harnwell 61) Adelaide United 2 (B Djite 8, T
Dodd 59).
Yellow Cards : Glory - H Foxe 54, J Robinson 81. Reds - R Alagich 40, L Pantelis 53, Cassio 80.
Referee - B Williams. Crowd - 8,025 at Members Equity Stadium.
| ROUND 21: Friday 18th January Newcastle Jets v Perth Glory (8.00) Saturday 19th January Central Coast Mariners v Wel Phoenix(7.00) Sunday 20th January Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory (5.00) Adelaide United v Queensland Roar (7.00) |